P a g e 1

E - A C T a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 1 8 - 1 9

P a g e 3

O p e n i n g M i n d s

O p e n i n g D o o r s

P u p i l a r t w o r k

T i t l e : T h e K i n g f i s h e r - D o e - B u t t e r f l yA r t i s t : C h l o e B r i d g e n s

A c a d e m y : T h e P a r k e r A c a d e m y

E v o l v i n g h o w w e t e a c hP a g e 1 3

L e a r n i n g o u t s i d e t h e c l a s s r o o mP a g e 1 4

Tr u s t e e s ’ r e p o r tP a g e 1 7

O u r a c a d e m i e sP a g e 1 8

O u r f i n a n c e sP a g e 2 2

W h a t d i d w e l e a r n a b o u t o u r s e l v e s i n t h e 2 0 1 8 - 1 9

a c a d e m i c y e a r ?P a g e 2 5

O u r k e y p e r f o r m a n c e i n d i c a t o r s P a g e 3 2

T h e y e a r i n r e v i e w : u n s u n g h e r o e s

P a g e 3 4

F u t u r e p l a n sP a g e 4 4

S t r u c t u r e , g o v e r n a n c e a n d m a n a g e m e n t

P a g e 4 6

T R U S T E E S ’ R E P O R T

W E LC O M E

R e f e r e n c e a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d e t a i l s P a g e 5

We l c o m e f r o m t h e c h a i r o f t h e b o a r d a n d t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e P a g e 8

F I N A N C I A L S TAT E M E N T S

G o v e r n a n c e s t a t e m e n tP a g e 5 9

S t a t e m e n t o f r e g u l a r i t y , p r o p r i e t y a n d c o m p l i a n c e P a g e 7 3

S t a t e m e n t o f t r u s t e e s ’ r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t s P a g e 7 4

I n d e p e n d e n t a u d i t o r ’ s r e p o r t o n t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t s P a g e 7 5

I n d e p e n d e n t r e p o r t i n g a c c o u n t a n t ’ s r e p o r t o n r e g u l a r i t y P a g e 7 7

S t a t e m e n t o f f i n a n c i a l a c t i v i t i e s i n c o r p o r a t i n g i n c o m e a n d e x p e n d i t u r e a c c o u n t P a g e 7 9

B a l a n c e s h e e t P a g e 8 0

S t a t e m e n t o f c a s h f l o w s P a g e 8 1

N o t e s t o t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t sP a g e 8 2

R e f e r e n c e a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d e t a i l s

F o r t h e f i n a n c i a l y e a r e n d e d 3 1 A u g u s t 2 0 1 9

C o m p a n y n u m b e r 0 6 5 2 6 3 7 6

R e g i s t e r e d a n d o p e r a t i o n a l a d d r e s s

T h e O r a n g e r y2 8 H e a d l a n d sK e t t e r i n gN o r t h a m p t o n s h i r eN N 1 5 7 H P

C o m p a n y s e c r e t a r y

H a r r i e t R u s h t o nG o v e r n a n c e M a n a g e r f o r E - A C TA p p o i n t e d 3 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8

B W B S e c r e t a r i a l L i m i t e d1 0 Q u e e n S t r e e t P l a c e L o n d o n E C 4 R 1 B E ( c e a s e d 1 0 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 )

B a n k e r s

H S B C 6 0 Q u e e n V i c t o r i a S t r e e t L o n d o n E C 4 N 4 T R

A u d i t o r s

K P M G L L P O n e S n o w H i l l S n o w H i l l Q u e e n s w a y B i r m i n g h a m B 4 6 G H

P a g e 5

P a g e 7

P r i n c i p a l s t a f f a n d d a t e s o f t h e i r a p p o i n t m e n t

T h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s

C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r ( C E O )

J a n e M i l l w a r d B A ( H o n s ) , P G C E , a p p o i n t e d C E O 8 M a y 2 0 1 9 , a p p o i n t e d C E O d e s i g n a t e o n 1 9 M a r c h 2 0 1 9 , a p p o i n t e d D e p u t y C E O o n 1 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 , a p p o i n t e d D i r e c t o r o f E d u c a t i o n 1 F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 7 . J o i n e d E - A C T 1 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 .

D a v i d M o r a n , B S c ( H o n s ) , r e s i g n e d 1 M a r c h 2 0 1 9 , a p p o i n t e d 4 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3 . J o i n e d E - A C T 2 5 M a r c h 2 0 1 3 .

