Agenda item

The Director of Community and Children’s Services to be heard.

The Director of Community and Children’s Services provided members with a verbal update on the issue of governance structures for the City of London Corporation’s academies. He noted that he considered the current structure for the existing City academies was not sustainable given the level of proposed expansion, and that he aimed to implement a structure that provided the necessary support, scrutiny and challenge to the academies, and that this approach arose in part from feedback from the Department for Education. He noted that this would involve a rationalisation of the current structures, which included a multi-academy trust, single academy trusts, and co-sponsor relationships. He added that the current approach to governance made it difficult for the Education Board to exercise control over and provide guidance to City academy local governing bodies.

Members welcomed the proposed rationalisation of City academy governance, and commented that the City Corporation should be clear on the optimal number of academies it chose to sponsor, as well as tailoring its approach to match the expectations of its co-sponsors.

Alderman Lord Mountevans arrived at this point of the meeting.