Welcome
Welcome to the Federation of Abbey Schools Academy Trust’s Governing Body.
The Federation of Abbey Schools became an Academy on the 1st August 2011. This means that we are an Academy Trust and a registered charitable company limited by guarantee. Academy Governors are therefore subject to the duties and responsibilities of charitable trustees and those of Company Directors. Members of the Academy Trust signed a Memorandum of Association forming the Company.
We are a Multi Academy Trust, as we have both an Infant and Junior school, however we are termed as a ‘Hard Federation’ which means the Members and Directors are responsible for both.
Our Board of Directors (Trustees)
Our Governors have been appointed as Directors of the company and as an Academy we have entered into a Funding Agreement with the Education Funding Agency. The Directors are responsible for the proper stewardship of these funds and to ensure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in their use. We also have our own Articles of Association which set out the regulations for the company’s operations.
The Board of Directors is currently made up of 10 Directors drawn from staff, parents within the school and our wider community. (Please click on the membership tab for further details). The term of office is 4 years, although in accordance with the Articles, any Director can then be re-appointed or re-elected subject to remaining eligible and willing.
The Board of Directors meets as a whole group twice a term. We have two sub-committees which meet once a term and are as follows:
Audit & Finance (including Pay Review Sub Committee)
Please click here to access each sub-committees’ terms of reference.
A copy of minutes from each meeting can be accessed from the minutes tab and are added as soon as they are approved and become available. The Trust's public governance documents are available for inspection on request, please direct any queries to the Governance Professional (contact details below).
Key Roles and Responsibilities
The role of the Board of Directors is to help the school provide the best possible education for our pupils. We play a critical role in guiding, supporting and challenging our school leaders.
Our three guiding principles are:
- Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Hold our Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and pupils, as well as the performance management of staff
- Overseeing and ensuring effective financial performance.
There are a number of policies and other documents that the Governing Body is required to hold by law; these can be found in the policy section of this website. Click here to view policies
Executive Pay
No employees have a gross annual salary and benefits of £100,000 or more.
Contact Information
If you have any queries relating to the Governing Body, or would like to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact Mr S Leigh (Governance Professional)
Address: The Federation of Abbey Schools, Cleveland Terrace, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 8JA
Email: clerkgovernors@abbeyfed.darlington.sch.uk
Telephone: 01325 380748 (Option 2)
Our Chair of the Board is Mrs Emma de la Motte. Any correspondence for Emma should be submitted for the attention of Mr S Leigh
The Federation of Abbey Schools signed a funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education on conversion to an Academy in August 2011. Follow the links below for further information:
Abbey Infant School Supplemental Funding Agreement