D e p u t y C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r ( D C E O ) a n d C h i e f O p e r a t i n g O f f i c e r ( C O O )

C h r i s W i s e m a n , D i p M g t , a p p o i n t e d D C E O 8 M a y 2 0 1 9 , a p p o i n t e d a s C O O o n 1 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 . J o i n e d E - A C T 1 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 .

C h i e f F i n a n c i a l O f f i c e r ( C F O )

C r a i g P a s h l e r , M B A , A C M A , C G M A , a p p o i n t e d 1 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 . J o i n e d E - A C T 2 2 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 .

N a t i o n a l D i r e c t o r o f E d u c a t i o n ( N D E )

M o h s e n O j j a , L i c e n c e d e D r o i t I n t e r n a t i o n a l ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a w D e g r e e ) , N P Q H , a p p o i n t e d N a t i o n a l D i r e c t o r o f E d u c a t i o n 8 M a y 2 0 1 9 , a p p o i n t e d R e g i o n a l E d u c a t i o n D i r e c t o r ( L o n d o n a n d B u c k s ) 1 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 8 . J o i n e d E - A C T 5 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 5 .

D i r e c t o r o f G o v e r n a n c e a n d S t r a t e g y ( D G S )

J o a n n a L a w t o n , B A ( H o n s ) , M B A , a p p o i n t e d D i r e c t o r o f G o v e r n a n c e a n d S t r a t e g y 8 M a y 2 0 1 9 . J o i n e d E - A C T a s R e g i o n a l E d u c a t i o n D i r e c t o r ( M i d l a n d s ) 1 A p r i l 2 0 1 8 .

H e a d o f I n t e r n a l A u d i t ( H o I A )

C l a i r e G o o d e n o u g h , B S C ( H o n s ) , C P FA . A p p o i n t e d 1 2 J u n e 2 0 1 7 . J o i n e d E - A C T 1 2 J u n e 2 0 1 7 .

N a m e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s

A u d i t & R i s k C o m m i t t e e

F i n a n c e C o m m i t t e e

P e r s o n n e l C o m m i t t e e

E d u c a t i o n C o m m i t t e e M e m b e r

M i c h a e l We m m s , B A ( H o n s ) , M B A C h a i r

J e a n S c o t t , B A ( H o n s ) , M A

V i c e C h a i r a n d S e n i o r

I n d e p e n d e n t Tr u s t e e

S e a n A l l e y n e , B A ( H o n s ) , A C A C h a i r

T h e r e s a K e a t i n g , B A ( H o n s ) , A C M A C h a i r

G u r p r e e t D e h a l , B A ( H o n s ) , M S c ,

M r e s C h a i r

B r i a n L i g h t m a n , B A ( H o n s ) ,

P G C E , M A , F R S A C h a i r

A n g u s H i s l o p , M A C a n t a b , F R S A

P a m e l a C o l e s B A ( H o n s ) , F C I S

N a d e e m K i y a n i , B C o m ( H o n s ) ,

A C A

D r C a m e r o n P y k e , M A , M M u s ,

P h D

P r o f . B r y a n W i n c h e s t e r M A

P h D

D a v i d M o r a n , B S c ( H o n s ) ( e x -

o f f i c i o ) ( t e r m e n d e d 8 M a y

2 0 1 9 )

J a n e M i l l w a r d B A ( H o n s ) , P G C E ( a p p o i n t e d 8 M a y

2 0 1 9 )

We c o n t i n u e t o n u r t u r e a g r e a t o r g a n i s a t i o n a l c u l t u r e b y d e v e l o p i n g o u r p e o p l e , a n d t h i s w a s a k e y f o c u s f o r u s l a s t y e a r . We a r e g r a t e f u l t o h u n d r e d s o f s t a f f w h o s o o p e n l y s h a r e d t h e i r v i e w s a n d i d e a s a s w e e m b a r k e d o n o u r ‘ b i g c u l t u r e c o n v e r s a t i o n ’ , b u t i t h a s n ’ t s t o p p e d t h e r e . L i s t e n i n g a n d r e s p o n d i n g t o s o m a n y v i e w s a c r o s s o u r r e g i o n s m e a n s w e h a v e t o c o n s i d e r h o w m u c h m o r e w e c a n e m p o w e r i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p s t o e m b e d a c u l t u r e o f r e c o g n i t i o n a c r o s s E - A C T. A c u l t u r e t h a t i s e v e n m o r e i n c l u s i v e a n d o n e w h e r e p e o p l e ’ s a s p i r a t i o n s a n d v a l u e s a r e w o v e n i n t o t h e f a b r i c o f o u r a i m s a s a t r u s t .

