Within a MAT, each academy school will usually have its own local governing body (LGB). These have a similar status to committees of a maintained governing body and the only powers they have are those that are delegated to them by the Board. This is formalised into a scheme of delegation. Whilst individuals serving on an LGB may on occasion also be trustees of the MAT, the DfE’s strong preference is to retain some separation between the layers of governance to ensure effective oversight and challenge. It is common for individuals serving on an LGB to be referred to a ‘governors’, although technically the governors of an academy trust are the trustees. Some larger MATs may have structured their local governance into hub or regional boards, with each hub being responsible for more than one school. As part of its due diligence a standalone academy looking to join a MAT should carefully check the MAT’s scheme of delegation to ensure it is comfortable with the way local governance is run. Whilst the LGBs will usually have delegated authority to run the academy school, the Board will be ultimately responsible for all academies it runs.