The individuals appointed to make strategic decisions about the day to day running of the academy trust and are legally accountable for its actions. They have three roles: they are directors because the academy trust is a company they are trustees because the academy trust is a charity (albeit one that is exempt from registering with the Charity Commission) they are governors because the academy trust is responsible for running the school(s). For the purposes of this document, we refer to them as ‘trustees’. Members will always appoint at least one of the trustees. Others might be appointed by parents or co-opted by the trustees themselves. The headteacher (for single academies) or the chief executive officer (for multi academies) will also often be a trustee. The articles of association will stipulate the number and types of trustees that the academy trust should have. The trustees come together to form the board of trustees (‘board’). The role of the board is broadly similar to that of a governing body of a maintained school. However, there are additional duties under company and charity law that they will also be responsible for undertaking. We offer on-site or remote training to support the board in their role. In multi academy trusts, 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 on occasion individuals serving on an LGB may also be trustees of the academy trust, retaining some distinction between the layers is important 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.