L a s t y e a r t h e d e c i s i o n t o r e m o v e p e r f o r m a n c e - r e l a t e d p a y w a s a l a n d m a r k m o m e n t f o r E - A C T. B y r e m o v i n g p a y f r o m o u r a p p r a i s a l a n d c o a c h i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n s , w e w a n t t h e r e s u l t i n g t r a n s p a r e n t a n d h o n e s t d i s c u s s i o n s t o h e l p a l l s t a f f c e l e b r a t e w h a t t h e y d o w e l l a n d f e e l a b l e t o a s k f o r h e l p t o i m p r o v e . We a r e p l e a s e d w i t h t h e p o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k w e h a v e r e c e i v e d f r o m s t a f f s o f a r a n d w e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o d e v i s e t r a i n i n g a n d c o a c h i n g s e s s i o n s w i t h e v e r y o n e n e x t y e a r a s p a r t o f o u r P e o p l e D e v e l o p m e n t P l a n .

We h a v e c o n t i n u e d t o d r a w o n t h e s u c c e s s e s a n d l e s s o n s l e a r n e d f r o m t h e l a s t t w o y e a r s b y f u r t h e r d e v e l o p i n g o u r t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g M a s t e r y R u b r i c , d e v i s i n g o u r k n o w l e d g e c u r r i c u l u m , d e v e l o p i n g o u r o r g a n i s a t i o n a l c u l t u r e a n d o p e r a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y w h i l s t w o r k i n g w i t h o u r p e o p l e t o l i s t e n a n d l e a r n .

R i g h t a t t h e h e a r t o f o u r e v o l u t i o n t h i s y e a r w a s s e c u r i n g n e w w a y s o f w o r k i n g t h r o u g h m e a n i n g f u l , p u r p o s e f u l c o l l a b o r a t i o n t o s e c u r e b e n e f i t s f o r s t a f f a n d p u p i l s .

T h i s p r i o r i t y g a t h e r e d p a c e t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r f o l l o w i n g t h e t r i a l o f a n e w c l u s t e r m o d e l w i t h t h r e e o f o u r s e c o n d a r y a c a d e m i e s i n t h e M i d l a n d s r e g i o n . T h r o u g h r e g u l a r w e l l - p l a n n e d a n d t i g h t l y f o c u s e d m e e t i n g s a n d c o a c h i n g s e s s i o n s , w e w e r e a b l e t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r a w e a l t h o f l e a d e r s h i p e x p e r t i s e a c r o s s t h r e e s e n i o r a n d m i d d l e l e a d e r s h i p t e a m s . T h e i m p a c t o f s u c h p u r p o s e f u l c o l l a b o r a t i o n w a s r e a l i s e d w h e n t h e G C S E r e s u l t s r o s e s i g n i f i c a n t l y f o r s t u d e n t s a t t h e s e t h r e e a c a d e m i e s . T h e b e n e f i t s o f c o l l a b o r a t i o n r e a c h f a r b e y o n d o n e s e t o f G C S E r e s u l t s ; i t i s t h e i m p a c t o n l e a d e r s a t e v e r y l e v e l i n h o n i n g t h e i r s k i l l s a n d k n o w l e d g e t h a t b r i n g s t h e m o s t b e n e f i t . Q u i c k f i x e s n e v e r s e c u r e s u s t a i n a b l e i m p a c t , b u t d e v e l o p i n g p e o p l e d o e s .

T h i s y e a r ’ s a n n u a l r e p o r t r e f l e c t s o n t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e t r u s t a s w e w e l c o m e d a n e w c h i e f e x e c u t i v e a n d h e r t e a m .

T h e e v o l u t i o n o f o u r t r u s t

P a g e 9

T h e i m p a c t w e a r e s e e i n g i n r a i s i n g p u p i l a c h i e v e m e n t t h r o u g h g r e a t t e a c h i n g , i n n o v a t i v e c u r r i c u l a a n d l e a d e r s h i p e x c e l l e n c e h a s b e e n t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l f o r o u r t r u s t . We h a v e t o h a r n e s s t h i s i n a l l o u r a c a d e m i e s n e x t y e a r s o t h a t t h e g a p b e t w e e n o u r h i g h e s t a n d l o w e s t p e r f o r m i n g a c a d e m i e s c a n r e d u c e q u i c k l y .

