Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Dawn Elliott and Professor Richard Verrall.

There were no declarations.

To elect a Chair for the 2021-22 academic year in line with Article 82.

RESOLVED – That Tijs Broeke be appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the 2021/22 academic year.

To elect a Vice-Chair for the 2021-22 academic year in line with Article 82.

RESOLVED – That Roy Blackwell be appointed as Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees for the 2021/22 academic year.

There were no updates.

To agree the public minutes of the meetings held on 8th July and 21st July 2021.

RESOLVED,That the public minutes of the previous meetings held on 8th and 21st July 2021 be approved as a correct record.

Matters arising

The Chair reported that a skills audit of Trustees was in progress and a replacement would be sought following Edward Lord’s resignation from the Board and it was anticipated that a new trustee would be appointed in time for the next Board meeting to be held on 16th December 2021.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Trustees considered a report of the Town Clerk outlining actions outstanding from previous meetings.

Officers reported that link Trustees for each school would be allocated at scrutiny meetings and the logistics of roving Board meetings was also being considered.  Trustees suggested that the December 2021 Board meeting could be held at City of London Academy Shoreditch Park and the March 2022 meeting held at City of London Primary Academy Islington.

The Chair requested Officers to agree a schedule as soon as possible so that the necessary arrangements could be put in place.  As a general rule, it was suggested that Board meetings should be held in person and that Committee Chairs should have the flexibility to decide whether to hold meetings in person/hybrid/virtually.

RESOLVED,

1. That the report be noted.
   
   
2. That Officers make arrangements for the December 2021 Board meeting to be held at City of London Academy Shoreditch Park and the March 2022 meeting held at City of London Primary Academy Islington.
   
   
3. That as a general rule Board meetings should be held in person and Committee Chairs should have the flexibility to decide whether to hold meetings in person/hybrid/virtually.

Report of the Chief Financial Officer.

Trustees considered a report of the Chief Financial Officer setting out key Trust policies for review to ensure that policies are appropriate for Trust operations and consistent across the Trust.

Officers reported that most policies had not changed much and subject to approval by the Board, would be circulated to all Trust schools, uploaded to the Trust and school websites and also made available in a shared document drive. Consultation would take place in respect of policies with a significant impact on schools (eg staff benefits)

RESOLVED, That the following policies be approved:

·           Safeguarding and Child Protection

·           Complaints Procedures - addition

·           Freedom of Information

·           Data Protection

Report of the Town Clerk.

Trustees considered a report of the Town Clerk seeking to establish Committee for the 2021/22 academic year and also agree terms of reference.

Trustees agreed the committees, terms of reference and membership.

RESOLVED,  

1. That the committees and terms of reference as appended to the report be agreed.

2.   That Trustees be appointed to committees as set out below:
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·          Audit & Risk Committee

Peter Bennett, Edward Benzecry, Tijs Broeke, Dawn Elliott, Alderman Robert Howard (Chairman).

·          Finance & Operations Committee

Peter Bennett (Chairman), Edward Benzecry, Tijs Broeke, Dawn Elliott.

·         People, Equality & Inclusion Committee
Roy Blackwell, Tijs Broeke, Dawn Elliott (Chairman), Lucas Green.

·         Remuneration Committee
Roy Blackwell, Tijs Broeke (Chairman), Dawn Elliott.

·         Standards & Accountability Committee
Edward Benzecry, Roy Blackwell (Chairman), Tijs Broeke, Caroline Haines, Professor Richard Verrall.

To receive the public minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee meeting held on 1st July 2021.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes of the Audit & Risk Committee meeting held on 1^st July 2021 be noted.

To receive the public minutes of the Finance and Operations Committee meeting held on 1st July 2021.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes of the Finance & Operations Committee meeting held on 1^st July 2021 be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Trustees considered a report of the Director of Academy Development outlining projections for demand in school places across Trust Schools. In presenting the report, Officers highlighted that

• There was increased demand for primary places in Planning Area 2 where Galleywall and Redriff Schools were located and this increased demand was projected to continue in the medium term;
  
  
• Overall, there were 540 Sixth Form vacancies across Trust Schools;

• If Trust schools continued to outperform neighbouring schools, this would maintain demand for places.

• There were concerns regarding the lower secondary admission numbers for Highbury Grove, Southwark and Hackney

In response to observations and questions from Trustees, Officers suggested that the admissions data should be considered by Local Governing Bodies and that discussions should take place at the earliest opportunity regarding scope for Galleywall School becoming a feeder school.

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RESOLVED, That the projected demand for primary and secondary school places in local authorities where there are existing City sponsored Academies, as well as the trends in parental preference for each City sponsored academy be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Trustees considered a report of the Director of Academy Development providing details of progress on the Trust’s ambitions for the Academy development programme

Officers reported that City of London Primary Academy Islington had now opened on the new site and pupils, parents and staff were happy with the new facilities.

RESOLVED – That the progress of the Academies Development Programme to date be noted.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

MOTION – That the public be excluded for the remaining items of business as they are likely to involve discussion on matters deemed commercially sensitive to the City of London Academies Trust.

RESOLVED, That the public be excluded from the remaining items of business which relate to individuals and/or is commercially sensitive.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meetings held on 8th July 2021.

The non-public minutes of the meetings held on 8th and 21st July 2021 were approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Trustees considered a report of the Town Clerk listing outstanding non-public actions from previous meetings.

Trustees considered an update on action taken under delegated authority.

To receive the non-public minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee meeting held on 1st July 2021.

The non-public minutes of the Audit & Risk Committee meeting held on 1^st July 2021 were noted.

To receive the non-public minutes of the Finance and Operations Committee meeting held on 1st July 2021.

The non-public minutes of the Finance & Operations Committee meeting held on 1^st July 2021 were noted.

Report of the Chief Executive Officer.

Trustees considered an Executive Summary of the Chief Executive Officer outlining key issues for the Board.

Report of the Chief Financial Officer.

Trustees considered a report of the Chief Financial Officer flagging key financial and operational issues the Trust.

Report of the Chief Standards Officer.

Trustees considered a report of the Chief Standards Officer summarising examination results based on centre assessed grades across Trust schools.

Report of the Human Resources Director.

Trustees considered a report of the Human Resources Director regarding key HR matters. 

Report of the Director of Estates and Facilities Management

Trustees considered a report of the Director of Estates and Facilities Management flagging estates and facilities management issue across Trust schools.

Report of the Director of Information and Communication Technology.

Trustees considered an update from of the Director of Information Communication and Technology.

There were no non-public questions.

There was one item of urgent business.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 8th July and 21st July 2021.