When the school initially converted to a single academy trust, it is likely that all the existing governors of the maintained school became the trustees of the academy trust. In an academy, these trustees have three names: 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’. When the academy joins the MAT, it is usual for there to be three tiers of governance rather than two. These three tiers will be: members of the MAT board of trustees of the MAT (the board) local governing bodies (LGBs) for each academy school. You will need to discuss with the MAT whether any of your trustees will sit on the Board and therefore continue to be trustees. However, it is likely that the majority of your existing trustees will not be trustees of the MAT and will sit on the LGB for the academy school.