Governance
As a Co-operative Trust the DLP has a tiered approach to it’s governance.
Members:
Responsible for
- Receive the annual accounts prior to filing
- Receive the annual directors’ statement prior to legal filing
- Hold Trustees/Directors to account
- Propose and vote on resolutions
- Elect representatives to the Stakeholder Forum
- Support the Trust at events, represent the community
Members met annually at the AGM and have one vote per member. Our members consist of all parents/carers, staff and governors at each school and anyone can apply to be a member who has a legitimate interest in the schools or the Trust.
Trust Board:
Responsible for:
- Land and Assets of the Partnership
- Accountability/Monitoring of Performance
- Challenging as ‘critical friends’ to secure improvement
- Ensuring compliance with company and charity commission law
- Managing resources
- Determining the Terms of Reference for the strategy group
- Directors/Trustees have one vote and meet termly. Directors/Trustees are usually the Chair of Governors (or their representative) from each school and the Headteacher. Schools have two representatives and other partners have one.
Headteacher Strategy Group:
Responsible for:
- Ensuring the operational and organisational aspects of the DLP are fit for purpose ie resources, work of the Task Groups, communication across the DLP
- Setting the vision, values, strategy and policies
- Measuring impacts of the DLP’s planned actions
- Ensuring the sustainability of the DLP including financial viability
- Commissioning working parties/Task Groups
- Horizon scanning and keeping up to date with national and local agendas recognising implications for the DLP
- Ensuring that the DLP is reviewed annually and priorities are set
- Sharing and disseminating good practice
- Marketing and publicity aspects of the DLP
- Developing the timetable/calendar for DLP activities
The Headteacher Strategy group makes regular reports to the Trust Board. They meet monthly together with the Trust Facilitator
Individual School’s Governing Bodies
Whilst the Trust Board is responsible for the work the schools do together as a partnership the school’s governing body continue to have responsibility for the individual school’s development. The Trust has representative on the three former community schools who set up the Trust (Delph, Diggle and Knowsley). Two governors are foundation governors. The governing body also took on additional responsibilities when becoming a foundation school; they became the employer of the staff and have some additional duties for admissions.