As an academy, the Academy Council of Abbey School has delegated powers from the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors, which are outlined in the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation

The Chief Executive Officer and Officers of the Trust act as advisers to the Academy Council and attend most meetings

Membership
Abbey School Academy Council was constituted on 1st June 2016 and the following structure of Governance is now in place:

Academy Council
The total membership shall be not less than 7 and not more than 12.

The membership shall comprise:
• The Chair who is elected by the Trust Board of Directors;
• The Headteacher;
• No fewer than 2 elected Parent Governors;
• Two elected Members of Staff, one Teaching, one Non-Teaching;
• The remaining Governors are appointed by the Academy Council. Governors can be Parents or Members of Staff but the number of Staff Governors (inc Headteacher) must not exceed one-third of the total number of Governors.

How are Governors chosen?
There are different categories of Governors:
Parent Governors, Staff Governors and Governors.

Parent Governors are elected by current parents when a vacancy becomes available. Staff Governors, are representatives of the teaching or support staff and are elected by the eligible staff when a vacancy becomes available. All Governors are appointed by the Academy Council.
They are selected to provide skills and experience which Governors feel are required.

The Chair of the Academy Council is appointed by the Nexus Multi Academy Trust Board of Directors.

All Governors initially serve for a period of four years. At the end of the four years, they can stand for re-election or be re-appointed. Governors are free to resign before the end of their four-year term if they so wish.

Abbey Academy Council
Executive Head TeacherLuci Windle
Parent GovernorJanine Brullo
Staff GovernorLouise Abbott
GovernorIvy Dorchester-Brown (Upper School and Wellbeing Gov)
Staff GovernorNiall Horstead
GovernorJim McIntosh (Finance Gov)
Chair of GovernorsIan Tankard
Parent GovernorDawn Jeffery
Parent GovernorRachel Kent
GovernorNicola Morris
Past GovernorAlison Warner (Safeguarding Gov) – Stepped Down 17 October 2023 Interests & Attendance Data
(Previous governors profiles remain for 1 year after stepping down)

Governor Interests are reviewed at every meeting. All individual Governor information with regard to Interests & Attendance can be found with the Individual Governor Profiles by clicking on the names above.

Approved minutes of the Academy Council can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

Frequency
The Academy Council meets at least once a half term, with additional meetings being arranged as required.

How can I contact the School Governors?
The Chair of Governors can be contacted via the school office.

You can also contact Clerking Services about any aspect of school governance at this address clerkingservices@nexusmat.org

Academy Council Minutes and Agendas

Below are copies of the Academy Council agendas and minutes. Reports on the agendas for any of these meetings are available to the public for public inspection. If any member of the public would like to request a copy of any of the reports from a meeting agenda, please submit a request in writing, specifying which reports are being requested, to foi@nexusmat.org

Please note that published minutes will include the previous academic year and the current academic year for records management purposes. Should you wish to see minutes from previous years, we will happily provide these to you and would ask that you follow the FOI process as stated above.

Useful Information

Further useful governance information can be found on the Nexus Trust website. Please click here to locate documents such as the Governance Handbook, Glossary of Terms and the Scheme of Delegation.