This article is about building governance support in your trust – see our other articles to find out how to develop a governance structure and how to implement it.
Your requirements
Your trust must appoint a governance professional to support the board of trustees who is someone other than a trustee, principal or chief executive of the trust. This is set out in section 1.42 of the Academy Trust Handbook and in section 4.5.1 of the Academy Trust Governance Guide.
Aside from that, it's up to your trust to decide on the governance support structure that best suits your context.
What are the options?
Option 1: in-house governance professional(s)
A popular model, especially in larger trusts, is to have:
- A dedicated governance lead/governance coordinator in the central team, and
- 1 or several governance professionals who provide support, advice and clerking for all boards
Pros and cons
Streamline communication and