An experienced team

Trust & Governing Body

About the Trust Board

Members

Members and the Board of Trustees exercise their responsibilities through a committee structure, which oversees all facets of the Trust simultaneously. The CEO acts on behalf of Trustees, guaranteeing effective leadership at all levels to include maintaining development plans, review, and reporting arrangements.

Each school has a PCCAB, which will function in accordance with the authority granted to it by a Scheme of Delegation in the best interest of each provision.

The Members are the individuals appointed to hold the property of the charity of the Trust. Most of the powers and responsibilities of the Members are currently delegated to the Trust Board. The members can appoint (and can remove and replace) up to 5 directors.

The Trust currently consists of:

• Five Members. The Members have been appointed with relevant skills and experience to facilitate the effective development and operation of the Trust.
• The Members meet at least twice a year, including the Annual Directors Meeting in the autumn term to approve the annual accounts. Additional meetings may be convened to appoint or reappoint directors.

Meet our Trust Members

Trustees

Trustees oversee the operation of the Trust on behalf of the Members of the Trust. The Trustees will execute all of the responsibilities and powers of the Trust, and will delegate responsibilities and powers to committees which include the PCCAB of each school according to the scheme of delegation.

The Trustees are appointed to uphold the values and vision of the Trust and provide the skills and experience the Trust Board needs to fulfil its legal responsibilities. The Trust Board will be kept as lean as possible to enable effective decision-making and to effectively identify priorities for the Trust. The Trust Board will rigorously hold to account both the CEO and the PCCABs for the performance of each academy. The Trust Board will consist of the:

• Chair of the Trust Board (Roberta Brittle)
• The CEO– ex-officio
• The Chair of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee (Lead Finance Trustee) – Martin Scoble (September 2024)
• The Chair of the Standards and Performance Committee-  Barbara O’Brien (September 2024)
• The Chair of the Governance and Personnel Committee – Roberta Brittle
• Community Trustee
• Community Trustee
• Community Trustee
• Community Trustee
• Community Trustee

The Chair is Roberta Brittle.

Meet our Trustees

Parent Carer Community Advisory Board (PCCAB)

PCCABs are being established this academic year and will have delegated the duties of consulting with the Headteacher / Head of School and Trust Board on the effective management and performance of schools, and are constituted such that they are close to and representative of the communities those schools serve. The members of the PCCABs are referred to as PCCAB members. The Headteacher / Head of School of each school will ultimately be accountable to the Board for the management and performance of each school, but will also be supported in this duty by the PCCABs. The Headteacher/Head of School and/or the Standards and Performance Committee will consult the PCCABs on matters within their remit and will feed their opinions back to the Board, however the PCCABs will not bear final accountability for these matters.

To ensure the voices of all stakeholders in the local community are represented, each PCCAB will be constituted as follows:

• Co-Chairs of the PCCAB – Mariza Horne (SEND Link) and Emily Kunman (Safeguarding Link)
• Headteacher / Head of School – ex-officio
• Up to six PCCAB members elected by parents – Amy Dorey
• One teaching staff member – Ciara Picton
• One non-teaching staff member (elected by non-teaching staff)
• Up to two PCCAB members appointed by the Trustees.
• Community PCAB Members – Rev Katrina Hutchins and Judith Bambrough

PCCAB members are required to meet at least termly to conduct their delegated responsibilities. They primarily work to set and refine each school’s vision as an instantiation of the Trust’s vision, review and refine school objectives and a school improvement plan (in collaboration with the Standards and Performance Committee) with clear targets and goals, review school financial stability, identify risks to school performance and report them to the Board, and to fulfil statutory obligations surrounding safeguarding, SEND, inclusion and the Prevent Duty.

The matters on which PCCABs may be consulted by the Headteacher/ Head of School and/or Standards and Performance Committee (their remit) includes:

• Applying Trust vision and ethos to individual schools
• Implementing Trust policies and procedures i.e. curriculum policy, behaviour policy, exclusions policy, etc.
• Scrutinising relevant data regarding behaviour, including suspension and exclusion decisions
• Act as a point of challenge for decisions taken by the Headteacher/Head of School
• Establishing a school risk register and conducting regular reviews
• Agree reporting and monitoring arrangements for school budgets
• Agree school budget plan to support strategic priorities
• Assist in monitoring school estates
• Plan and deliver individual school improvement interventions and strategies
• Develop stakeholder partnerships across the school and Trust levels
• Appoint safeguarding link person

Safeguarding is also a crucial function of PCCABs. Each PCCAB will review safeguarding measures at their school to ensure strict adherence to and compliance with local, Trust, and national safeguarding standards, policies and regulations, primarily through the commissioning of an annual review of school safeguarding and the appointment of a safeguarding link person for each school. This person is responsible for monitoring safeguarding areas including bullying, racist and homophobic incidents, child-on-child abuse, and mandatory training in safeguarding and the Prevent Duty.

Meet our PCCAB Members

Ciara Picton – Assistant Head

I have over nine years of experience in teaching from Reception to Year 2, have been a part of a senior leadership team with responsibility for Key Stage 1 and have been a Year 2 moderator across Derbyshire for over 3 years. I am Assistant Head and EYFS lead at Overstone Gate Primary School and have a child who is in the first cohort of learners at OGPS.

I am passionate about creating a supportive learning environment where every child is encouraged to flourish. I believe in creating a school atmosphere where everyone feels valued and inspired to do their best.

Amy Dorey – Parent Member

As a mother to one founding learner of Overstone Gate Primary school and to another future learner, Amy is passionate about the development of the school, the success of its pupils and the local community.

Amy has a background in educational marketing having worked with schools across the UK from independent boarding schools to special and additional needs settings.