External Review of Governance - An excellent outcome!

Over the past 12 months, the Trust has been engaging with the National Governance Association (NGA) to perform an external review of it's governance. This was an activity we planned as part of our growth strategy to ensure that the foundations of the Trust were strong and ready for the addition of more schools.

The NGA is an independent, not-for-profit charity that aims to improve the educational standards and wellbeing of young people by increasing the effectiveness of governing boards and promoting high standards. They are made up of expert leaders in school and trust governance, providing information, advice and guidance, professional development and e-learning to schools and trusts.

The review, which was brokered by the DfE, involved an in-depth scrutiny of all governance structures, procedures and policies. We enjoyed working with Chris Forrest (NGA) throughout and we found the process very supportive. Two full trust meetings were observed and Chris spoke to a wide-range of people involved in the governance of the whole Trust.

We are immensely proud of the reports, particularly the summary statement which reads, 'They have continued their work to create a trust that is ready to grow and share their existing good practices with other schools across Cumbria in line with their vision and values. This capacity for growth and improvement has not affected the improvement capacity for their existing schools.'

This outcome is the result of a lot of hard work by a wide range of people. Both staff and volunteer governors commit a great deal of time to ensuring that the pupils in the trust have a wonderful education and can now begin the next phase of growth plans with confidence. 

Thank you to all involved.