WHAT IS AN ACADEMY?
General overview of an Academy:
- An Academy Trust (AT) is a charitable company limited by guarantee.
- It must have at least three Members (those people who establish the AT). In law, the Members are the owners.
- The Members shall attend and vote at general meetings of the AT and be responsible for appointing the ATβs Board of Directors, appointing the auditors and approving the accounts.
- The Board of Directors manage the AT.
- PLEASE NOTE the terminology used in the legislation and model documentation is confusing: TRUSTEES = DIRECTORS.
- Sub-committees can be created (e.g. finance, curriculum) which have delegated powers and report to the Trustees. For a subcommittee to be quorate, there must be a majority of Trustees sitting on the sub-committee.
The D f E recognise four possible structures for academies:
- Single Academy;
- Umbrella Trust;
- Multi Academy Trust; and
- Collaborative Trust
Current policy encourages Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) for groups of schools wishing to convert together.
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