Governance

Solent Academies Trust is an exempt charity overseen by the Secretary of State for Education.

The main documents that set out how we operate are our articles of association, which set our internal structure, and the master funding agreement, which is the legal contract with the Secretary of State under which we run our schools. In addition, there are separate supplemental funding agreements for each individual school.

We are also governed by the Department for Education's Academy Trust Handbook and various pieces of legislation relating to both schools and charities.

Message from our Chair of Trustees

After having served as a Trustee for over four years I was delighted to be invited to Chair the Trustee Board, as well as having great leadership and staff, we are lucky to have a highly dedicated team of trustees and governors, all of whom give generously of their time to provide oversight and support. These people come from a variety of backgrounds and bring with them a wide portfolio of skills and experience from education, business and public service. Their role is critical to our success.

Collectively we are dedicated to ensuring that our Trust operates to high standards in providing teaching and enhancing opportunities for children who face challenges in their education.

We can reflect with great pride on the achievements of our Trust, but I never fail to be inspired by the constant hunger which our people have to do more. It is that lack of satisfaction with the status quo which makes the journey so rewarding – the ability to educate more children, the use of new tools and techniques and the influence we have in helping others build on their capability. These things together with the changing environment led me to believe that we may have huge opportunities ahead.

Our goal is to be at the forefront of developments, working through our networks and special interest groups to provide solid benchmarks for excellence in special needs education.

The road ahead appears exciting and so important for the future lives of so many.

Andrew Hill, Chair of Trustees

Our governance structure

Our formal structures are designed to give robust oversight and management of our academies, without unnecessarily restricting innovation. The structure includes Members, Trustees and an Academy Committee for each school.

Formulation of strategy and day to day operations are delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, Sharon Burt. She is supported by our Executive Principals, Principals, Heads of School and our central team.

Parental opinion is gathered through elected parent governors. All the schools operate a school council to encourage pupils to take an active part in their own education.

“I was impressed by the willingness and positive view of many of the people I spoke to about how alignment and finding more consistent approaches across the schools would add value to the trust. The vision and values of the trust appear to be well embedded in the schools and there is an acceptance that the school must also ensure that the values reflect the needs and challenges of the community they serve”. Sir David Carter November 2021

To view our statutory information please click the button Statutory Information