Governance

The First Federation Trust approach to governance has evolved as the Trust has grown, to ensure we are always best serving our schools. All those in governance work towards the continued success of the Trust. Their main priority is to ensure the three statutory governance functions are met:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff, and; Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

Our governance structures work across several different layers.

Members

Members of MATs are the subscribers to the Trust’s memorandum of association. They should ensure that the governance of the Trust is effective and have an overview of the governance arrangements of the Trust. Members can amend the Articles of Association (ie constitution of the Trust) and may do so to support stronger governance arrangements. We have five members:

The Exeter Diocesan Education Network (EDEN) Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) University of St Mark and St John A non foundation member The Chair of the board of directors

Board of directors

The First Federation Trust is governed by a board of non-executive directors who are also trustees. The board has entered into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State and is responsible for each school within the Trust. The members of the board come from a variety of different backgrounds and use their collective skills and experience to monitor and challenge the educational and strategic outcomes of the Trust. The board operates as a single body responsible for all of our schools. They have a clear scheme of delegation that delegates authority to other groups.

Senior leadership team

Day to day running of the Trust is delegated to the senior leadership team. They work alongside our schools to monitor and challenge their work and improve their performance. All operational matters are overseen by the leadership team, who are held to account by the board.

Committees

The First Federation Trust governance structure includes several committees to the appropriate time and focus is given to key issues. Committees are kept to a minimum to ensure we are working as efficiently as possible.

Strategic and finance committee

This committee manages the business of the Trust focussing on finance and resources available. The committee works within strict financial limits, deploying resources for maximum impact.

Audit committee

The audit committee is responsible for internal scrutiny and external audit, as well as risk management. This includes detailed monitoring of the Trust risk register.

Education committee

The education committee focuses on the educational impact of the Trust. Key themes are monitored and challenged.

Hub advisory boards

The hub boards focus in detail on the outcomes of up to six schools. These boards have wider representation from parent and community representatives.

Academy consultative committees

Some of our schools have local committees that work alongside the Head of School to understand and evaluate the impact of the school improvement plan. These committees also support the work of the school in its local community.