T h i s y e a r w e i n v e s t e d i n o u r f i r s t e v e r t r i p f o r a n e n t i r e y e a r g r o u p , o u r Ye a r 5 p u p i l s . T h e o v e r w h e l m i n g l y p o s i t i v e r e s p o n s e o f p a r e n t s a n d p u p i l s t o a r e s i d e n t i a l t r i p t o t h e I s l e o f W i g h t U K S a i l i n g A c a d e m y r e m i n d s u s o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f l e a r n i n g b e y o n d t h e c l a s s r o o m . L e a r n i n g t o b e a w a y f r o m h o m e , b e i n g t e a m p l a y e r s a n d b e c o m i n g m o r e c o n f i d e n t i n w a t e r t h r o u g h t h e w a t e r s p o r t s p r o g r a m m e h a s p r o v i d e d o u r p u p i l s w i t h s k i l l s a n d e x p e r i e n c e t h e y w i l l r e m e m b e r f o r m a n y y e a r s .

T h e i m p a c t o n c h i l d r e n ’ s m e n t a l h e a l t h a n d w e l l - b e i n g f r o m b e i n g o u t s i d e , e x p e r i e n c i n g n e w t h i n g s w i t h d i f f e r e n t f r i e n d s h i p g r o u p s i n a s a f e a n d s u p p o r t i v e e n v i r o n m e n t i s a n i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f o u r w o r k i n s u p p o r t i n g t h e m e n t a l h e a l t h o f a l l o u r c h i l d r e n . S i n c e i t s t a r t e d i n 2 0 1 7 , o u r M e n t a l H e a l t h F i r s t A i d ( M H FA ) p r o g r a m m e h a s t r a i n e d o v e r 1 , 0 0 0 s t a f f t o s u p p o r t y o u n g p e o p l e ’ s m e n t a l h e a l t h , a n d w e h a v e e s t a b l i s h e d o u r f i r s t m e n t a l h e a l t h h u b f o r p u p i l s i n o n e o f o u r B r i s t o l a c a d e m i e s t h i s y e a r .

We a l s o w e l c o m e d t h r e e n e w a c a d e m i e s t o t h e E - A C T f a m i l y t h i s y e a r : R o y t o n a n d C r o m p t o n A c a d e m y i n O l d h a m , B o u r n e E n d A c a d e m y i n B u c k i n g h a m s h i r e a n d B a d o c k ’ s Wo o d i n B r i s t o l . We l o o k f o r w a r d t o s e e i n g t h e s e a c a d e m i e s a n d t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s d e v e l o p a s p a r t o f o u r t r u s t .

P a r t o f o u r e v o l u t i o n t h i s y e a r w a s t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f a n e w c h i e f e x e c u t i v e a n d E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m t o t a k e u s i n t o t h e n e x t p h a s e o f o u r t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l j o u r n e y a t E - A C T. We h o p e a s y o u r e a d t h i s y e a r ’ s a n n u a l r e p o r t t h a t y o u w i l l b e p r o u d o f e v e r y o n e ’ s a c h i e v e m e n t s a n d t h a t y o u w i l l l o o k a h e a d w i t h e x c i t e m e n t t o 2 0 1 9 a n d o u r O p e n i n g M i n d s , O p e n i n g D o o r s s t r a t e g y : o n e E - A C T, O p e n i n g M i n d s a n d O p e n i n g D o o r s f o r s t a f f , f o r p u p i l s , f o r o u r c o m m u n i t i e s .

M i c h a e l We m m sC h a i r o f t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s

J a n e M i l l w a r dC h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r

C e l e b r a t i n g o u r p e o p l e a l s o m e a n s r e c o g n i s i n g o u r m a n y u n s u n g h e r o e s . T h i s y e a r ’ s a n n u a l r e p o r t p a y s t r i b u t e t o s o m e o f o u r s t a f f a n d p u p i l s w h o s e p e r s e v e r a n c e , t h o u g h t f u l n e s s a n d d a i l y c o m m i t m e n t t o d o i n g t h e r i g h t t h i n g , k e e p o u r a c a d e m i e s s a f e a n d c r e a t e g r e a t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r t h e i r s u c c e s s . T h e c a s e s t u d i e s i n ‘ T h e y e a r i n r e v i e w ’ a r e t r u l y i n s p i r i n g f o r u s a l l .

