Governance

Making a Difference

Leadership is the most important determinant in the success of a school. We know that supporting effective governance is critical to sustaining school success. Effective challenge, effective support and accurate self-evaluation are key to any school.

Wellspring Academy Trust can support:

Governor recruitment
Governor training and development
Governor networks
An annual cycle of monitoring, evaluation and review
Governor toolkits
‘The OFSTED perspective’ for Governors
Robust Trust-level corporate governance
Exceptional School Improvement expertise
Governor Induction, training and support
An active commitment to excellent Governance at school level.

Governance of Wellspring Academy Trust

Wellspring Academy Trust is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board is comprised of:

Board-appointed Directors
Directors appointed by the Trust’s Sponsor

Trustees

Name	Commenced post	Date re – appointed (if applicable)	Current Term of Office (years)	Appointed By
Hearl Lenton	July 2014	July 2018	4	Board Appointed
Gordon Beever	July 2014	July 2018	4	Board Appointed
Molly Beever	September 2017		3	Board Appointed
Colin Booth OBE	October 2015		4	Board Approved
Stewart Harper	January 2016	September 2017	4	Board Approved
Yiannis Koursis	May 2016		4	Sponsor Appointed
Richard Owen	October 2017		4	Board Appointed
Mark Townley	July 2015		4	Board Appointed
Mark Wilson	June 2014		N/A	Ex-officio
Cheryl Hobson	August 2018		4	Board Appointed
Neil Clephan OBE	August 2018		4	Board Appointed

Leavers	Date
Jenny Davis	August 2017
Cheryl Hobson	May 2017
Chris Webb	May 2017
Dave Whitaker	December 2017
George Krawiec	July 2018
Ian Bennett Hague-Brown	July 2018
Michael Sanderson	July 2018
Warwick Firmin	July 2018
Dianne Murray	July 2018

Register of Directors and Senior Staff Interests

Trustees’ Attendance 2016/17

Trustee	Meetings attended	Out of a Possible
Gordon Beever	2	5
Ian Bennett Hague-Brown	4	5
Colin Booth	3	5
Jenny Davis	4	5
Warwick Firmin	4	5
Stewart Harper	5	5
Cheryl Hobson	1	3
Yiannia Koursis	3	5
Hearl Lenton (Chair)	4	5
Dianne Murray	4	5
Michael Sanderson	4	5
Mark Townley	2	5
Chris Webb	1	3
Dave Whitaker	4	5
Mark Wilson (CEO)	5	5

Academy Governing Bodies

In contrast to some Trusts, Wellspring believes in strong local governance. We believe that autonomy powers excellence.

Academies have their own Governing Bodies. Through the agreed Scheme of Delegation, the Governing Body is empowered to make decisions in the best interests of the children and the community it serves.

What is the difference?

We are closer to our Governing Bodies than a Local Authority can be. We have a closer relationship. We can provide more support.
In contrast to some Trusts, we believe very strongly in the principle of Local Governance.
Wellspring Academy Trust is committed to achieving the very best for every child. We will challenge where we think you can do even better.
We will ask for key information at key times during the year – helping the Governing Bodies to maintain an efficient Business Cycle that meets finance regulations and OFSTED requirements.
We help Governing Bodies to maintain a rigorous focus of the key levers of School Improvement.
Five places on the Trust Board are reserved for Governing Body Chairs.
Robust corporate governance and rigorous financial management offer safeguards and assurance.
Professional challenge and firmly established systems for audit, monitoring and review.
The Trust’s Governance department provides clerking and other governance services to Governing Bodies.
Quality Assurance of Governance and a toolkit for Self-Review.

We will provide: