Academy governance
The Academy Trust Governance Code is a voluntary and sector-led code for Academy Trusts in England.
The Academy Trust Governance Code
The Academy Trust Governance Code is a voluntary and sector-led code for Academy Trusts in England. It aims to improve and embed good governance practices across the sector, based on the principle that effective governance is essential to fulfilling a Trust’s aims and ambitions.
The full Code is available on a dedicated website.
It draws upon the Charity Governance Code, as well as relevant guidance from the Department for Education. It sets out one fundamental principle and seven further principles:
- Delivering the academy trust charitable objects
- Leadership
- Integrity
- Decision making, risk and control
- Board effectiveness
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Openness and accountability
Each of these principles includes a rationale, key outcomes and recommended practice, meaning that progress towards achieving them can be tracked and monitored.
The Code is a voluntary tool which Academy Trusts can choose to apply to their governance. It is designed to apply equally to all structures and sizes of Academy Trust, regardless of their religious or sponsorship arrangements. It is intended for use by all individuals involved in the governance of Academy Trusts, in particular governance professionals, clerks, boards and individual directors or trustees. It has been developed by a group of sector-based organisations, co-chaired by CGIUKI and the Confederation of School Trusts (CST).
The Code both supports existing good practice and encourages further reflection and progress. It is not only aspirational for individual organisations, but also, we hope, an indicator of an aspiration within and throughout the sector, and an acknowledgement of the power and significance of governance. Good governance leads to better outcomes for Trusts, for their regulators and funders, and crucially, for their staff and pupils.
