Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that every academy has its own governing body.

Lord Nash

Under the Academies Act 2010 an academy is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is therefore required under the Companies Act 2006 to have members and a board of trustees/ directors.

In a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), individual academies do not have a separate legal identity and are all under the control of the trust board. Whether the board establishes local governing boards for each academy or local governing bodies to oversee groups of academies, and the range of functions delegated to any such boards, are both a matter for the board to determine – but in all cases the board remains accountable for all the academies in the MAT.

Fewer, higher quality and more highly skilled boards overseeing groups of schools is central to the Government’s strategy for improving the quality of governance. It is also the key to schools realising a wide range of other financial and educational benefits. While every academy may not therefore have its own governing body, our guidance in the Governance Handbook makes clear that boards should have meaningful and effective arrangements in place for engaging with and listening to the views and needs of parents, staff and the wider local community.