Local governing bodies
As one of the largest volunteer forces in the country, school governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to children’s education, raise school standards and are key to the all round effectiveness of a a school.
Local Governing Body (LGB) means a committee of a trust board with multiple academies that is established as such under the academy trust’s articles of association.The governing body of a school that is part of a multi-academy trust, such as ELAN is different from that of a single academy school or a community school.
The main difference is that the Trust is the accountable body and ultimate decision-making body and not the local governors, or local governance tier as they are known, and it is the ELAN trustees who decide how governance works at individual academy level and what responsibilities are delegated to the local tier. Simply put, the local governing body is a committee of, and dependent on, the trust board for any decision-making powers.
The Local Governing Body is an informed local community resource with a unique local perspective and a delegated responsibility to provide challenge and support to each individual school and ELAN. Our local governors are the “eyes and ears” of the trustees in the local community and a vital component for supporting school improvement and engaging with school leaders and the community.
The role of the LGB is to:
implement and administer ELAN’s policies at local level and report termly to the Board of Trustees
monitor and be accountable for the performance and standards of the school to Ofsted
govern exclusions in accordance with appropriate regulations
consider budget monitoring information and proposals
act as a critical friend to the headteacher
represent the views of the community.
Each school has a clerk, chair and vice chair as well as individual governors representative of staff and community. ELAN chairs and vice chairs make up a Chair's Forum who meet termly too to share best practice, train and network. Governors are expected to question and challenge academy leadership and to hold them to account.
Our governors provide an exceptional level of challenge and support to each school on a voluntary basis and are an essential part of what we do as a trust.
The LGB Terms of Reference outlines the membership, quorum and proceedings for governor meetings. The terms of reference are reviewed annually by the trust Board.
All governors must declare their pecuniary interests. A person's pecuniary interests are their business interests (for example their employment, trade, profession, contracts, or any company with which they are associated) and wider financial interests they might have (for example trust funds, investments, and assets including land and property). Pecuniary interests involve an actual or potential financial gain or loss.