Trustees, members and MAT boards

Find out the requirements for holding an academy trust's annual general meeting (AGM), who should attend and what the agenda should include. Understand the requirements for general meetings too.

As an academy trustee, you have legal duties as a charity trustee and a company director. Be clear on what they are, so you're compliant. Find out about sources of legal advice.

Your CEO should update your board of trustees regularly. Find out what you can expect to see in the report, and use our guidance and template to help you steer your CEO so that the report works for you.

Whether you're a new trustee or need a refresh - find out how to strike the balance between effective challenge and support so you can feel confident holding trust leaders to account.

The board is accountable for your trust’s performance, so you need a full and accurate picture of how the trust is performing. Find out what information you should be getting and how to triangulate input from different sources so you can provide effective scrutiny and challenge.

Understand the role of members in an academy trust, and get advice on resolving difficulties between members and trustees. Download and share our explainer to help everyone in your trust understand members' key responsibilities.

Be clear on the rules on appointing and removing members of academy trusts. Find out how to manage the process if you're responsible for governance in your trust.

Learn more about the company secretary's key tasks and responsibilities. If you're advertising a role, use our model job description to save time, and see examples from other trusts.

Find out who needs to have terms of reference and understand how they differ from your scheme of delegation. Discover examples for both boards of trustees and local governing bodies (LGBs) so you can get inspiration if you need to write your own.