academy’s articles of association as well as their statutory duties under the Companies Act, which comprise the duties to: act within their powers; promote the success of the company; exercise independent judgment; exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence; avoid conflicts of interest; not to accept benefits from third parties; and declare any interest in proposed transactions or arrangements. 16. The duties of a company director and charitable trustee should not put anyone off from serving as an academy trustee as the core duties of the role are very similar to those of a maintained school governor. 5.5 Dealing with complaints 17. The boards of all schools have a to consider complaints about the school and any community facilities or services that it provides. 18. Academies must make available on request a procedure for dealing with complaints. The expectation is that this should be published online. For complaints from parents of pupils, this procedure must comply with The . 19. An individual can complain to the Secretary of State for Education if they believe that a board is acting ‘unreasonably’, or is failing to carry out its properly. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) handles complaints about academies on behalf of the Secretary of State. 20. gives detailed information about the role of the Secretary of State and EFA in the complaints process. to help schools draw up a complaints procedure is available. 5.6 Whistleblowing 21. All schools and academy trusts should have appropriate procedures in place for whistleblowing. The board need to ensure that staff and governors alike are aware of to whom they can report their concerns, and the way in which such concerns will be managed. 22. The whistleblowing charity, , provides support for organisations and confidential independent advice to employees about wrongdoing in the workplace. You can contact PCAW at:
curriculum for science should be included in their school’s curriculum. If so, they must decide what it should consist of and how it should be organised, and keep a record of their decisions. 15. All boards should reassure themselves that the school has a written statement of the policy they adopt on sex education and make it available to parents. All schools providing sex education, including academies through their funding agreements, must have regard to . 16. The PSHE Association has published the advice to supplement statutory guidance. 6.1.4 Physical Education and Sport 17. A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in competitive sport and other physically demanding activities. It should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect. 18. All boards should be aware of the for primary schools. The premium must be used to fund additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport, for the benefit of primary-aged pupils, in the 2015 to 2016 academic year, to encourage the development of healthy, active lifestyles. Guidance on has been published. 6.1.5 Religious education 19. All state-funded schools must teach religious education (RE). Maintained schools without a religious character should follow their locally agreed syllabus. 20. Voluntary aided schools with a religious character should provide RE in accordance with the trust deed or religious designation of the school, unless parents request the locally agreed syllabus. 21. Foundation schools and voluntary controlled schools with a religious character should follow the locally agreed syllabus, unless parents request RE in accordance with the trust deed or religious designation of the school. 22. RE is also compulsory in faith and non-faith academies as set out in their funding agreements. 6.1.6 Collective worship 23. All maintained schools without a religious character must provide a daily act of broadly Christian collective worship for their pupils. In community schools and foundation schools, the headteacher is responsible for arranging this after consulting the board. In voluntary aided schools, voluntary controlled schools and
8.3 Behaviour and discipline 7. An academy trust must make sure that a written policy is drawn up and carried out that promotes good behaviour among pupils and defines the sanctions to be adopted where pupils misbehave. 8. Maintained school boards must make sure that their school has policies designed to promote good behaviour and discipline among pupils. These policies must include the school’s approach to the use of reasonable force to control or restrain pupils. Guidance on reasonable force is in Maintained schools should not have a ‘no contact’ policy. 9. The board must also make, and periodically review, a written statement of principles to help the headteacher determine the measures that make up the school’s behaviour policy. This duty cannot be delegated. The board must consult the headteacher, other appropriate members of staff, parents and all registered pupils before making or changing this statement of principles. It must also publish the statement on a website. Information on these responsibilities and statutory guidance to which the board must have regard is given in issued by the Secretary of State. 8.3.1 Directing pupils off-site to improve their behaviour 10. The legislation for directing a pupil off-site does not apply to academies. However, an academy may direct a pupil off-site under general powers in their Memorandum and Articles of Association. 11. A maintained school board may send pupils to provision outside school premises that is aimed at improving their behaviour (‘directing off-site‘). It should make sure that the pupil continues to receive a good education whilst addressing the needs that require intervention. The board may direct a pupil off-site without the parent’s consent but should engage with parents, where possible, in the process. There are specific requirements in relation to notifying parents and reviewing the placement. 12. The requirement to review a placement every 30 days was removed in January 2013. A placement may continue beyond the end of the academic year in which it is made. Further information on boards’ powers and responsibilities and statutory guidance to which the board must have regard, is provided in ‘ 8.3.2 Excluding pupils 13. An explanation of boards’ legal duties in relation to exclusion, as well as statutory guidance on performing these duties, are provided in 14. The board has key responsibilities in relation to reviewing the headteacher’s exclusion decisions and must arrange suitable full-time education for excluded pupils from the sixth school day of fixed-period exclusion.
7. An academy trust’s articles of association set out the powers that the trust may exercise in pursuit of its charitable object. The current model articles allow the academy trust ‘to provide educational facilities and services to students of all ages and the wider community for the public benefit’. 8. Academies should also consult their funding agreement. The current model funding agreement says that the academy ‘will be at the heart of its community, promoting community cohesion and sharing facilities with other schools and the wider community’. The funding agreement will set out how the grant available from the Secretary of State can be used. 11.3 Transfer of control agreements 9. Boards can enter into a Transfer of Control Agreement (TofCA) as a way of sharing control of the school premises with another body, or transferring control to it. The other body, known as the ‘controlling body’, will continue to occupy and use the premises during the times specified in the agreement. Transferring control of the premises to local community groups, sports associations and service providers can allow school facilities to be used without needing ongoing management or administrative time from the school staff. The board of a community school must obtain the local authority’s consent before entering into a TofCA that transfers control during school hours. 10. It may not be necessary for a school to enter into a TofCA to enable another organisation to use their premises. Alternative options for a school include retaining overall control of the premises while subletting use of part of their premises to another organisation or entering into a Service Level Agreement with another organisation. 11.4 Provision of childcare and other community services 11. Many schools and academies offer comprehensive programmes of before and after school and holiday care, and other activities, throughout the year. These programmes support pupils and parents, place the schools and academies at the hearts of their communities, and can generate profit that can be reinvested to improve services. 12. There are three possible arrangements that would allow an academy to operate a nursery on their premises: direct provision of a nursery by the academy trust as a charitable activity within the academy’s objects; provision of a nursery through a wholly-owned subsidiary company of the academy trust;