Academy Governing Council | Connell Co-op College

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Academy Governing Council

We’re part of the Co-op Academies Trust – a multi academy trust. Our governance is delegated between:

Co-op Academies Trust Board
The Regional Director and Central Trust Teams
College Governing Council

Co-op Academies Trust Board

Co-op Academies Trust is governed by a Trust Board made up of experienced professionals who make decisions about the strategic direction of the Trust. Some of the Trust Board members (‘trustees’) work for the Co-op Group, some are external to make sure we have a range of different views and perspectives.

The Trust Board has strategic oversight of:

The financial performance of its academies and Trust
The educational outcomes of its academies
New schools and academies applying to join the Trust
The future ambitions and goals of the Trust

The Trust Board delegates responsibilities to six committees that handle more detailed discussions and also to an academy/college governing council within each academy/college.

The Regional Director and Central Trust Teams

Our regional director is Ian Burchett.

The Trust’s central team includes members who have been successful school leaders, former Senior HMI and current Ofsted inspectors; as well as experts in finance, governance, human resources and communications and marketing. Find out more.

College Governing Council (CGC)

The CGC provides strategic level support to the operational leadership (our principal and senior leadership team).

We don’t have statutory responsibilities in the way that a governing body in a standalone local authority school has, instead we have the Trust’s scheme of delegation. We have the authority to develop many areas such as:

Summative and some formative assessments
Behaviour
Teaching and learning
Staffing structures
Recruitment
Structure of the school day
Enrichment
Directed time

We’re empowered with the flexibility to adopt a model that suits our college’s local contexts and challenges. Not having statutory responsibilities means we’re able to concentrate even more on the one absolute priority – enhancing the life chances of all the young people at our college. Our governors are dedicated to our college and the community it serves. They get to know our college in a way that the Trust Board is unable to, and act as a local sounding board and decision making body. They support and challenge in the traditional way but spend less time on policies and paperwork meaning they can spend more time understanding the specific needs of our college and the community it serves.

Trust Governance

Find out more about our Co-op Academies Trust governance.

Our Governors

Full Name	Mark Adams
Date of appointment	01/04/2023
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	Community
Appointed by	Appointed by College Governing Council
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	N/A
Declarations of Interest	Manchester City FC – Employee
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	6/7
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	N/A

Full Name	Chris Bishop
Date of appointment	01/04/2023
Term of office	2 years
Category of Governor	Community
Appointed by	Appointed by College Governing Council
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	Finance Committee
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	6/7
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	Finance Committee: 2/3

Full Name	Catherine Elliot
Date of appointment	16/05/2022
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	Community
Appointed by	Appointed by College Governing Council
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	N/A
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	0/1
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	N/A

Full Name	Emma Soper
Date of appointment	23/08/2021
Term of office	N/A
Category of Governor	Ex-officio
Appointed by	By virtue of appointment as Head of College
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	Finance Committee Pay Committee
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021 -2022)	7/7
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	Finance Committee: 2/2 Pay Committee: 1/1

Full Name	Lutumba Mbala
Date of appointment	Parent
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	15/10/2021
Appointed by	Elected by parents/carers
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	N/A
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	4/6
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	N/A

Full Name	Nicola Pulford
Date of appointment	21/01/2022
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	Sponsor
Appointed by	An employee of the Co-op appointed by the sponsor
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	N/A
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	2/4
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	N/A

Full Name	Lloyd Thomas
Date of appointment	01/04/2023
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	Sponsor (Chair)
Appointed by	An employee of the Co-op appointed by the sponsor
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	Pay Committee
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	5/7
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	1/1

Full Name	Adam Woodley
Date of appointment	01/04/2023
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	Staff
Appointed by	Elected by staff
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	Finance Committee
Declarations of Interest	Nothing to declare
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	7/7
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	Finance Committee: 3/3

Full Name	Emma Boswell
Date of appointment	01/12/2022
Term of office	4 years
Category of Governor	Staff
Appointed by	Elected by staff
Subcommittee membership (2021-2022)	N/A
Declarations of Interest	TBC
Attendance at College Governing Council meetings (2021-2022)	N/A
Attendance at subcommittee meetings (2021-2022)	N/A