St Stephen’s Catholic Primary School local governing council structure 2023/24

Our council members make up a body which sits within the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust model of governance which is set out below.

There are three levels of governance within the Trust: the Members, The Trust Board of Directors, and the governors who make up the Local Governing Body for each academy in the Trust.

The Trust comprises five Members. The Members are accountable to the DfE and have ultimate responsibility for the Trust achieving its charitable objectives. They sign off the Articles of Association and have the power to appoint and remove the Directors. The Members include representatives from the Diocese of Newcastle and Hexham. The majority of the Members are independent of the Directors to provide challenge and scrutiny to the Board.

The ultimate responsibility for the running of our schools resides with the Directors of the Trust. They set the strategic direction for the Trust and are accountable to the Secretary of State for the performance of the schools within it. This is set out in a legal document known as the ‘funding agreement‘. As charity trustees, they must also ensure that they are complying with charity law requirements.

The authority for running each school remains at Local Governing Committee level and is clearly defined by our scheme of delegation.  (taken for the Bishop Bewick Governance statement)

As such, our governors have specific roles and responsibilities.