Local Academy Councils

Each Local Academy Council is made of up of nine representatives who meet formally five times per year and report to the Trust.

The minimum membership number is set at 5 by the Trust. The maximum number is 9. The Trust has the powers to change this number or amend representation dependent on the needs of the school.

Currently the breakdown of categories set out in the Terms of Reference is

Up to 2 parent representatives
1 Headteacher
Up to 2 staff representatives (ideally 1 teaching and 1 non-teaching)
Up to 4 other members as appointed by the Trust

The Local Academy Councils must take due regard of staff and parental consultations for improvement within their settings

The Local Academy Councils work to the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation which outlines their powers and relationship with the Trust Board, CEO and Headteachers.

Local Academy Councils, as part of their governance role within the Scheme of Delegation, have delegated responsibility for four core functions:

Safeguarding: ensuring that school leaders comply with their duties under legislation
SEND: ensuring high quality, inclusive education that meets the needs of all pupils.
Standards: Holding leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and receiving information on the performance management of staff
Stakeholder engagement: ensuring that stakeholder voice is heard so that decision-making by the Board is supported by meaningful engagement

One further key area of responsibility for the Local Academy Council is as advocates for the growth of or improvements to the school:

Undertaking analysis of need within their school and providing evidenced business cases to the Trust central team on any requests for additional funding outside of the school’s delegated budget, in line with the Trust budget and financial planning policies.