Role and Responsibilities

The role and responsibilities of Brooke Weston Academy’s Governing Body within the Brooke Weston Trust’s governance structure.

For Academies such as Brooke Weston Academy (BWA), that belong to the Brooke Weston Trust which is a multi-academy trust (known as an MAT), the overall structure and governance arrangements are different from those of an individual or local authority maintained school in that the overall vision, strategic direction, operating principles and performance framework is set by the Trust Board of Directors.

Vision Statement of the Trust ‘An excellent education for every child’ means giving every child the life chances we want for our own.

The Operating Principles of the Trust:

We are an education service organisation which puts children first so that every student will make the best progress they can.

• we provide the best possible breadth of preparation for our students to contribute to society and live fulfilled lives
• we all live our trust in students daily, believe they want to learn and to contribute positively to the school and wider society

We have some non-negotiables which means we are:

• relentless in assessing our performance and seeking improvement in all areas
• unashamed of taking tough decisions and the difficult paths where necessary
• an employer who values the contributions of its employees, empowers them to contribute and offers a rewarding working environment at the leading edge of professional development
• demanding of our employees to join in the mission for excellence and provide exceptional personal and academic development for students
• committed to treating our students with the same rigorous expectation and the same values for producing high quality work that we have for ourselves

We expect the support of our students:

• to live up to the trust we place in them and to understand they are our clients
• to support each other on their challenging but rewarding journey of personal development and achievement

We expect the support of parents and carers:

• to help ensure that students play their part and meet the expectations we place on them
• to play an active partnership role in the education and development of their children

We seek the support of our community:

• to give us space and opportunity to excel
• to let us know when and how we can contribute to local society

We recognise that financial constraints mean we cannot do all we might like, so:

• we seek best value for money in all things, including providing the best learning environment possible
• we look to our suppliers to help in this
• where compromises are needed we will make them in favour of enhancing or protecting the collective outcomes

The Role and Responsibilities of the Brooke Weston Academy Governing Body

Operating within the above framework defined by the Trust for all Trust schools/academies and activities, the Brooke Weston Academy Governing Body has the following role and responsibilities:

The role:

The Brooke Weston Academy Governing Body is a committee of the Board. It is the role of the Governing Body to support and strengthen their Principal's leadership through robust challenge; to work via the Chair with the academy or free school Executive Principal to hold the Principal accountable for the performance of students and staff. The Governing Body meets at least three times per year.

The objectives of the Governing Body are to be accountable to the CEO and Board for:

• ensuring local processes are in place and are adequate for safety, health and compliance.
• ensuring the Board are informed through agreed mechanisms.
• ensuring that guiding principles, culture and objectives of the Trust are faithfully upheld, revisited and reinforced.
• ensuring with the Principal that the highest standards of student behavior are achieved and sustained.

The responsibilities:

• Ensuring there is local adaptation/adoption of central policies and functions as directed by the CEO on behalf of the Board of Directors.
• With the Executive Principal, to hold the Academy's Principal to account for the educational performance and student progress.
• To be accountable for ensuring compliance.
• To be aware of academy performance and challenges through regular visits and good management reporting.
• Understand the Academy's strengths and development needs and to agree strategic planning priorities with the Principal subject to approval by the Executive Principal, CEO and Board of Directors.
• Listening to and ensuring effective relationships with students, parents and local primary schools.
• Responsible for supporting the Principal to set/uphold high standards of discipline and conduct for students and staff alike.
• Reflecting and responding to the needs and opportunities within the community.

The Governing Body will work with their Associate Principal, Executive Principal and the CEO to ensure:

• Staffing capacity and professional development is appropriate.
• Quality assurance is effective and appropriate targets are in place.
• Student progress meets Trust expectations, for different groups and in general.
• Pupil Premium expenditure has an effective impact on reducing gaps between groups and the average.
• Student applications, admissions, attendance and exclusions information is regularly reviewed.
• The Academy is 'adding value' to each student educated, following the 'no-one left behind' mantra.
• Staff absence, recruitment, retention is regularly reviewed.

The effectiveness of the work of the Governing Body will be evidenced by:

• Challenging debate at meetings on performance and improvement (i.e. in minutes of meetings).
• Good parental feedback (through questionnaires and records of other consultation events).
• Good feedback on the impact of the Academy in the community (range of evidence sources).
• Demonstrable checks on their own effectiveness using a Trust-wide effectiveness self-audit tool for its Local Governing Bodies.