Governance Information : Pontefract Academies Trust

Pontefract Academies Trust is an exempt charity, this means we operate like any other charity but are not regulated by the Charity Commission but instead overseen by an alternative regulator, in this case the Secretary of State for Education.

The main documents that set out how we operate are our Articles of Association, which set our internal structure, and the Master Funding Agreement, which is the legal contract with the Secretary of State under which we run our schools. In addition, there are separate Supplemental Funding Agreements for each individual school.

We are also governed by the Department for Education's Academies Financial Handbook and various pieces of legislation relating to both schools and charities.

Our formal structures are designed to give robust oversight and management of our schools, without unnecessarily restricting innovation.

Trustees provide strategic oversight and ensure that the Trust meets it legal obligations, both directly and through the Audit and Risk Committee.

Formulation of strategy and day to day operations are delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, Julian Appleyard OBE. He is supported by an Executive Leadership Team, our Headteachers and professional experts within our central services team.

Our Headteachers are challenged and supported by School Performance Review Boards (SPRBs). These are individual to each school. Our SPRB members are appointed by the Trust Board, ensuring we have the balance of skills required to oversee a modern school.

Members

Ulric Murray OBE and John Gough

Duties

To appoint / remove trustees
To sign off financial statements and annual report
To change the Articles

Governed by

Articles of Association

Meetings

One per year

Board of Trustees

Phil Jones OBE, David Wilkin, John Gough, Julian Appleyard OBE, Andy Clarke, Elaine Shepherd and Reuben Moore

Duties

To ensure quality of education provision
To challenge and monitor performance
To oversee management of finances and property
To ensure compliance with charity and company law
To ensure operation in accordance with Funding Agreement
To receive and approve finance procedures and regulations
To determine and approve corporate policy
To receive reports from committees

Reporting

Reports to Members at the Annual General Meeting on progress for the year Produces financial statements and Annual Report

Governed By

Terms of Reference

Meetings

Four meetings per year

Trust Board Membership & Attendance Summary 2020/21

	From	To	Appointed by	Meetings attended	Out of a possible
P Jones OBE (Chair)	14/08/15	31/08/22	Members	4	4
D Wilkin	09/04/14	31/08/22	Members	4	4
J Gough	14/03/13	13/03/25	Original (signatory) member	4	4
J Appleyard OBE (CEO)	05/03/18	N/A	Members	4	4
A Clarke	17/05/17	16/05/25	Members	4	4
E Shepherd	02/05/18	01/05/22	Members	3	4
R Moore	11/02/21	10/02/25	Members	2	2

Audit & Risk Committee

Duties

To provide oversight on internal controls
To receive annual internal audit reports
To receive and monitor strategic risk registers
To manage responsible office function
To appoint external auditors

Reporting

Reports to the board of Trustees through approved minutes.

Governed by

Terms of Reference

Meetings

Four per year

Audit & Risk Committee Membership & Attendance Summary 2020/21

	From	To	Appointed by	Meetings attended	Out of a possible
A Clarke (Chair)	04/05/18	03/05/22	Trust Board	4	4
J Gough	02/07/14	14/03/21	Trust Board	4	4
M K Brooke (Independent from 10/04/18)	02/07/14	01/07/22	Trust Board	4	4

Finance & General Purposes Committee

Duties

To consider policies and procedures to ensure that the Trust maintains proper accounts and related records
To consider and monitor the Trust’s financial plans to ensure they reflect the strategic plan of the Trust.

Reporting

Reports to the board of Trustees through approved minutes.

Governed by

Terms of Reference

Meetings

Four per year

Finance Committee Membership & Attendance Summary 2020/21

	From	To	Appointed by	Meetings attended	Out of a possible
M K Brooke (Chair)	02/07/14	01/07/22	Trust Board	5	5
D Wilkin	04/02/15	08/04/22	Trust Board	5	5
J Appleyard OBE (CEO)	05/03/18	N/A	Trust Board	5	5

School Performance Review Boards

Duties

Provide independent challenge to the
school leadership, primarily in respect of
pupil performance, the quality of the
school experience and execution of the
school improvement plan.
Work in partnership with the Trust and
school leadership to ensure an active,
high quality effective programme of
stakeholders and community engagement
is delivered.

Current Register of Business Interests - Members

	Role	Name of business or organisation/educational organisation	Nature of business or organisation	Nature of interest	Date of appointment of acquisition
J Gough	Original signatory Member	New Collaborative Learning Trust	Sixth Form Academy Trust	Member	Apr-17
J Gough	Original signatory Member	Kings Foundation	Charitable Trust	Chairman
U Murray	Original signatory Member	None declared
N Bowmer	Member	None declared

Current Register of Business Interests – Trust Board

	Role	Name of business or organisation/educational organisation	Nature of business or organisation	Nature of interest	Date of appointment of acquisition
P Jones OBE	Chair of Trustees	None declared
D Wilkin	Trustee	None declared
J Gough	Trustee	New Collaborative Learning Trust	Sixth Form Academy Trust	Member	Apr-17
J Gough	Trustee	Kings Foundation	Charitable Trust	Chairman
J Appleyard OBE	Trustee, CEO	None declared
A Clarke	Trustee	None declared
E Shepherd	Trustee	None declared
R Moore	Trustee	Teach First	Teacher and leadership training provider	Executive Director	Jun-10
R Moore	Trustee

Governance

Our Governance Structure