T h e e d u c a t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e o f o u r t r u s t t h i s y e a r m u s t b e c e l e b r a t e d . T h e t r e m e n d o u s h a r d w o r k o f s t a f f a n d p u p i l s s e c u r e d o u r b e s t - e v e r r e s u l t s a t k e y s t a g e 4 a n d k e y s t a g e 5 , a n d t h e r e c o g n i t i o n o f H e a r t l a n d s A c a d e m y i n B i r m i n g h a m a s t h e s i x t h b e s t s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l i n t h e c o u n t r y f o r p r o g r e s s a n d t h e h i g h e s t p e r f o r m i n g s p o n s o r e d a c a d e m y. T h e s h i f t w e h a v e s e e n i n o u r p r i m a r y r e s u l t s t h i s y e a r s h o w s t h e r e a l l y s t r o n g p r o g r e s s o u r c h i l d r e n a r e m a k i n g . W i t h s e v e n o f o u r p r i m a r y a c a d e m i e s e x c e e d i n g t h e n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e k e y s t a g e 2 c o m b i n e d m e a s u r e o f r e a d i n g , w r i t i n g a n d m a t h e m a t i c s , w e h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o s h a r e b e s t p r a c t i c e m o r e w i d e l y n e x t y e a r a n d h e l p a l l o u r p r i m a r i e s t o a i m t o e x c e e d t h e n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e .

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E - A C T ’ s M a s t e r y R u b r i c i s t h e t r u s t ’ s v i s i o n f o r h i g h q u a l i t y t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g . I t i s o u r s h a r e d p e d a g o g i c a l l a n g u a g e , g u i d i n g a n d s u p p o r t i n g a l l o u r c o n v e r s a t i o n s , e v a l u a t i o n s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a l w o r k a r o u n d t e a c h i n g .

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O u r r u b r i c i s t h e r o u t e - m a p o f E - A C T ’ s t e a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t , a r t i c u l a t i n g o u r p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t p a t h w a y t o m a s t e r y a n d b e y o n d .

T h e r e a r e f i v e p r o g r e s s i o n l e v e l s o u t l i n e d i n t h e r u b r i c . O n c e a t e a c h e r h a s d e m o n s t r a t e d e v i d e n c e o f m a s t e r y i n t h e i r p r a c t i c e , t h e y a r e e n c o u r a g e d t o p u s h t h e m s e l v e s f o r w a r d b y e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h s t r a t e g i e s t o t r a n s f o r m t h e i r p r a c t i c e e v e n f u r t h e r .

A s l e s s o n o b s e r v a t i o n s m a y n o t a l w a y s b e t h e b e s t p r o x y f o r q u a l i t y o f l e a r n i n g , t h e M a s t e r y R u b r i c i s a l s o d e s i g n e d t o t a k e a m o r e j u d i c i o u s , l o n g t e r m v i e w o f h o w p u p i l l e a r n i n g i s p l a n n e d , d e l i v e r e d a n d a s s e s s e d .

I t i s t h r o u g h o u r M a s t e r y R u b r i c t h a t w e a i m t o c o n t i n u e t o O p e n M i n d s a n d O p e n D o o r s f o r o u r p u p i l s a n d s t a f f .

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T h i s y e a r , e v e r y s i n g l e o n e o f o u r Ye a r 5 p u p i l s w a s o f f e r e d a p l a c e o n o u r r e s i d e n t i a l w a t e r s p o r t s p r o g r a m m e o n t h e I s l e o f W i g h t , w i t h o u t c h a r g e t o t h e i r f a m i l i e s .

L e a r n i n g o u t s i d e t h e c l a s s r o o m

T h r o u g h o u r T h i n k B i g r e s i d e n t i a l s i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h t h e U K S a i l i n g A c a d e m y ( U K S A ) , o v e r 7 0 0 E - A C T p u p i l s f r o m a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y w e r e g i v e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o v i s i t a d i f f e r e n t p a r t o f t h e w o r l d , t r y s o m e t h i n g n e w a n d d e v e l o p i m p o r t a n t l i f e s k i l l s . F o r m a n y o f o u r p u p i l s , t h i s w a s t h e f i r s t t i m e t h e y h a d b e e n f a r a w a y f r o m h o m e , t r i e d w a t e r s p o r t s o r e v e n s e e n t h e s e a .

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t h i n k .”

