Job Title: LEO Academy Committee Member serving on an Academy Committee 

Location:

• Academy Committee meetings to be held at the relevant Academies.

• Site visits to local LEO Academies as necessary.

Hours:

• Minimum of three Academy Committee meetings a year.

• Remote involvement via email/telephone.

• Regular review of reports and documentation.

Salary Range: Voluntary

Term of Office: Four years

Job Purpose:

• The Academy Committee for an Academy or Academies plays an active part in supporting the leadership of the Academy, and holding oversight of the Academies.

• Appointments to the Academy Committee will be made by the Trustees of LEO Academy Trust. Recommendations to appoint may be put forward by either the Principals, the Executive Team or by the Trustees. 

• LEO Academy Trust has chosen to have their parent governor representation via the Academy Committee, and in the first instance, the parents will be elected and only appointed if there are not enough parent candidates to enable an election to take place. 

JOB DESCRIPTION

Governance Support and Local Accountability

The role of those serving on an Academy Committee is an important one, ensuring there is local responsibility for the performance of the Trust and the Academies and that the Academies serve their communities. Those serving on an Academy Committee are accountable to the Trust Board and must ensure that at all times they act in good faith and in the best interests of the Academies and the Trust, exercising reasonable care and skill having particular regard to personal knowledge and experience.

Specific responsibilities of Academy Committee members 

The specific tasks and responsibilities of Academy Committee members are to:

• ensure that the vision, ethos and strategic direction of LEO Academy Trust is maintained within each school;

• support the Trust Board in developing and maintaining effective links within the Academies’ communities, communicating openly and frequently as appropriate and ensuring that the Academies meet their responsibilities to the community and serves the community’s needs in relation to the safeguarding and education of its pupils;

• support the Academy’s senior leadership team in regard to;

  • • • reviewing delegated local Academy policies;

      • providing advice and feedback to the Trustees as sought;

      • ensuring the implementation of any Academy plan;

      • undertaking any appropriate community consultation;

      • parents, carers and other members of the local community;

      • maintaining effective links with the local community.

Core Competencies

The following core competencies and skills expected of Academy Committee members are to:

• work as a team;

• to bring their views as a parent to discussions, not to act a as a spokesperson for others

• attend meetings and be prepared to contribute to discussions and commit to agreed actions;

• be respectful of the views of others and to be open to new ideas and thoughts;

• treat all confidential information confidentially;

• act with integrity, avoiding any personal conflicts of interest; 

• develop a deep understanding of the vision and ethos of the Trust and its Academies and the roles played by all individuals in fulfilment of the Trust’s mission;

• understand the policies and procedures of the Trust and how these flow down to the Academies;

• support the Trust in public and act as an ambassador of the Trust and the Academies;

• commit to training and skills development;

• be focused on problem solving and be ready to learn from past experiences;

• act in accordance with any authority delegated to them, including complying with any regulation or requirement of those from whom delegated authority is received;

• adhere to the Nolan Principles in their conduct;

• Evidence the values of LEO Academy Trust in communications and actions.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Personal qualities and values – to have:

• the desire to create positive change for young people;

• commitment to the aims and objectives of LEO Academy Trust;

• willingness to devote time and effort;

• ability to work effectively as a team while contributing an independent perspective;

• ability to build productive and supportive professional relationships;

• commitment to the Nolan’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership;

• commitment to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice;

• commitment to Safeguarding young people.

Knowledge

• understand and accept legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of governance;

• understand of the use of attainment and other data to assess the progress, strengths and weaknesses of an educational environment;

Skills:

• Good, independent judgement;

Legal Requirements:

Individuals may not serve on the Academy Committee unless they are able to make the following declarations:

I confirm that I:

• Am aged over 18

• Am not a current pupil at the school

• Am not the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order, an interim bankruptcy restrictions order, a debt relief restrictions order, an interim debt relief restrictions order or a sequestration that has not been discharged, annulled or reduced  

•  Have not been removed as a trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commission or the High Court on the grounds of misconduct or mismanagement in administration of the charity

•  Have not been removed, under section 34 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, from being concerned in the management or control of any body

• Have not been disqualified from being a company director and/or a charity trustee

• Have not been disqualified from holding office as a Academy Committee member

• Have not been removed from office as an elected Academy Committee member within the last 5 years

• Am not disqualified from working with children, barred from regulated activity and/or disqualified from registering for childminding or providing daycare

• Am not disqualified from registering under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006

• Am not subject to a direction of the Secretary of State under section 142 of the Education Act 2002, or to a section 128 direction

• Am not disqualified from being an independent school proprietor, teacher or employee by the Secretary of State

If a parent Academy Committee member, I also confirm that I am not:

• An elected member of the local authority

• Paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in a year

This, and further detail on when these points apply, is set out in pages 21 to 22 of the DfE's statutory guidance

Academy Committee members are required to complete the following declarations annually:

• Declaration of Interests

• Code of Conduct

Additional Responsibilities of the Chair 

The role of the Chair of the Academy Committee is an important one, demanding yet worthwhile. The Chair is  elected by the Trustees annually. The Chair must be approachable,  readily accessible and ready to take issues and ideas raised by ACMs seriously.  

The Chair’s specific duties are to:

• provide a clear lead and direction for the ACMs, understanding the aims of the Academies, the  roles played by all those involved and the vision of the Trust in relation to its Academies;  

• build an effective team, attracting ACM’s with necessary skills and experience promoting equality  and diversity;  

• work closely with the Leadership Team to ensure there is appropriate challenge and encouragement  whilst respecting the professional expertise and knowledge of the academy’s leaders, and the personal  accountability of the individuals within the leadership team;  

• ensure that Academy improvement is the focus of all policy and strategy for the Academies, reminding  ACMs of this as often as necessary;  

• hold ACMs to account, ensuring the business of the Academy Committee is conducted efficiently  and effectively, chairing meetings ensuring all members have the opportunity to contribute and are  listened to with clear decisions being made when necessary.