QuickRead: Local governing bodies

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Last reviewed on 22 April 2021
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 33335

What they are

In a multi-academy trust (MAT), the board of trustees may delegate some of its governance functions to local governing bodies (LGBs).

Trusts with any number of academies can have LGBs - they’re a key way for the board of trustees to:

  • Get a local perspective/context from each academy
  • Stay in the loop on what’s going on in their constituent academies
  • Keep on top of everything the trust needs to monitor
    • For example, it would be difficult for the board of trustees to monitor teaching and learning in detail for each school - having an LGB helps to ensure that someone's keeping an eye on it and is able to give a school-level perspective of what's going on

LGBs are important as they have a much more nuanced understanding of how their individual schools work and can provide invaluable insight to the board of trustees.

LGBs aren't technically governing boards - they're actually