Our Governance Model

Structure, Governance and Management

The Academy Trust is a company limited by guarantee and an exempt charity. The charitable company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association of 29th July 2011 are the primary governing documents of the Academy Trust.

As a charity and a company limited by guarantee, SEBMAT (the Company) is governed by a Board of Directors (the Directors/Trustees) who are responsible for, and oversee, the management and administration of the Company and the academies run by the Company.

The directors are accountable to the members of the Academy Trust (Oxford Diocesan Board of Education, Bishop of Buckingham, a nomination from Eton College and the Chair of Directors) for the quality and effectiveness of education that is provided for the children and sound financial management and also to the Department for Education (DfE) which is the principal regulator of academies.

In order to discharge these responsibilities, the directors appoint people who are more locally based to serve on local governing bodies (LGBs) which have been established to ensure the good governance of each individual academy. Furthermore, the Scheme of Delegation gives the governing body authority to appoint governors.  Additionally, an overarching Finance and Resources Committee has been established to oversee and support each academy and to manage the financial affairs of SEBMAT as a whole. The LGBs and Finance and  Resources Committee are the “advisory bodies” for the Academy as required by the Master Funding Agreement entered into between the Company and the Secretary of State governing the affairs of the Company.