Multi Academy trusts are charities that have responsibility for running a number of academies and exist outside of Local Authority control. MATs receive their funding directly from the Department for Education (DfE) and make their own financial decisions, which means they’re run more like businesses than maintained or Local Authority schools. They cannot, as charities, be run for financial profit and any surplus must be reinvested in the trust.

By working in partnership with each other, the schools within a trust can share staff, curriculum expertise and effective teaching practices, and work together to deliver the best outcomes for pupils.

While other types of school partnerships can be effective, the key difference with academy trusts is that there is shared accountability for standards across the trust; all schools within the trust support each other and the trust is accountable for them all.

The trustees are responsible for the same three core governance functions performed by the governing body in a maintained school: setting the direction, holding the headteacher to account and ensuring financial probity. As charity trustees, they must also ensure that they are complying with charity law requirements.

I have a full-time job and am concerned about the time commitment involved in being a trustee or local governor. What will this be and what are the essential tasks that I will have to perform?

The amount of time that you will spend on your role varies as a trustee; there are three board meetings per year you are required to attend and you will also be a member of additional committees (again, with three meetings per year). We estimate that actual meeting time will be no more than two hours per meeting, but you should also allow time to prepare by reading the paperwork in advance. We will always issue you with a calendar of meetings for the year well before the start of each academic year. In addition, you may periodically be sent other reading and be invited to attend training, planning days and school events, such as Prize-giving and Open Evenings.

Attendance: is important to ensure a meeting is quorate and that the decision-making process is robust. If there are any factors which might affect your ability to attend meetings, it is important that you discuss them with the Chair.

The Articles of Association provide the statutory framework for our governance and stipulates that notice of meetings, with agendas, must be sent at least seven days before each meeting. Any supporting papers will usually be sent to you at the same time. These days, as most MATs, we move towards e-governance and you have free access to GovernorHub to read news articles, retrieve and download papers. If you require paper copies, you may raise this with the MAT.

We would encourage you to click on the links to our schools’ websites, meet with our leaders and read background resources such as:

Government departments and funding agencies

Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) – for funding and regulation https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/education-and-skills-funding-agency

Department for Education (DfE) – for policy and general information https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

Standards

Ofsted (Office of Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) – his Majesty's Inspectorate, an independent body responsible for inspection reports for all schools and colleges https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

The short answer is that you won't. It is very important that, as a trustee you understand the difference between your strategic role and the executive role of the CEO and the headteachers – which is operational. There are many definitions of governance, but it is generally accepted that the governance of an organisation is an activity distinct from, but complementary to, the management of the organisation.

Two common definitions of governance that bring out this important distinction are ensuring that the organisation does the right things, for the right people, in the right way (governance ensures, management does), and steering not rowing.

There is nothing to stop you applying to become a trustee, but remember your role is to offer governance across the MAT and all its academies, not just the one attended by your child.

As above, there is nothing to stop you applying to our Trust, but it’s important to be aware of both confidentiality and conflict of interest. The Local Government Association state that it is not good practice to govern on more than two boards, and we subscribe to this view. Our Trust has a Code of Conduct which all trustees are asked to sign and abide by.

All new trustees will receive an induction to give them the basic tools and information so they can commence the role. In addition, there are some key responsibilities of which all trustees will need to have knowledge. These include (not exhaustively) financial monitoring; teaching and learning and curriculum issues; and the legal areas of safeguarding, equality and diversity, and health and safety.

A normal term of office is 4 years from the date of appointment.

All trustees are required on appointment to declare any interests that may potentially conflict with their role as trustee and the interests of the trust. These are often financial interests but can also include membership of or connections with other organisations or interest groups. The register of conflicts of interests covers your close relatives, including your partner. The acid test is whether the other interest might compromise your independent judgement. Once an interest is declared, the trust will decide whether you will need to withdraw from consideration of any item where a conflict might occur.

The board is a collective decision-making body, which means that individual trustees are bound to abide with a decision, even if they disagree with it, if it has been made reasonably and honestly. If, however, you have very serious concern about a decision you can make a request to the chair to put the item back on the agenda at the next meeting.