Essential Academy Governance

A one-day course for trust secretaries, clerks, trustees and school leaders. Central London.

Next course: 16 May 2019
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Overview

Gain insight into the governance of academy trusts and the key building blocks of strong governance structures with this one day course. Delivered by Emma Perkin, Founder and Lead Consultant at The Constant Group and former Head of Governance at Ark Schools, this course is ideal for trust secretaries, clerks, trustees and school leaders who strive for good practice in the development of governance within their trust.

What you get

By the end of the day you will have gained:

A practical perspective on key elements of successful governance within a trust
Tools to assess your own governance arrangements and suggest improvements
An understanding of the regulators' expectations of academy trusts
Ideas for the development of your board and governance professionals in your trust

You will also receive:

A Delegate Pack containing notes and presentation slides
An ICSA Certificate to show you have attended the course
Six-month complimentary professional subscription of ICSA (see below)
Six hours credit towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Your complimentary six-month Professional Subscription

We support our attendees long after they complete the course. Your professional subscription includes a subscription to G+C Magazine, as well as access to briefings, discounts and our knowledge base.

Programme

Please expand the dropdown to see the course programme timetable and highlights.

9:15 Registration & tea/coffee

9:30 Welcome and introductions

9:45 Academy governance in context

Growth of the academy sector
Academy versus maintained school governance – key differences

10:05 The drivers of academy trust governance

Regulatory environment surrounding academy trusts
Expectations placed on academy trusts looking to grow
Requirements around risk, audit and compliance
Inspection of academy trusts – current and future
Core guidance documents applicable to academy trusts
The Department for Education’s Six Features of Effective Governance

11:30 Tea/coffee

11:45 Setting clear roles and responsibilities

Role and responsibilities of trust members, trustees, executive team, headteachers and local governance
Shaping effective delegations
Establishing strong communication and information flows
Expectations of the governance professional
Knowledge and competencie
Recruitment and professional development

13:00 Lunch

13:30 Case study

14:00 Building effective boards

What makes an effective board?
Designing needs assessments, recruitment and appointment
Induction and training programmes
Board dynamics and behaviours
Board development and evaluation

14:45 Empowering local governors

Communicating the point and purpose of local governance
Supporting governors to deliver meaningful challenge and support
Empowering your Chairs to lead

15:30 Discussion and conclusions

Sharing examples of good practice from the sector
Reflecting on governance in participants’ trusts
Closing remarks and insight

Course leader

Anna Machin

Anna Machin is a chartered secretary and works as Governance & Compliance Manager at Ark Schools, one of the UK's leading multi-academy trusts. Anna joined initially to support Ark’s network of 300+ governors, then moved into the deputy company secretary role to deliver trust board, committee and members' meetings, and develop Ark's work on policies, risk, audit and compliance.

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Emma Perkin

Emma Perkin has 20+ years' experience working in school governance, and is Founder and Lead Consultant at The Constant Group. The Constant Group works with a range of clients from single academy trusts and small multi-academy trusts to leading maintained sector Federations and Local Authorities to design and develop bespoke governance models that will act as a foundation for future growth.

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Course Feedback

'Good breadth of topics given the time available. I liked the balance between the different types of activities and the opportunity to share experiences.'

'Really enjoyed my day, really interesting and thought provoking, it provided useful ways forward. Helpful to meet colleagues from across the sector.'