RFA Local Governing Body arrangements
In conjunction with the Regional Boards, the Trust Board establishes Local Governing Bodies for each of the Academies. For the most part these are made up of individuals drawn from the Academy’s community, both as elected and appointed members.
The role of a Local Governor within REAch2 Multi-Academy Trust is an important one. The broad duties of the Local Governing Body are summarised as:
- To contribute to and fulfil the vision and ethos of REAch2 in so far as it relates to the Academy, ensuring that the Academy achieves the aims and ambitions it has for its pupils.
- To implement and review from time to time the strategic plan for the Academy, focussing on the Academy’s performance and achieving sustained school improvement and having regard to any locally agreed priorities identified by the Trust Board;
- To act as a critical friend to the Academy’s senior leadership team, being ready to challenge and hold senior leaders to account for all aspects of the Academy’s performance;
- To oversee the management of the finances of the Academy, assessing the annual budget prepared by the Academy’s Headteacher (with the support of the Academy’s senior leadership team) and submitting such for approval by the Regional Board and the Trust Board, ensuring that the Academy works within its budget and the Academy’s senior leadership team adopts and implements appropriate risk and financial management policies and practices;
- To support the Trust Board in ensuring that insurance or equivalent risk protection is put in place and maintained for all risk areas including damage to property, employer liability, public and third party liability and director liability in accordance with any policy issued by the Trust Board from time to time;
- To support the Academy’s Headteacher in the development and review (from time to time) of an appropriate staffing structure for the Academy, ensuring there is robust and accountable monitoring of the performance of staff and implementing all and any policies relating to staff adopted by the Trust Board;
- To support the Trust Board in its monitoring and evaluation of the delivery of any central services and functions provided or procured by the Academy Trust for the Academies, reporting any issues or concerns to the Regional Executive Principal and, if necessary, the CEO, the Chair of the Regional Board or the Chair of the Trust Board;
- Having regard in particular to the benefits of being part of a family of schools which stresses the importance of collaboration and mutual support; To promote within the organisation and externally the benefits of collaboration with the other Academies and to actively seek opportunities to work together either with the aim of improving economic efficiencies within the Academies or identifying and implementing best practice;
- To develop effective links within the Academy’s community, communicating openly and frequently as appropriate and ensuring that the Academy meets its responsibilities to the community and serves the community’s needs in relation to the safeguarding and education of its pupils; and
- To engage fully and openly with any inspection of the Academy, whether by the Trust Board, Ofsted or any other appropriate public body to whom the Academy is accountable.
Structure of the Governing Body
As recommended by REAch2, the Governing Body has the following structure:
- Up to 4 Trust appointed Governors (1 vacancy currently)
- 2 Parent Governors
- Up to 3 Co-Opted Governors (1 currently)
- The Headteacher
- 1 elected member of the teaching staff
- 1 elected member of the support staff Committees
Please contact the school office or email [email protected] for a paper copy of any of the above documents.