Governance
The Trust belongs to its members and it is vital that the voices of those who are a part of Southerly Point are heard. It is important to have Trustees who have the right skills to manage the Trust and to respond to the needs of its members. Our governance structure enables this to happen, proving a blend of local voices through representation from local governing bodies on Trustee Committees and through the Forum.
The Forum is a democratic body that runs in parallel to the governance structure and is able to make recommendations to the Trustees, including electing their own Member to represent the constituency stakeholder groups.
Each school also has its own Governing Body who are responsible for the ethos and character of their schools as well as ensuring effective teaching and learning takes place. Representatives from the Governing Body serve on the Hub Council, to support a group of schools with some functions of governance, to bring consistency of key practices and to learn from each other.
How the Trust is governed
There are four aspects of governance for the Trust. The Members and the Board of Trustees are required by the Articles of Association. The Hub Councils and Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) are optional but the Board sees local governors as having an important role and each Trust school has their own LGB.
Members
Members – appoint the majority of Trustees; guard the values and ethos of the Trust; and monitor the activities of the Trust to ensure it is providing best value for parents, children and the wider community.
Dr Ian Luke
Andrew North
Jo Osborne
Simon Tregoning
Trustees
Trustees set the strategic direction for the Trust; hold the Trust to account for its outcomes for students; and oversee the work of the executive officers.
Donna Bryant
CEO
Kevin Thomas
Chair
Sean Davis
Vice Chair
Alan Horne
Peter Johnson
Kristin L Pryor
Helena Arnold
Catherine Bird
Susan Reynolds
Hub Council
The Council has representation from each Local Governing Body and shares some of the functions of governance which are set out in the Scheme of Delegated Authority. Members of the Hub Council sit on the Trustee committees ensuring that the voice of the whole trust is heard in strategic meetings.
Governors
Have a delegated responsibility for standards and outcomes in their school; its safeguarding; and its relationships with external stakeholders, especially parents.
Forum
This is an essential part of any co-operative organisation enabling the voice of all stakeholders to be heard. The Forum is secured in the Articles of Association. The Forum Schema outlines functions of this group and how the election process works. Each stakeholder group: pupils; parents; staff; community and alumni elects Forum Partners to represents their views in the Trust. The Forum meets at least annually to put forward recommendations to the Trustees, to give their views on any proposed co-opted Trustee appointment and to elect a Member to represent them.
To ensure clarity over who is responsible for what – for example between governance and executive officers and between the Board and LGBs – a Scheme of Delegated Authority has been drawn up together with various Terms of Reference.
In light of the experience gained during the first 18 months of managing and governing the Trust these will be reviewed and updated versions will be issued.
