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Governance

The Priory Federation of Academies Trust

The Priory Federation of Academies Trust was formed in September 2008 with a mission to raise the educational standards and improve the life chances of students in the Lincolnshire area. There are currently 13 Academies within the Trust:
The Priory Academy LSST, Lincoln
The Priory Witham Academy, Lincoln
The Priory City of Lincoln Academy, Lincoln
The Priory Ruskin Academy, Grantham
The Priory Pembroke Academy, Cherry Willingham
The Priory Belvoir Academy, Bottesford
Ling Moor Primary Academy, North Hykeham
Heighington Millfield Primary Academy, Heighington
Huntingtower Community Primary Academy, Grantham
Waddington Redwood Primary Academy, Lincoln
Cherry Willingham Primary Academy, Cherry Willingham
Willoughby Academy, Bourne
St John's Primary Academy, Bracebridge Heath

Members

The Priory is a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) which currently has four Members. The Members' role is to monitor the effectiveness and propriety of the PFAT in holding the Academies to account.

The current Members are:
Howard Gee
Deborah Harry
Richard Partington
Peter Houten

The Priory Federation of Academies Trust: The Trust

The Trust is the legal governing body for all the Academies within the Federation and is ultimately responsible for the strategic development, the ethos and the management of the Federation and the Academies contained within the Federation.

The Trust Board comprises:

  1. Trustee appointed by PFAT Members: Howard Gee (Chair of the Trust)

  2. Sponsor* Trustee: Simon Richardson (Vice-Chair of the Trust)

  3. Sponsor Trustee: Jonathan Mackinder

  4. Sponsor Trustee: Lesley Tyreman

  5. Sponsor Trustee: Steve Dixon

  6. Sponsor Trustee: Clare Allen

  7. Trustee appointed by PFAT Members: Ian Jones (Chief Executive Officer of the Trust)

  8. Trustee appointed by PFAT Members: Vacant

[*Until its dissolution in 2023, the Sponsor of the Trust was The Priory Fundraising Trust].

In addition, each Head of Academy is accountable to, and involved in, the Trust.

The Trust meets regularly as a Full Board and, at set intervals, as specific committees. Currently, these are: Education & Standards; Finance; Audit; and Pay, Performance & HR.

Trustees can be contacted through the Clerk to the Trust, Martin Mammatt, on 01522 871370; or via federation@prioryacademies.co.uk.

Trust Committee Chairs 2024-25

Education & Standards Chair - TBC
Finance Chair - Howard Gee
Audit Chair - Steve Dixon
Pay, Performance & HR Chair - Simon Richardson

Copies of minutes from Board and Committee meetings can be requested by contacting the Clerk to the Trust, Martin Mammatt, via federation@prioryacademies.co.uk. 

The Academies

The Academies have their own structures of accountability.

The Academy Local Governing Bodies

In addition to the Trust, there is a Local Governing Body (LGB) for each of the Academies. The LGBs operate much as an individual school governing body would. Where the Trust is responsible for the overarching strategic direction of the Federation as a whole, the LGB works on a more day-to-day basis with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of the Academy.

LGB Chairs 2024-25:
Priory LSST Chair - Vic Townshend
Priory Witham Chair - Patrick Smith-Howell
Priory City of Lincoln Chair - Colin Parkin
Priory Ruskin Chair - Veronica Slater
Priory Pembroke Chair - Sarah Dawson
Priory Belvoir Chair - Kate Beardmore
Ling Moor Primary Chair - Nancy Squires
Heighington Millfield Primary Chair - Simon Curtis
Huntingtower Community Primary Academy Chair - Paul Emmett
Waddington Redwood Primary Chair - Linda Dickinson
Cherry Willingham Primary Chair - Clare Booth
Willoughby Academy Chair - Mark Thomas
St John's Primary Chair - Paul Drury

Quality Assurance and Consistency

Each member of the SLT in each Academy is responsible for a specific area of the Academy’s Self Evaluation (SEF), including its monitoring and development, as well as the award of an overall judgement for this area. Furthermore, each member of the SLT is linked to a member of the Academy’s Committee. The Committee member acts as a Critical Friend with particular reference to the SEF. 

To ensure consistency across the Federation, each area of the SEF, in effect, becomes a Federation sub-committee comprising the member of SLT responsible for that area from each Academy. Judgements in each of the Academies can be moderated at these meetings.

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