What is a multi-academy trust and how is governance structured?

Chorus Education Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), which is a charity and company limited by guarantee. A MAT is a single entity established to undertake a strategic collaboration to improve and maintain high educational standards across a group of schools. The MAT is accountable for the performance of each school in the group and has overarching responsibility for their governance, although each school can still have their own local governing body which operates as a board of trustees sub-committee subject to delegation of power from the MAT.

 

Members

The Members determine the ethos and purpose of the Trust (i.e. the provision of education) and the way it will be governed (which is in the Articles of Association) and will have a right (not an obligation) to participate in governance by appointing and removing Trustees. They also have a right to receive the Trustees’ annual report and accounts and to attend general meetings of the Trust.

You can see a full list of our Members here.

 

Trustees

The Board of Trustees are the people responsible for the carrying out of the business of the trust, i.e. the running of the academies, though management responsibility will be delegated further still to a management board or leadership group made up of executive officers (such as the Chief Executive Officer) and the headteachers of the academies. The Trustees are also directors of the trust, given the trust is a company, and will be under a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the trust. 

You can see a full list of our Trustees here.

Trust Board Committees

The Board of Trustees manage their work through the following committees:

• Audit and Risk Committee (Chair: Steve Shaw)
• Finance and Resources Committee (Chair: Tony Saunders)
• Quality of Education Committee (Chair: Zoe Sullivan)
• ABS (Attendance, Behaviour & Safeguarding) Committee (Chair: Nicola Shearstone)
• South Yorkshire Teaching Hub Committee (Chair: Chris Fox)

Terms of reference for all trustee committees are available in the Terms of Reference for Trust Board Committees document.

 

Local Governing Bodies

Each school within the trust usually has its own Local Governing Body (LGB). The Board of Trustees sets the Scheme of Delegation annually. You can view the details of our Scheme of Delegation here. Schools without a 'Good' or 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating may have a more limited range of delegated authority from the trustees.

As a sub-committee of the Board of Trustees, there are also terms of reference set annually by the trust for LGBs. You can read more about the terms of reference for our Local Governing Bodies here.

A full list of our schools and their Local Governing Bodies is available via the our schools page.