The Board of Trustees is accountable in law for all major decisions about our Trust and its schools. However, this does not mean that the Board is required to carry out all the Trust’s governance functions and many can and should be delegated, including to the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Headteachers/Heads of School and the Board’s Committees. The decision to delegate a function is made by the Board of Trustees at their sole discretion and is recorded. Without such delegation, the Committee or individual has no power to act.
The Scheme of Delegation is the key document defining the lines of responsibility and accountability in our Multi Academy Trust. It is a simple yet systematic way of ensuring that the Members, Trustees, Board Committees, Trust and School Leaders are all clear about their roles and responsibilities. Our Local Governing Body functions are different to those of a maintained school governing body and are consequently reduced. The Local Governing Bodies are constituted as a “Committee” of the Trust Board pursuant to our Articles of Association. It is a working document that the Trust Board and Trust Leaders are able to revise and adapt in response to context and circumstance.
The Scheme is reviewed annually, with changes made as the context changes, if necessary each year. This is not a failure, but recognition of the need to be responsive to changing circumstances and to adapt accordingly. It is, however, important to ensure that all involved in governance are made aware of any changes and what these mean in practice. For the avoidance of doubt, where a power is not expressly delegated by the Trustees, it will be deemed to have been retained by the Trustees regardless of whether it is, or is not, specified in the Scheme.