The Trust Board meet regularly and have two committees, Finance and Operations (incorporating the Audit committee) and the Education Committee. Trustees are very clear on their remit, outlined in the Scheme of Delegation in both supporting and challenging the CEO and Executive Team.
STEP has commissioned three Governance Reviews, which have informed the structure. Each academy is supported by an Academy Committee, which oversees at least two academies. The remit of the Academy Committee focuses on safeguarding, curriculum and community engagement. Currently a medium-sized, successful Primary Academy Trust, STEP is committed to growing the Trust into a mixed MAT with a vision to provide the highest quality education for pupils aged 3-18.
STEP First is the notion that, first and foremost, everyone is committed to being part of STEP Academy Trust. All governors must be fully aligned to the Trust’s Mission, Vision and Values.
Although serving one or more particular Academies, governors are members of the wider STEP team. We are all one team, in one organisation, working towards the same goal: to be excellent in all we do. However, firmly embedded within this is absolute clarity. Each person understands their role, what it includes and, equally important, what it does not include. There is also a shared understanding of others within the structure.
Members: Guardians of STEP Academy Trust, their role is similar to that of shareholders of a limited company.
Trustees: The legal powers and responsibilities of the Trust are held with the STEP Board of trustees who are accountable to the Department for Education.
As a group, the Board set the overall strategic direction of the Trust. They scrutinise, challenge and support our educational and operational performance data, stability, and emerging risks/opportunities.Accordingly, the Board delegate certain powers and duties to Academy Committees. This is explained in our Scheme of Delegation.
Executive Team: comprised of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Executive Directors of Primary, Director of Operations and Regional Director East Sussex. Their role is to design and implement a strategic development plan, the STEP Compass, which will enable the mission and vision of the Trust to be achieved.
STEP Senior Leadership Team: comprised of the Executive Team, Executive Head Teachers, Head Teachers and the Heads of Service.
Guided by the STEP Compass, they are responsible for developing and implementing Academy Improvement Plans and Service Improvement Plans, so that all parts of the organisation achieve the STEP Standard.
Academy Committees: provide support and challenge to Academy Leadership Teams as the Academy implements policies and improvement plan priorities.
Academy Committees have a vital role to play in providing assurance to the Trustees that the standards they and the Executive Team set are being met and that resources are used efficiently to give every child the best possible education.
They also play a key role in ensuring all our academies are at the heart of their local communities.
Academy Leadership Team: comprised of the Executive Head Teacher, Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Assistant Head (where applicable), SENDCO and Business Advisor.
All layers of our governance structure understand their role. The Trust board is expected to concentrate on delivering its core strategic functions and fulfilling the requirements of its funding agreement. The CEO is expected to implement the strategic priorities of the trust board and oversee all operations of the MAT and fulfil their role as the accounting officer.
The Trust board and CEO have a shared responsibility for setting a future strategy that reflects the values of their MAT. At STEP Academy Trust we have articulated this within our growth statement and in our desire to become a mixed MAT, educating and improving the life chances of pupils from N-18. We have also set out the drive towards a hub model of growth. Using self-evaluation to identify priorities and agreed ‘red lines’ the board monitors the progress toward this goal.
Our organisation has a clear identity and is driven by the Mission, Vision, Values and by the Leadership Behaviours. Trustees, the CEO and senior executives share responsibility for promoting and communicating the values and ethos of the trust as one organisation, which are viewed as non-negotiable by individual academies regardless of their context and how much autonomy they are afforded.
As a charitable company limited by guarantee, STEP Academy Trust is defined by a number of key documents including: Articles of Association, Schemes of Delegation and Funding Agreements. In addition, the Trust is required to make public its accounts which are audited annually.