Manor Leas Infant School
Roles & Duties
The purpose of the Trustee Board is to work together to have a positive impact on the attainment of the pupils in the school.
The Trustee board is made up of volunteers. These volunteers are drawn from parents of pupils at the school, teaching and support staff, members of the community and those nominated by the Local Authority.
Trustees find being part of the Trustee board a worthwhile and rewarding experience. They enjoy being involved in the life of the school, being able to make a difference and seeing the children benefit.
The full Trustee board meets six times a year. Some responsibilities are delegated to committees.
The key roles of the Trustee Board are:
- Strategic Leadership – the decision making based around the values, aims and aspirations of the school
- Support and Challenge – the monitoring and evaluation of the school’s effectiveness, asking challenging questions and pressing for improvement
- Accountability – the Headteacher is accountable to the Trusttee board for the attainment and progress of every pupil in the school, the curriculum they receive and the leadership and management decisions that help this to happen.
The key responsibilities of the Trustee Board are:
- Pupil achievement – the Trustee board establishes an ethos of expectations and aspirations for all. It will identify how well the school and individual pupils are achieving and challenge any underperformance of cohorts and groups each year and over time. It identifies whether pupils are making expected progress, and where pupils fall behind, what action the school is taking to support those pupils, and whether that remedial action is successful
- Financial Management – the Trustee board has overall responsibility of the delegated budget and reviews the finances regularly to ensure that the school is on track and obtaining value for money.
- Staffing – whilst recruitment and appointment of new staff is the responsibility of the Headteacher, the total number of staff employed remains the Trustee boards responsibility. They appoint the Headteacher and carry out the performance management of the Headteacher each year. Retention of good staff and leadership planning is an important consideration for the Trustee Board.
Roles and Responsibilities 2024-25
Members:
| Name | Initials | Date appointed |
| David Butler | DB | 26.09.2023 |
| Phil Bedson | PB | 06.04.2020 |
| Kate Ray | KR | 28.10.2020 |
| Caroline Smithers | CS | 28.10.2020 |
| Charlotte Rossington | CR | 14.03.2023 |
| Lianne Aherne | LA | 29.10.2024 |
Other Attendees:
| Name | Initials | Role | Date Appointed |
| Georgii Gale | GG | Streets Accountants | |
| Heather Brunsden | HB | Chief Financial Officer | |
| Emma Watkinson | EW | Clerk | 01.09.2024 |
Board of Trustees' Members:
| Name | Initials | Type of Trustee | Roles | Responsibilities | Date Appointed | Term of office end date | Attendance 2023-2024 |
| Claire Turner | CT | Ex-Officio | Head Teacher | Accounting Officer | 01.01.2023 | 8/8 | |
| Charlotte Rossington | CR | Member appointed Trustee |
CO-Chair of Board of Trustees FAR Committee Member Head Teacher Performance Review Panel |
29.01.2024 | 28.10.2025 | 8/9 | |
| Lianne Aherne | LA | Co-opted Trustee |
Co-chair of Board of Trustees FAR Committee Member Pay Committee Member |
Safeguarding | 15.06.2023 | 14.06.2027 | 7/8 |
| Andy Parkinson | AP | Co-opted Trustee |
FAR Committee Member Pay Committee Member |
09.01.2024 | 08.01.2028 | 5/5 | |
| Kelly Hall | KH | Co-opted Trustee | SEND | 23.01.2024 | 22.01.2028 | 0/2 | |
| Lucy Wherrell | LW | Parent Trustee | Vice Chair of Board of Trustees | 03.12.2023 | 02.12.2027 | 3/3 | |
| Emily Brown | EB | Parent Trustee | Health and Safety | 11.10.2024 | 10.10.2028 | N/A | |
| Louise Connolly | LC | Member appointed Trustee |
Chair of FAR Committee Pay Committee Member Head Teacher Performance Review Panel |
Finance | 09.10.2024 | 08.10.2028 | N/A |
Scheme of Delegation 2024-25
Manor Leas Infant School
Scheme of Delegation & Roles and Responsibilities 2024- 25
Members Kate Ray, Caroline Smithers, Phil Bedson, David Butler, Charlotte Rossington, Lianne Aherne
Trustees Charlotte Rossington, Lianne Aherne, Lucy Wherrell, Andy Parkinson, Kelly Hall, Louise Connolly, Emily Brown
Vacancy: 3 Member appointed trustees
| Key | ||
| A Accountable (and approver) |
Answerable for the task being delivered. Delegates the task to those responsible. There should be only one group/person accountable for each task/decision. |
|
| R Responsible |
Responsible for the delivery. Does the work to achieve the task. Can be shared between groups/individuals. |
|
| C Consulted |
Needs to be involved before the decision is made. Communication is two-way – these are important stakeholders or have relevant specialist knowledge. |
|
| *Highlighted |
|
|
| BOARD BUSINESS | Members | Trust Board | FAR | HT |
| Appoint/remove members | *A/R | |||
| Appoint/remove trustees | *A/R | *A/R | ||
| Elect chair of trustees | *A/R | |||
| Appoint and remove board committee chairs | *A/R | |||
| Establish and review trust governance structure | *A/R | C | ||
| Agree named safeguarding trustee | *A/R | |||
| Agree named SEND trustee lead | *A/R | |||
| Appoint/remove board committee chairs | *A/R | C | ||
| Appoint/remove board committee members | *A/R | C | ||
| Appoint trust governance professional | *A/R | R | ||
| Articles of association: review | *A/R | |||
| Articles of association: ratify | *A/R | |||
| Agree committee terms of reference | *A/R | |||
| Complete annual review of scheme of delegation | *A | |||
| Complete annual trust board self-review and skills audit | *A/R | |||
