Governance Structure

The Trust is a company limited by guarantee but has no shareholders. Our governance structure values the roles played by the different layers of governance and provides parity of esteem.

Formal governance structure as defined in the Trust's Articles of Association and Scheme of Delegation.

Committees formed by the Trust board, comprised of members of the Trust board and LGBS as defined in their Terms of Reference and with delegated powers.

Comprised of the Chairs of every LGB and the Trust Chair.

Employed by the Trust as the executive leadership of our Trust and schools.

Our Trust Board is legally responsible for the actions of the Trust and its schools. The Trust has also enshrined within its framework the importance of Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) in providing oversight of each school, and providing greater overall governance capacity by working collaboratively, and joining Trustees on chosen areas of Trust development.

The Trust Scheme of Delegation outlines the roles, responsibilities and duties given to Trust and school leaders, and our different layers of governance.

TCSET Scheme of Delegation

Members

The first tier of governance oversight is provided by the Members who are the guardians of the Trust, its purpose and welfare. However, they have limited governance responsibilities and no day-to-day management responsibilities.

Meet our Members below:

Emmanuel Amadi MVO

Member

Manny is a trusted adviser to some of the world's foremost companies and NGOs.

Elizabeth Brown

Member

Elizabeth is a local resident who has been involved with The Trust since 2001

Marian Gibbs CBE

Member

A former HMI, Marion is also the retired headteacher of James Allen's Girls' School, an independent school in Dulwich.

Steven Russell

Member

Steve leads the Partner Office for PwC

Sue Bowler

Member

Sue is the joint Director of Integrated Care at Guy’s and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust

Trust Board

The Trustees are legally responsible for the actions of the Trust and its schools. They are accountable to the Members, the Secretary of State for Education and the broader community for the quality of education in our schools, and for ensuring that public money is well spent.

The majority of Trustees are appointed by the Members to whom they report. They are both trustees under charity law and company directors under company law.

The Trust Board is the Trust's key strategic decision-maker. It may delegate specific responsibilities to the Executive Leader (the CEO), a committee or an individual by following the Scheme of Delegation. However, the Board remains accountable and is responsible for all decisions made and therefore must make decisions which are in the best interest of its pupils and its staff.

All academy trust boards have three core functions:

1. Ensuring clarity of the vision, ethos and strategic direction.

2. Holding the Executive Leaders to account for the educational performance of the school(s) and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff.

3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school(s) and making sure that its money is well spent.

Meet our Board of Trustees below:

Cassie Buchanan OBE

CEO

Cassie joined the Trust as CEO in April 2020.

John Godfrey

Trustee

John was the Chair of Governors for The Charter School East Dulwich until November 2019.

Alex Mavolwane Wright

Trustee

Alex works as an independent organisational consultant, supporting individuals, small groups and teams mainly in local authorities, charities and education.

Claire Maugham

Co-Chair of Trust Board

Claire was Co-Chair of Governors at Charles Dickens Primary School and has been on the Trust Board since 2020.

Claire Wren

Trustee and Chair of EDI Committee

Claire is a senior civil servant at the Department for Transport

Hermione Gough

Trustee

Hermione was appointed to the Trust Board in November 2022.

Jonathan Slater

Co-Chair of Trust Board and Chair of Standards Committee

Jonathan left his role as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education in 2020

Karen Robinson

Vice-Chair of Trustees

Karen has been involved in school governance since 2007.

Laura Balan

Trustee

Lawrence Lartey

Trustee

Lawrence is the Director of Innovation Industry and Enterprise at Ravensbourne University London where he sits on the executive board.

Trustees who have stepped down in the past 12 months:
‍‍
Martin Deutz - stepped down as a Trustee from 17/10/2023
Simon Tucker - stepped down as a Trustee from 08/02/2023
Steven Russell - stepped down as a Trustee from 31/12/2022

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Local Governing Bodies

The Trust Board has delegated elements of its strategic role and oversight to Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) at school level.

Each LGB is accountable to the Trust Board concerning any matters delegated to it. The duties, responsibilities and authority of the LGBs are as determined by the Trust Board.

Please find links below to the Local Governance pages for each school:

‍Charles Dickens Primary School
‍Dulwich Hamlet Junior School
‍Lyndhurst Primary School
‍The Belham Primary School
The Charter School Bermondsey‍
‍The Charter School North Dulwich
‍The Charter School East Dulwich
Streatham Wells Primary School & Nursery

Trust Board Register of Business Interests and Attendance

Trust Board Declarations of Interests 2022-23

TCSET Board attendance 2021-22

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