The purpose of governance is to provide confident and strong strategic leadership which leads to robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance.

All governance boards, no matter what type of school or how many schools they govern, have three core functions

· Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

· Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and

· Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.

The Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees which delegates many responsibilities down to a Local Governing Board (LGB) for each of its schools. The Board of Trustees and the LGB are a collection of individuals who bring different skills, knowledge and expertise to governance but with a common motivation to be involved. We are all volunteers, committed to the children for whom we serve. Further information on the DCAT trustees can be found here.

Our LGB is made up of staff, parents and individuals from the local community.

We fulfil our duties by approving policies, reading documentation, attending meetings, visiting the school and talking to staff, pupils and parents. We meet as a full board 6-7 times per academic year, when we discuss strategic issues. We visit the schools regularly so we can base our work on a first-hand knowledge of the schools.

The LGB embraces the value of being a learning organisation at every level, and so, as governors, we undertake professional development to ensure we are as effective in our roles as possible.