THE ACADEMY GOVERNING BODY
Academy Schools such as Brine Leas are state-funded independent schools outside the control of the Local Authority. The school is constituted as a limited company, "Brine Leas School" (also referred to as the "Academy Trust"), which owns the physical assets of the school and employs the staff. The Articles of Association of the school can be obtained from Companies House, or downloaded here. The Articles define "Members" of the Trust, which are effectively the Company Directors.
There is a close link between the "Members" and the Governing Body, as all Members must be serving Governors, and all Governors are eligible to become Members. Both central and local government are entitled to appoint additional Members under certain circumstances. Members perform some additional duties to meet company law requirements, but the primary role of the Governing Body has not been changed by the school's new status.
WHAT DOES THE GOVERNING BODY DO?
The role of the Governing Body is not to manage the school on a day-to-day basis - that responsibility belongs with the Head Teacher (known formally as the Principal in Academy language). The Governing Body take a more strategic view. This includes setting up a strategic framework for the school, setting its aims and objectives, setting policies and targets for achieving the objectives, reviewing progress and reviewing the strategic framework in the light of progress. They work closely with the Principal, and act as a "critical friend", providing advice and support, but also constructive challenge to the school as necessary.
The composition of the Academy Governing Body has many similarities with that of the previous maintained school, but also some important differences. The various types of Governor are described here, and we also have a list of current Governors and their terms of office.
GOVERNING BODY MEETINGS
Full meetings of the Governing Body are held approximately half-termly. These meetings are in two parts. Part 1 is a public discussion, and minutes of these meetings are below. Part 2 of the meeting is a confidential discussion, and these minutes are not available to the public. Typical topics for Part 2 would include personnel matters related to named staff members or future plans for the school that are not yet public information.
More detailed discussions are held in sub-committees that generally meet prior to the full Governor Body meetings. There are two Committees, one covering Curriculum, Teaching & Learning, Pastoral and Staffing matters, and the other concentrates on Site & Finance, Post-16 and Assessment, Recording & Reporting.
The PDF files on this site are identical to the original signed copies filed in school.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2010-11
ACADEMIC YEAR 2009-10
ACADEMIC YEAR 2008-9