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F u n d e d c e n t r a l l y b y t h e t r u s t , o v e r t h e c o u r s e o f t h e t h r e e - d a y r e s i d e n t i a l t r i p , p u p i l s i m p r o v e d t h e i r c o n f i d e n c e i n t h e w a t e r a s t h e y t r i e d o u t a c t i v i t i e s s u c h a s k a y a k i n g , p a d d l e - b o a r d i n g , d i n g h y s a i l i n g a n d k e e l b o a t i n g .

A s w e l l a s p r o v i d i n g e x c i t i n g n e w e x p e r i e n c e s , o u r T h i n k B i g r e s i d e n t i a l s a l s o f o c u s e d o n b u i l d i n g s k i l l s f o r l i f e a r o u n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n , d e c i s i o n m a k i n g , t e a m w o r k , s e l f -b e l i e f , d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d r e s i l i e n c e .

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1 7 , 8 1 9 p u p i l sM o r e t h a n 9 0 d i f f e r e n t

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T h e t r u s t e e s p r e s e n t t h e i r a n n u a l r e p o r t t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t s a n d a u d i t o r ’ s r e p o r t o f t h e c h a r i t a b l e c o m p a n y f o r t h e y e a r 1 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 8 t o3 1 A u g u s t 2 0 1 9 .

T h e a n n u a l r e p o r t s e r v e s t h e p u r p o s e s o f b o t h t h e t r u s t e e s ’ r e p o r t a n d a d i r e c t o r ’ s r e p o r t u n d e r c o m p a n y l a w.

D u r i n g t h e f i n a n c i a l y e a r , t h e a c a d e m y t r u s t o p e r a t e d 2 9 a c a d e m i e s c o v e r i n g t h e N o r t h , M i d l a n d s , L o n d o n & B u c k i n g h a m s h i r e a n d S o u t h We s t .

T h e t r u s t o p e r a t e s 1 5 p r i m a r y a c a d e m i e s , 1 3 s e c o n d a r y a c a d e m i e s a n d o n e a l l - t h r o u g h a c a d e m y a c r o s s E n g l a n d . T h e t r u s t h a d 1 7 , 8 1 9 p u p i l s o n r o l l i n t h e t r u s t c e n s u s o n 1 6 M a y 2 0 1 9 , w h i c h w a s 8 5 % o f i t s t o t a l c a p a c i t y .

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O u r a c a d e m i e s

We a r e p r o u d o f t h e r i c h d i v e r s i t y o f o u r p u p i l s , s t a f f a n d o u r c o m m u n i t i e s a c r o s s t h e f o u r E - A C T r e g i o n s , a n d w e c e l e b r a t e t h e m i x o f c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e a n d t h e m a n y l a n g u a g e s s p o k e n i n o u r a c a d e m i e s . T h r o u g h g r e a t t e a c h i n g a n d p a s t o r a l s u p p o r t w e a i m t o r a i s e o u r p u p i l s ’ a s p i r a t i o n s s o t h e y b e l i e v e i n t h e m s e l v e s a n d u n d e r s t a n d t h a t t h e r e i s n o t h i n g h o l d i n g t h e m b a c k , i n c l u d i n g w h e r e t h e y h a p p e n t o l i v e o r t h e i r f a m i l y ’ s e x p e r i e n c e i n e d u c a t i o n .

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O u r b e s t - e v e r r e s u l t s a t k e y s t a g e 4 a n d 5 . A s a t D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 9 , 8 2 % o f o u r a c a d e m i e s t h a t h a v e b e e n i n s p e c t e d a r e n o w g r a d e d a s g o o d o r b e t t e r b y O f s t e d , i n c l u d i n g a s e c o n d o u t s t a n d i n g p r i m a r y .

H e a r t l a n d s A c a d e m y i s t h e b e s t p e r f o r m i n g s p o n s o r e d a c a d e m y i n E n g l a n d a n d s i x t h i n o v e r a l l r a t i n g s f o r p r o g r e s s .

E v e r y E - A C T p u p i l h a s b e e n i s s u e d a n E - A C T P a s s p o r t e n a b l i n g t h e m t o t a k e p a r t i n a v a r i e t y o f a s p i r a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s , a n d e v e r y Ye a r 5 p u p i l h a s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o t a k e p a r t i n a w a t e r s p o r t s r e s i d e n t i a l o n t h e I s l e o f W i g h t f u l l y f u n d e d b y t h e t r u s t .

