Laetare CMAT

The Laetare CMAT is dedicated to providing an outstanding and distinctive experience of Catholic education for the young people in its academies. It is rooted in the conviction that the distinctive charisms of the Religious Orders who founded schools are a powerful vehicle for inspiring academic and human excellence.

The vision of education we offer is centred in God, rooted in Christ, and animated by the spirit of the Founders of each of our Religious Orders.

Though our forms of education will change over time in response to developing needs, we will remain faithful to the eternal values of the Gospel, to the Church that Christ founded and to the enduring spirit of our Founders.

The Trust’s governance structure is demonstrated below:

The Members of the Laetare CMAT oversee the Board of Directors (the “Trust Board”), holding the Directors to account and ensuring that the values and ethos of the Trust are upheld and the distinctiveness of the academies is preserved.

Members will be appointed by the Gaudete Trust and Religious Orders which reflect the make-up of schools in the CMAT. For those Religious Orders who have entrusted their schools to the Gaudete Trust, Members will be appointed by the Gaudete Trust in consultation with the relevant Religious Order. Exercising their responsibilities as Members will be one of the key ways in which Religious Orders will be able to continue to influence the development of the unique charism that animates their schools. The Religious Orders and the Gaudete Trust will be equitably represented at the Member level of governance.

The Members determine the governance structure of the CMAT and provide oversight and challenge to the Directors. The Members key responsibilities are:

1. to secure Catholic education and ensure the CMAT remains true to its vision and values;

2. to ensure the charitable objects of the CMAT are met;

3. to determine the company’s constitution i.e. the Articles of Association and approve of the governance structure; and

4. to appoint and remove Directors.

In the Laetare CMAT, members of the Trust Board are termed Directors in order to distinguish them from the Religious Orders that are the Trustees of each of the academies. Decision-making and accountability rests with the Directors and they will be registered as company Directors at Companies House. The Directors are responsible for the actions of the CMAT and are accountable to the Members, Secretary of State and wider community for the quality of education and expenditure of public money. Directors meet as a Board of Directors (the Trust Board), which has overall responsibility and ultimate decision-making authority for all the work of the Laetare CMAT.

The Directors have overall responsibility and ultimate decision-making authority for all the work of the Trust, including the establishing and maintaining of the academies (which includes taking existing schools into the Trust and opening new schools). The Directors have the power to direct change where required.

The Trust Board is the accountable body within the Trust and is responsible for the good governance of the Trust and its academies.

The Trust Board delegates aspects of governance and the day-to-day oversight of school leadership to the Local Governing Body.

The role of a Governor within the Trust is an important one. In developing a governance structure, the Trust has sought to ensure that as much as possible the responsibility to govern is vested in those closest to the impact of decision making and that such responsibility matches the capacity of those assuming responsibility. The Trust Board has established Local Governing Bodies for each of the Academies for the most part made up of individuals drawn from the Academy’s community, both as elected and appointed members.

Those serving on the Local Governing Body are accountable to the Directors and the Members and must ensure that at all times they act in good faith and in the best interests of the Academies and the Trust, exercising reasonable care and skill having particular regard to personal knowledge and experience.

The Local Governing Body is a committee of the Laetare CMAT Board. Those serving as Local Governors are accountable to the Directors and will be responsible for:

a) Upholding the Catholic nature of the school and preserving the charism of the founding Religious Order;

b) Ensuring clarity of vision and strategic direction of the school;

c) Overseeing the financial and educational performance of the school and ensuring that money is well spent;

d) Holding the school leadership to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and for the performance management of staff;

e) Ensuring that the school operates in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Laetare CMAT;

f) Ensure staff and student well-being is prioritised; and

g) Engaging with pupils, staff, parents, local parishes and the school community to understand their views of the school.

Each of the Members, Directors and Governors are required to observe any directions issued by the local Bishop in whose diocese the Academy resides.

All Governors must comply with the Governor Code of Conduct adopted by the Trust.

Our Co-Chairs of the Local Governing Body are Mrs Helen Rose and Dr Ros Tavernor. Their email address is enquiries@trustgs.co.uk.

The Chair of the Laetare CMAT is Mr Stephen Horsman. His email address is chair@laetarecmat.co.uk.