Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.
The structure is made up of Members, Trustees and Governors.
School governors and trustees have three core functions…
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
Governance at NCEA Trust
At the beginning of September 2019, there were two Trust committees; Finance, Operations and Risk (FORC) and Achievement and Standards (ASC). In May 2020, Trustees agreed that with the introduction of local governing boards to Bishop’s and Castle Schools in September 2019, the ASC should disband. NCEA Endowment Trust (ET) is a registered charitable trust.
How our Governance structure works
There are local governing bodies for Bishop’s Primary, Warkworth CofE Primary and Castle Schools and an Academy Improvement Board for Duke’s Secondary School. The Terms of Reference for the local governing bodies are held within the Scheme of Delegation and can be downloaded below.
Key Documents
- Register of Member and Trustee Business/Pecuniary Interests 2019/20
- Register of Executive Leadership Team Business/Pecuniary Interests 2019/20
- Register of Members and Trustees 2020/21
- Trustees Attendance Register 2019/20 (Board, Committee and LGB meetings)
- Funding Agreement – including Supplemental Funding Agreements for Bishop’s Primary School, Castle School and Duke’s Secondary School
- Scheme of Delegation
Our Members, Trustees and Committees
Click the tabs below to find out who our Members, Trustees and Committee members are.
| Rachel Scheffer | Appointed by Newcastle Diocesan Board of Education |
| Dennis Handley | Representing the Bishop of Newcastle |
| Pauline Pearson | Representing Newcastle Diocesan Board of Education |
| Rory Wilson | Appointed by Newcastle Diocesan Board of Education |
| in consultation with Northumberland Estates | |
| John Brearley | Chair of Trustees |
| Richard Bishopp | Member appointed |
| John Brearley | Chair, Member appointed |
| Martin Browell | Parent elected |
| Rowan Brown | Member appointed |
| Alex Cox | Member appointed |
| Alan Hardie | Ex-officio |
| Jeff Hope | Co-opted |
| Paul Johnson | Member appointed |
| John Marshall | Vice Chair, Member appointed |
| Rachel Mays | Member appointed |
| Mina Munns | Member appointed |
| Stephen Purvis | Member appointed |
| Stephen Purvis | Chair of FORC |
| Alison Alden | Chief Financial Officer (non-voting) |
| John Brearley | |
| Alex Cox | Chair of Endowment Trust |
| Alan Hardie | CEO/Accounting Officer (non-voting) |
| John Marshall | |
In order to secure rapid improvement for Duke’s Secondary School, Trustees have appointed an Academy Improvement Board (AIB) which meets monthly.
| John Marshall | Trustee (Chair) |
| Russ Atkinson | Principal, Duke’s Secondary School |
| Richard Bishopp | Trustee |
| Dave Cookson | Commissioner for Secondary Education, Northumberland County Council |
| Alan Hardie | Trustee and CEO |
| Jeff Hope | Trustee |
| Mina Munns | Trustee |
| Stephen Purvis | Trustee |
| Paul Rickeard | Director of Education, Newcastle Diocese |
| Rachel Mays | Trustee |
The Trustees agreed to form Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) for Bishop’s Primary School and Castle School. What this means is that Bishop’s and Castle Schools each have a governing body which focuses on the individual school. The LGBs are accountable for their decisions to the Trust Board. The first meetings of the LGBs took place in the spring term 2020.
All Terms of Reference updated as of December 2020.
Contact
The Chair of the Board of Trustees, John Brearley, may be contacted by email at governor@ncea.org.uk or in writing:
The Board of Trustees
c/o Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust
Josephine Butler Campus
Academy Road
Ashington
NE63 9FZ
Alternatively, Trustees may be contacted via Lesley Dalby, Governance Manager, on 01670 816111 ext 368.