C h a l l e n g e s

D e s p i t e a c h i e v i n g o u r b e s t - e v e r k e y s t a g e 4 r e s u l t s t h i s y e a r , o u t c o m e s f o r a l l p u p i l s , s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r t h o s e w i t h s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n a l n e e d s a n d d i s a b i l i t i e s ( S E N D ) , v a r i e d t o o m u c h b e t w e e n a c a d e m i e s f a c i n g s i m i l a r c h a l l e n g e s .

O u r w o r k w i t h l o c a l a u t h o r i t y s e r v i c e s a n d o t h e r s e r v i c e s t o s u p p o r t o u r p u p i l s p r o v e d c h a l l e n g i n g i n s o m e r e g i o n s . L a s t y e a r o n l y 7 0 % o f o u r m u l t i a g e n c y s a f e g u a r d i n g h u b ( M A S H ) r e f e r r a l s w e r e a c c e p t e d . We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o w o r k w i t h t h e l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s i n a l l o f o u r r e g i o n s t o s u p p o r t o u r p u p i l s i n a c c e s s i n g t h e s u p p o r t t h e y n e e d .

P r i o r i t i e s

We w i l l f o c u s o n i m p r o v i n g s t a n d a r d s i n e v e r y a c a d e m y b y e n a b l i n g t e a c h e r s a n d l e a d e r s a c r o s s t h e t r u s t t o w o r k m o r e c o l l a b o r a t i v e l y , s p e c i f i c a l l y o n o u r M a s t e r y R u b r i c a n d c u r r i c u l u m s t r a t e g y . We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o d e v e l o p m u l t i - a g e n c y r e l a t i o n s h i p s , p a r t i c u l a r l y w h e r e S E N D a n d M A S H r e f e r r a l s a r e c o n c e r n e d .

P a g e 2 7

C u l t u r e

P r i o r i t i e s

We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o e v o l v e o u r c u l t u r e b y s t r e n g t h e n i n g o u r c o m m i t m e n t t o e v e r y p e r s o n w i t h i n o u r o r g a n i s a t i o n b y r e g u l a r l y s p e a k i n g t o o u r p u p i l s , t h e i r p a r e n t s a n d o u r s t a f f t o f u r t h e r u n d e r s t a n d t h e i r v i e w s t h r o u g h t h e b i g c u l t u r e c o n v e r s a t i o n a n d t h r o u g h a c a d e m y v i s i t s b y t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m . We c o n t i n u e t o p r i o r i t i s e p e o p l e d e v e l o p m e n t , w e l l - b e i n g , c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d r e t e n t i o n , a n d w e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o w o r k c l o s e l y w i t h a c a d e m y l e a d e r s h i p o n s u c c e s s i o n p l a n n i n g , r e t e n t i o n a n d d e v e l o p i n g o u r s t a f f .

S u c c e s s e s

T h e b i g c u l t u r e c o n v e r s a t i o n w a s l a u n c h e d i n 2 0 1 9 w i t h s t a f f a c r o s s t h e t r u s t . F e e d b a c k h a s s h o w n t h a t o u r p e o p l e a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y l o o k i n g b e y o n d t h e f o u r w a l l s o f t h e i r o w n a c a d e m i e s t o p u r s u e m e a n i n g f u l o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o c o l l a b o r a t e w i t h i n t h e i r r e g i o n s a n d f u r t h e r a f i e l d .

N a t i o n a l a n d R e g i o n a l I n s e t D a y s g r o w f r o m s t r e n g t h t o s t r e n g t h a n d r e c e i v e e x c e p t i o n a l f e e d b a c k f r o m a t t e n d i n g s t a f f , a s d i d t h e i n a u g u r a l E - A C T L e a d e r s ’ r e s i d e n t i a l .

M a n y o f o u r a p p o i n t m e n t s , i n c l u d i n g a l m o s t h a l f o f o u r h e a d t e a c h e r s , a r e p e o p l e w h o h a v e b e e n p r o m o t e d f r o m w i t h i n t h e t r u s t . F u r t h e r m o r e , o u r p e o p l e a r e p l e a s e d w i t h t h e t r u s t ’ s f o c u s o n w e l l b e i n g - o v e r 1 , 0 0 0 m e m b e r s o f s t a f f h a v e b e e n t r a i n e d i n y o u t h a n d a d u l t M e n t a l H e a l t h F i r s t A i d .

B y e v o l v i n g o u r c u l t u r e i n t h i s w a y , w e a r e f i n d i n g n e w w a y s t o p r o v i d e a b e t t e r s t a n d a r d o f e d u c a t i o n t o o u r p u p i l s .

