Victoria Lane Academy is proud to be a member of Tudhoe Learning Trust. Governance within the Trust is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, who have chosen to delegate some of their powers in relation to governance to the school’s Local Governing Body.
The Local Governing Body comprises of governors elected by parents, governors elected by staff, the Head Teacher and a number of governors appointed by the Board of Directors. The LGB meets termly and is responsible for the following functions:
- The strategic planning of the school;
- Monitoring the progress of the school’s School Improvement priorities;
- Holding the school’s senior leaders to account for the outcomes and progress of pupils;
- Monitoring the school’s budget;
- Monitoring the effectiveness of specific areas identified by Directors.
The LGB has no responsibility for making any changes to the budget once Directors have agreed it, or authorising any additional expenditure unless the Trust’s Executive Head Teacher and/or Chief Financial Officer have given prior approval.
As part of their work, governors make regular visits to the school and look at key areas of the school’s activity – pupil achievement and progress, safeguarding, use of Pupil Premium and PE grant funding, reading, attendance as well as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Through its work, the LGB promotes high standards and educational achievement for all pupils in the school.
Please read our welcome message from Mr David Bowes (Chair)
Victoria Lane Academy – LGB Information 2021-22
| Name | Representing | Monitoring Roles | Term of Office | Governor/Trustee at another school | Business Interests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Bowes - Chair | Director Appointed | Safeguarding including E-safety Special Needs Pupil Premium Allocations | 01/12/2020- 30/11/2024 | 1 Excellence MAT – Member and Director since 1/7/17 St Francis CE Junior School Newton Aycliffe - governor Five Stones Learning Federation - governor | TLT - Member and Director since 1/12/12 |
| Charlie Kay - Vice Chair | Director Appointed | Personal Development, Behaviour & Welfare | 30/4/2018- 29/4/2022 | - | None |
| Jane Richardson - Head Teacher | EX Officio | - | 7/1/2013 -Ongoing | Stephenson Way Academy & Nursery School – governor since September 2017 | Employee - TLT |
| Michael Morrison | Director Appointed | Health and Safety | 9/9/2019- 8/9/2023 | St Francis Junior School – governor since February 2019 | None |
| Anne Sawczyn | Director Appointed | English | 01/12/2020- 05/11/2024 | - | None |
| Angela Carr | Staff Elected | English | 07/04/2021- 31/03/2025 | - | Employee - TLT |
| Ann Gregg | Director Appointed | EYFS Mathematics | 06/06/2020- 05/06/2024 | Governor at St Joseph’s RCVA since 2011 Director at Coundon and Leeholme Early Years (CLEY) since 2007 | None |
| Paul Lawton | Parent Elected | PE & School Sport | 25/06/2019 - 24/06/2023 | - | None |
| Gareth Duff | Parent Elected | - | 25/06/2019 - 24/06/2023 | - | None |
| Audrey Ambrose | School Staff elected | - | 16/03/21 - 28/02/25 | - | - |
Victoria Lane Academy LGB information 20-21
None of our governors have declared any financial or non-financial interests. The Governing Body meets termly and our committees meet on a needs driven basis. Meetings are well attended and we have never had to cancel a meeting because it was not quorate. We always welcome suggestions, feedback & ideas from parents and carers. Please contact our Chair of Governors, David Bowes, via the school office if there is anything you would like to discuss. You can view further Governor information on the Tudhoe Learning Trust website.
Annual Governance Statement
Please view our Annual Governance Statement:
Trust Governance Information
Tudhoe Learning Trust is governed by a Board of Directors that exists to oversee all activity within the Trust, provide strategic leadership, planning and direction through goals and objectives that align with our organisational aims and ethos.
The Trust appoints a Local Governing Body to each school that aims to be a locally invested, interested and skilled group of people who will provide support and challenge to the school in line with Trust objectives, school improvement planning and evaluation. Local governing bodies will also support senior leaders in certain decision making processes to ensure fairness, consistency and transparency. Our Directors and Governors are unpaid volunteers who share our values and aims and are passionate about improving standards, outcomes and experiences for children as well as creating a desirable working environment for our staff.
Governors and directors perform a vital role and must set a high standard of conduct and expectation. More information about our Trust Governors Code of Conduct 2020-2021 can be found here.
How To Become A School Governor
Please contact the school or the Tudhoe Learning Trust if you require further information about Governor roles and responsibilities or would like to become a School Governor at Victoria Lane Academy.
Governor’s Attendance
Schools are required to display a record of Governor’s attendance at meetings for each school academic year.
KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
X – Not a member of the committee
Record of Attendance 2021-2022
| Name | Meeting | Meeting | Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr David Bowes | |||
| Mrs Jane Richardson | |||
| Mr Charlie Kay | |||
| Mrs Anne Sawczyn | |||
| Mr Michael Morrison | |||
| Mrs Angela Carr | |||
| Mr L Blake | |||
| Mrs Ann Gregg | |||
| Mr Paul Lawton | |||
| Mr Gareth Duff | |||
| Mrs Audrey Ambrose |
Archived Attendance
You can view our archived attendance on our website.
TUDHOE LEARNING TRUST SCHOOLS
SCHEME OF DELEGATION
Introduction
This Scheme of Delegation for Tudhoe Learning Trust sets out the delegated powers between the different bodies involved in the governance and operation of the Trust and member academies.
The bodies may include:
- Trust Members
- Trust Board of Directors
- Trust Audit Committee
- Local Governing Body
- Trust Chief Executive Officer
- Leadership group of Head Teachers
- Head Teacher of individual academies
The delegated powers are broken down into different levels in line with the Trust’s principles of governance, leadership and operation. The delegated autonomy for individual academies is aligned with the need for the Trust to fulfil its corporate responsibilities and accountabilities to the Department for Education (DfE), Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), Charities Commission, HMRC and Companies House.
The different levels of delegated power are listed below but it should be noted that not every task requires all levels of delegated power to be defined:
- Approve (A)
- Recommend (R)
- Propose (P)
- Develop (D)
- Monitor & Report (M)
- Consulted (C)
- Implement (I)
The Scheme of Delegation should be read in conjunction with the Terms of Reference for the relevant body. While the Scheme is designed to be comprehensive it will not cover every task.
Trust Policies
A key task for the Trust is to develop and monitor a range of policies that member academies are expected to adopt. In this Trust responsibility has been delegated to the Trust’s Chief Executive Officer.
These policies may include Academy & Pupil Policies, Employment & Staff Policies and Financial Policies. A comprehensive list is retained by the Trust in their Policy Review Schedule (Appendix)
Prepared by: Jim Smith
Date: May 2021
Review Date May 2022
View or download the Tudhoe Learning Trust – Scheme of Delegation (May 2021) document.
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