Agenda item

Governance of the City’s Sole Sponsored Academies – proposing the creation of a new corporate governing body for all of the City of London Corporation’s existing and future sole-sponsored academies.

10 December 2015

(C) Governance of City Sole Sponsored Academies

The City of London Corporation is the sole sponsor for one secondary academy and one primary academy (Redriff, affiliated to Southwark Academy), and had been approved to progress to the ‘Pre-opening Phase’ for two new primary academies, for which the City Corporation would also be sole sponsor. The Corporation also co-sponsors Hackney Academy (with KPMG) and the City of London Academy Islington (with City University). The current structure reflected the organic development of the City of London Corporation academy offer over the last decade. Overall it lacked coherence and did not reflect best practice in academy governance as recommended by the Department for Education.

The Policy and Resources Committee and Education Board recommended that to address this lack of coherence and deliver best practice in the governance of the City of London academies, the existing Southwark Multi Academy Trust (MAT) be ‘scaled up’ into the new corporate governing body for all of the City of London Corporation’s existing and future sole sponsored academies, with an associated change of name to become the “City of London Academies”.

Responding to queries raised Deputy Bill Fraser, the Chairman provided reassurance that there was no intention to appropriate any reserves or funds set aside by the City of London Academy Southwark (CoLAS) to pay for any other school’s activities. He added that he would expect the sixth form expansion plans at CoLAS to continue, but noted that this would ultimately be a matter for the Multi-Academy Trust’s Board of Trustees to decide upon. Similarly, the character of each of the individual schools would also be a matter for the Board of Trustees, but each should of course have their own characters reflecting the roles they play in their local communities. The Chairman clarified that the proposals being made were not intended in any way to threaten what the Academies had achieved to date but were simply concerned with putting in place strong governance arrangements.

Resolved – That:

i)       The City of London Corporation have one legal entity to continue to deliver the academies for which it is sole-sponsor and that this entity should be the City of London Academies (Southwark) (“Southwark MAT”);

ii)     The City of London Primary Academy Islington (COLPAI) undertaking should be transferred to Southwark MAT and the COLPAI company be wound up and this recommendation be made to the members of that company who are all City Corporation officers and elected Members;

iii)    Consistent with (1) above the City Corporation recommend to the Southwark MAT that the company change its name to the “City of London Academies” and that the registered office be transferred to the Guildhall;

iv)    The City Corporation as sponsor exercises its rights to make the following changes to the Southwark MAT’s company members –

a.   by replacing the current members (whether by resignation or removal); and

b.   to appoint up to four new members of the company, to be the Chairman and a Deputy Chairman of the Policy Committee, and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Education Board.

v)     It be recommended to the members of the company, once appointed under 4 (b) above, that they adopt new Articles of Association effective on a named date (“the transition date”) which reflect the current Department for Education (DfE) model multi-academy trust (MAT) Articles of Association and which provide for a smaller Board of Directors/Trustees which will be responsible for the strategic direction of the company (and which provide the City Corporation as sponsor with the right to appoint and to remove up to six Directors/Trustees, the City Corporation having majority appointment rights), which Board will hold the ultimate legal accountability for the educational outcomes of the company’s academies, the management of its finances and all regulatory compliance;

vi)    Subject to the company members adopting new Articles of Association as proposed, that at the transition date –

a.  the City Corporation agree to be appointed as a corporate member of the company and to appoint the Town Clerk (and his representatives appointed under the City Corporation’s Officer Scheme of Delegations) to be its authorised representative(s) for that purpose;

b.  the existing Board of Directors be removed; and

c.   the City Corporation appoint up to six Directors/Trustees to consist of two Directors/Trustees nominated by the Policy Committee, two Directors/Trustees nominated by the Education Board, and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Education Board;

vii)   The Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Education Board be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Director of Community and Children’s Services and the Comptroller and City Solicitor, to take any other decisions relating to the above (including any negotiations with the Department for Education) necessary to implement the proposal that the City have one academy trust company to deliver its sole-sponsored academies.