St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Trust Governance

The academy is part of the Catholic Church and is to be conducted as a Catholic Academy in accordance with Canon Law and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Diocese of Clifton and in particular: 

1. Religious education is to be in accordance with the teachings, doctrines, disciplines and general and particular norms of the Catholic Church 
2. Religious worship is to be in accordance with the rites, practices, discipline and liturgical norms of the Catholic Church; and 
3. At all times the academy is to serve as a witness to the Catholic faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ 

Within an academy Trust there are three tiers of governance

Members - their role includes ensuring the Trust is run as a Catholic educational trust.  They also appoint and remove Directors, call an annual general meeting and receiving the annual accounts. The members are: The Diocesan Bishop; the Clifton Catholic Diocesan Education Foundation; the Diocesan Commissioner and the Chief Operating Officer for the Diocese.

Directors -  are responsible for the strategic direction and policy development for the Trust. They have governance oversight of both the Trust and its schools. Directors take decisions that are in the best interests the MAT as a whole and are not representative of any one school.

Local Governance Committees – Each local governance committee is responsible for monitoring the educational standards and the ethos and values in each school, alongside monitoring any other areas which are delegated to them by the Directors.

Our Local Governance Committee

As a member of the Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust the school has its own local governance committee. Our Local Governance Committees operates under a Scheme of Delegation which is determined by the Directors. Our local governance committee is responsible for monitoring the educational standards and the ethos and values in the school as well as having specific responsibilities for safeguarding, admissions, health and safety and designated curriculum areas.

Scheme of Delegation

Please follow this link to find the scheme of delegation: Governance | The Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust (thedcet.com)

Up to 10 Governors recruited for their skills, knowledge, and experience in the following categories: 

• 6 x Foundation
• 2 x Staff (including Headteacher)
• 2 x Parent 

The Local Governing Committee meets six times per year.