Governance
Vision Multi Academy Trust is an exempt charity; this means we operate like any other charity but are not regulated by the Charity Commission but instead overseen by an alternative regulator, in this case the Secretary of State for Education.
The main documents that set out how we operate are our Articles of Association which set our internal structure, and the Master Funding Agreement, which is the legal contract with the Secretary of State under which we run our schools. In addition, there are separate Supplemental Funding Agreements for each individual school.
We are also governed by the Department for Education's Academies Financial Handbook and various pieces of legislation relating to both schools and charities. All these documents can be found in our Documents section.
There are three layers of governance within a Multi Academy Trust; the Members, the Trust Board of Directors (also known as Trustees), and the governors who make up the Local Governing Body for each of the schools within the Trust.
Members
The Members are accountable to the DfE and have ultimate responsibility for the Trust achieving its charitable objectives.
They sign off the Articles of Association and have the power to appoint and remove the Trustees. Members provide challenge and scrutiny to the Board of Trustees.
Trustees
The Trustees set the strategic direction for the Multi Academy Trust and are accountable to the Secretary of State for the schools within it. This is set out in a legal document known as the Funding Agreement. As charity Trustees, they must also ensure that they are complying with charity law requirements. High calibre Trustees are appointed for their skills, knowledge or experience as needed by the Board.
The Trustees Board has three core functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to account for the educational performance of the Trust schools and their pupils, and the performance and management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the schools and making sure its money is well spent.
Local Governing Bodies
Each school within the MAT has its own Local Governing Body which have the governance functions delegated to them by the Trust Board. They are accountable to the Board.
Details of the Local Governing Bodies and their attendance and register of business interests are available on the school websites.
East Ward Primary School: Chair - Mr R Walthall
Higher Lane Primary School - Mr Jonathan Preston
Sunny Bank Primary School - Miss Claudine Jacobs
Peel Brow Primary School - Ms C Finnegan
Committees
There are two committees of the Trust Board with delegated powers:
- Finance, Audit, Risk and Resources Committee (Chair: Mr G Fairclough)
- Human Resources and Standards Committee (Chair: Ms S Butterworth)
Diversity
The Governors/Trustees of Vision Multi-Academy Trust believe it is important that Governing Boards/Trust Boards reflect the diversity of the school communities they serve. Diverse Boards promote inclusive school environments and provide diverse role models for staff and young people. Vision MAT has a diverse Board and a wide range of perspectives around the table to support robust decision making. At the present time, we do not publish this diversity data online, as individual Governors/Trustees could be identified, and we have a legal obligation to protect their personal data.
Register of Business Interests for our Members and Trustees
The Trust’s register of interest must capture relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, and local governors of academies within a multi-academy trust and senior employees. This includes directorships, partnerships and employments with businesses.
The register must also identify any material interests arising from close family relationships between the academy trust’s members or trustees, and relationships between members or trustees and employees. A relative is defined as: a close member of the family, or member of the same household, who may be expected to influence, or be influenced by, the person. This includes, but is not limited to, a child, parent, spouse or civil partner.
Please find our business interest register below in the Governance Documentation section.
Please find below our attendance information for Members and Trustees.
Governance Documents
Click here for Meeting Attendance Record 2023-2024 to-date
Name | |
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Meeting Attendance Record 2022 - 2023.pdf | Download |
Meeting Attendance Record 2021-2022.pdf | Download |
Meeting Attendance Record 2020 - 2021.pdf | Download |
Meeting Attendance Record 2019-2020.pdf | Download |
Meeting Attendance Record 2018-2019.pdf | Download |
Meeting Attendance Record 2017-2018.pdf | Download |
Board Business Interest Register 2022 - 2023 Members.pdf | Download |
Board Business Interest Register 2022 - 2023 Board of Trustees.pdf | Download |
Board Business Interest Register 2021-2022.pdf | Download |
Board Business Interest Register 2020-2021.pdf | Download |