Skip to content ↓

Governance

Governance

Helping Children Step into their Greatness

Greensand Multi Academy Trust is a charitable company, limited by guarantee. The formal governance arrangements for the Trust are set out in its Articles of Association.

The Trust’s governance arrangements and the roles of, and delegation to, its various governance layers are described in the Scheme of Delegation.

Greensand Multi Academy Trust Roles & Responsibilities

The highest level of governance of the Trust is its Members. The Members take the place that shareholders would have in a commercial company. They act as the “guardians” of the Trust and play a limited but crucial role in safeguarding academy trust governance. Members hold the Trust Board to account for the effective governance of the Trust and assure themselves that the Trustees are acting in accordance with the Trust’s charitable object, namely to advance and provide education for the public benefit.

The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees, which is the body accountable for all schools within the Trust. The Trustees are the legal governors of the Trust and the directors of the charitable company. They are responsible for the operation and performance of all schools in the Trust. Their core functions are:

Holding executive leaders to account for the educational and financial performance of the Trust

The Trust Board creates robust accountability for executive leaders through rigorous analysis of performance data and financial information.

Setting the Trust’s vision and values, and the strategy for achieving this vision

The Trust’s vision centres on pupil progress and achievement. Working with senior leaders, the Board sets strategic objectives to help the Trust reach its goals.

Ensuring the Trust’s financial success and probity

Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the Trust operates with regularity, propriety and value for money, using only the resources it has available.

The Trustees deliver these functions via the Trust Board and the Board’s Central Committees.

Governance at our schools is fulfilled by the Governors and School Committees. Governors oversee the management aspects of their respective school, monitor the school’s performance and hold senior leaders to account to ensure high standards of achievement for all children and young people in the school. They work alongside senior leaders and support teachers to enable their school to run as effectively as possible.

Our Governors, Trustees & Members have a common goal to enrich the lives of every child in our Trust by providing inspiring and transformational learning, cultural and life experiences.

The Articles of Association, Scheme of Delegation and other key documents can be found on our Key Documents and Statutory Information page.

Governance Structure of Greensand MAT

Trust Board Central Committees

Education & Standards FARC Growth & Development Pay & HR Crisis Response
Alison Woodhouse (Chair) Sean Ruth (Chair) Simon Garrett (Chair) Nigel Gout (Chair) Nigel Gout (Chair)
Alex Burnet Ross Anderson Ross Anderson Mary McCrea Andy Graham
Simon Garrett Brigitte De Shong Nigel Gout Sean Ruth Mary McCrea
Andy Graham Andy Graham Sean Ruth Andy Tagart Sean Ruth
Mary McCrea Robert Gregson Daphne Sherriff Sue Wardlow Sue Wardlow
Sally Olah Daphne Sherriff Sue Wardlow Alison Woodhouse Alison Woodhouse
Sue Wardlow Andy Tagart

 

Greensand MAT Governance Events

In order to work together as a single governance community, to ensure a connection between our governance layers, and to maximise collaboration across the Trust, we hold three Greensand governance training events each year, one per term, for our Governors, Trustees, Members & Governance Professionals. Our Associate Member schools also benefit from these events.

We have both external speakers providing training at our sessions and, in order to draw on experience, expertise and practice from within the Trust, also have sessions run by staff members. We have a different focus for each event which provides an opportunity for continuing professional development, group discussion and sharing of best practice.

Please see the schedule below for this year's training events.

Greensand MAT Governance Events Schedule

 

Sean Ruth

Sean Ruth

Vice Chair of Trustees

Sean has worked in local government for most of his career most recently as the Deputy Chief Executive for West Sussex County Council alongside his role as the Chief Fire Officer for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.  His fire service career started in 1989 in central Birmingham before he moved to Surrey in 1996 where he served at a variety of locations across the county.  In 2007, Sean was seconded to central Government advising Ministers on national fire service policy. Sean is married and has two children who studied at Reigate School and have gone onto university. He coaches football in his spare time and manages a children’s team at South Park FC. Sean gained a doctorate in 2023 in organisational leadership which focused on governance, leadership & community resilience.