| Publish governance arrangements on trust and schools websites | *A | R | ||
| Ensure trust/school website is compliant and effective | *A | R | ||
| Submit annual report on the performance of the trust to members and publish | A | R | ||
| Commission external review of board effectiveness every three years. | C | A/R | C |
| VISION AND STRATEGY | ||||
| Determine trust's vision, strategy and key priorities | A/R | R | ||
| Determine trust-wide policies which reflect the trust's ethos and values | *A | R | ||
| Establish risk register and conduct regular review | *A | R | ||
| Ensure engagement with stakeholders | A | R | ||
| FINANCE AND ESTATES | ||||
| Appoint and remove external auditors | *A/R | C | ||
| Appoint and performance manage chief financial officer | *A | R | ||
| Produce trust's scheme of financial delegation | *A/R | |||
| Receive external auditors report | *A | R | ||
| Action recommendations made by external auditors | *A | R | ||
| Produce annual report and accounts in line with the Charity Commission's Statement of Recommended Practice | ||||
| Submit ESFA required reports and returns | *A | R | ||
| Agree budget plan to support delivery of trust strategic priorities | *A | C | R | |
| Monitor trust budget | *A | C | R | |
| Carry out benchmarking and trust-wide value for money evaluation | C | A/R | ||
| Agree reporting and monitoring arrangements for trust budgets | *A | C | R | |
| Approve trust-wide estate vision, strategy and asset management plan | *A/R | C | R | |
| Monitor school estate to ensure it is safe and well maintained | *A | R | R | |
| Review monthly management accounts | *A/R | C | ||
| HUMAN RESOURCES | ||||
| Appoint and dismiss Head teacher/accounting Officer | *A | |||
| Performance manage Headteacher | *A/R | |||
| Agree Headteacher pay and reward | *A/R | |||
| Review and agree staff appraisal procedure and pay progression | A | R | ||
| Determine school staffing structure | C | C | A/R | |
| Trust wide pay policy, terms and conditions of employment | *A | R | ||
| Determine disciplinary and capability policies | *A | R | ||
| Implement disciplinary and capability procedures - Headteacher | A/R | |||
| Implement disciplinary and ability - all staff | A | R | ||
| Approval of exit payments/early retirement/ pension discretion (above a certain threshold) | *A | C | ||
| EDUCATION | ||||
|
Approve trust curriculum and curriculum policy |
A | R | C | |
| Ensure high standards of teaching and learning | A | R | R | |
| Delivery of curriculum | A | R | ||
| Set targets for trust outcomes | A | R | C | |
| Plan and deliver individual school improvement interventions and strategies | A | R | ||
| Agree trust behaviour policy | C | A/R | C | |
| Implement behaviour policy | A | R | ||
| Review permanent and fixed-term exclusions | *A/R | |||
| Agree admissions policy | *A | R | C | |
| Admissions appeal process | *A | R | ||
| Determine complaints policy | *A/R | C | C | |
| Implement complaints procedures | *A/R | R | R | |
| COMMUNITY | ||||
| Developing stakeholder partnerships across the trust | A | R | C | |
| Developing stakeholder partnerships at school level | C | C | ||
|
Full Board of Trustees |
|
Oversight of all of school’s work, in accordance with the school’s Articles - Memorandum of association (MOA), Terms of Reference and Scheme of Delegation, including:
|
|
FAR (Finance, Audit & Risk) Committee |
|
The main duties of the Committee are as follows:
|
|
Panels |
Trustee(s) |
|
Headteacher Appraisal |
Charlotte Rossington, Louise Connolly and external advisor Lucy Wilson |
|
Performance & Pay Committee |
Lianne Aherne, Andy Parkinson, Louise Connolly |
|
Disciplinary Panel |
To be appointed as and when required |
|
Appeals Panel |
To be appointed as and when required |
|
Admissions/Exclusion Appeals Panel |
To be appointed as and when required |
|
Strategic Priority 2024-25 |
Trustee Leads |
School Leads |
|
Note: Trustee Monitoring visits 3 x per year, except for Safeguarding & Health & Safety which are required 6 x per year. |
||
|
Priority 1 – Educational Outcomes 1. Increase the number of pupils in KS1 who are achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, particularly pupils eligible for pupil premium
Increase the number of Y1 pupils who are achieving the expected standard in the phonics screening check, to be in line with national expectations, particularly pupils eligible for pupil premium |
All trustee through data and presentation by subject leads at FGB meetings,
Louise Connolly focus on reading |
Karen Botham – English Lead
Michelle Yangwe – Maths Lead |
|
Priority 2- Behaviour 2.Develop the whole-school behaviour approach to ensure that the school is meeting the needs of all pupils, low level disruption is addressed and no child is left behind in their learning
|
Charlotte Rossington
All trustees on visits into school |
All school staff and pupils |
|
Priority 3 – Curriculum 3.Ensure the curriculum is bespoke and refined to fully meet the needs of the children throughout school
Develop the use outdoor learning across the school |
Andy Parkinson
Kelly Hall |
Karen Botham Key stage 1 lead
Subject leads
|
|
Priority 4 – Governance 4.Improve Trustee engagement and profile in school through monitoring and evaluation and triangulation of evidence in line with subject leaders
Trustees will explore and identify whether joining a MAT is appropriate for the school at this point in time
|
Charlotte Rossington
Lianne Aherne
All trustees |
Claire Turner
Emma Watkinson |
|
Safeguarding
Health and Safety
Finance
SEND
Wellbeing |
Lianne Aherne
Emily Brown
Louise Connolly
Kelly Hall
Lucy Wherrell |
Claire Turner
Andrew Botham
Heather Brunsden
Emma Watkinson
Claire Turner |