Governance of academy trusts

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Governance of academy trusts

Free glossary of commonly used phrases for members and trustees of academy boards

Effective governance is an essential part of any organisation. School, academy and college governors have a difficult task – as unpaid volunteers they are responsible for providing effective leadership, direction and control of their schools and colleges. Good governance requires an active governing body working with a strong leadership team to create effective corporate governance throughout the organisation.

Our experienced team gives you access to experts (including National Leaders in Governance) in the full range of corporate and governance issues. Those relevant to the education sector include academy projects, governance structures, multi academy trust structures, joint ventures and commercial arrangements, collaboration, alliance arrangements and trading companies. Our team has an excellent reputation for providing practical, commercial and innovative advice.

What we do...

Advising on all constitutional matters and on conflicts of interest.
Governance training on a range of issues including legal duties, effective decision-making and the relationship between the board and leadership team.
Governance reviews in line with the National Leader of Governance criteria

Strategic support to boards
Advising on EFA, DfE and OFSTED requirements.
Providing options appraisals.
Delivering horizon-scanning sessions for boards on latest developments/trends in the sector.

Recent experience

Supporting a well-established and traditional multi-academy trust in reviewing its governance arrangements. We provided a succinct report including a range of options that could be adopted to enhance their governance arrangements together with links and sign-posting of relevant research. The MAT were then able to use the meeting with us and the advice note to make the enhancements they wished to adopt.
Working with a high-performing primary multi-academy trust that had been successfully operating for a number of years to review its approach to governance including local governance. We worked with the MAT to design a suitable approach to governance that supported their vision and values whilst also meeting the DfE’s requirements.
Supporting a multi-academy trust comprising secondary, primary and special schools with a number of twilight training sessions for their main board and their local governing bodies. The sessions were interactive and supported the continued development of links between the local and main boards. Following the training we then provided a short report on recommended actions that could be adopted to enhance governance arrangements at the MAT.

What the directories say...

They are effective, efficient and user-friendly.

Chambers 2022

The team at Browne Jacobson are extremely clear and transparent in their communication with clients ensuring that there is thorough understanding at different levels within the organisation which makes the process of engagement a much more enjoyable and seamless exercise. One key strength is their ability to recognise and share best practice in order to inform future development and improvement.

Legal 500 2021

A client commends the team's "diligence, proactiveness and determination to get the job done."

Chambers 2021

No other firm matches their depth of knowledge of the complexities of academy law or their pragmatic, problem-solving approach.

Chambers 2020

I feel like there's some magic going on behind the scenes that makes everything fall into place. They have a tremendous scope of expertise.

Chambers 2019

Related resources

Guides

How to carry out the KCSiE online checks FAQs

There is (understandably) some confusion about the steps schools and trusts need to take to discharge the new online check duty set out in paragraph 220 of KCSIE. I can’t completely clarify all of it for you, but I can help you find a sensible route through. These FAQs are a good place to start.

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Legal updates

Understanding the Appropriate Adult expectation

One of three significant changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 is a new expectation that Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) should be aware of the requirement for children to have an Appropriate Adult. The guidance says nothing more than that, but the DfE has updated the Searching, Screening and Confiscation Advice to include a new section on strip searches. In this briefing I explain how to meet this new requirement and help you understand what steps you need to take when involving the police in pupil searches.

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Legal updates

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022: updated Governor and Trustee training requirement

The two biggest changes in the new safeguarding guidance revolve around sourcing high quality governor and trustee training and the new requirement to carry out online searches for shortlisted candidates.

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Legal updates

A new School Admission Appeals Code for 2022

On 1 October 2022 the School Admissions Appeals Code 2022 (“the Code”) comes into force, replacing the 2012 version and the amendments brought in during the pandemic. The Code will apply to all appeals lodged on or after 1 October 2022.

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