C h a l l e n g e s

We c o n t i n u e t o d e v e l o p o u r c u l t u r e b y l i s t e n i n g t o t h e i d e a s a n d o p i n i o n s o f o u r p e o p l e a c r o s s 2 9 a c a d e m i e s , f o u r r e g i o n a l t e a m s a n d a n a t i o n a l t e a m . A s w e e m b e d n e w w a y s o f w o r k i n g a n d u p h o l d o u r c o r e E - A C T v a l u e s , p a r t o f o u r c h a l l e n g e i s t o s h a r e o u r l e s s o n s l e a r n e d , a n d t o c e l e b r a t e t h e e x c e l l e n t p r a c t i c e a l r e a d y i n p l a c e a c r o s s t h e t r u s t .

O v e r 1 , 0 0 0 m e m b e r s o f s t a f f h a v e b e e n t r a i n e d i n y o u t h a n d a d u l t M e n t a l H e a l t h F i r s t A i d

P a g e 2 9

S u c c e s s e s

S t r e n g t h e n i n g o f e d u c a t i o n a l a n d o p e r a t i o n a l p r a c t i c e a c r o s s a l l f o u r o f o u r r e g i o n s . S u c c e s s f u l l y i n t e g r a t e d t h r e e n e w a c a d e m i e s i n t o t h e t r u s t a n d r e l e a s e d o p e r a t i o n a l e f f i c i e n c y t o i n v e s t i n e d u c a t i o n .

C h a l l e n g e s

C o n t i n u i n g t o f i n d n e w w a y s o f d e l i v e r i n g e f f i c i e n c i e s t o m a x i m i s e i n v e s t m e n t i n e d u c a t i o n . E n s u r i n g o u r o p e r a t i o n a l d e l i v e r y m o d e l r e m a i n s e f f e c t i v e a n d c o m p l i a n t w h i l s t d e l i v e r i n g g r e a t s e r v i c e t o o u r a c a d e m i e s .

P r i o r i t i e s

To d e v e l o p s e r v i c e q u a l i t y t o o u r a c a d e m i e s a n d s t a f f w h i l s t d r i v i n g o u r P e o p l e D e v e l o p m e n t P l a n a n d I T I n f r a s t r u c t u r e s t r a t e g y . To e x e c u t e o u r e s t a t e s s t r a t e g y t o m a x i m i s e t h e i n v e s t m e n t i n o u r b u i l d i n g s a n d t o c o l l e c t a n d u s e d a t a i n a n e v e n m o r e i n s i g h t f u l w a y .

O p e r a t i o n s F i n a n c e

S u c c e s s e s

T h e t r u s t h a s g e n e r a t e d a s m a l l s u r p l u s f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l y e a r . A l o n g s i d e t h i s , a b a l a n c e d b u d g e t h a s b e e n p r e p a r e d f o r 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 . T h e f u t u r e y e a r s ’ f o r e c a s t w a s d e v e l o p e d , a n d a n e w p u r c h a s e p r o c e s s i n g s y s t e m w a s i m p l e m e n t e d f u r t h e r r e d u c i n g r i s k a c r o s s t h e t r u s t .

C h a l l e n g e s

I n f l a t i o n c o n t i n u e s t o b e a c h a l l e n g e w i t h f u n d i n g n o t i n c r e a s i n g a t t h e s a m e r a t e . E m p l o y e r s ’ p e n s i o n c o s t s a r e i n c r e a s i n g a n d t h e r e h a s b e e n n o c o n f i r m a t i o n t h a t t h i s w i l l b e f u l l y f u n d e d b y t h e E d u c a t i o n a n d S k i l l s F u n d i n g A g e n c y ( E S FA ) . We c o n t i n u e t o a i m f o r t h e c o r r e c t b a l a n c e b e t w e e n e f f i c i e n c y a n d i n t e r n a l s e r v i c e d e l i v e r y .

P r i o r i t i e s

We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o d e v e l o p t h e f i n a n c i a l l i t e r a c y o f s t a f f a c r o s s t h e t r u s t - t h i s i n c l u d e s r o l l i n g o u t t r a i n i n g t o a l l a c a d e m y s e n i o r l e a d e r s h i p t e a m s . We w i l l e x p a n d i n t e r n a l r e p o r t i n g t o i n c l u d e m o r e n o n - f i n a n c e c o l l e a g u e s w i t h i n t h e t r u s t . We w i l l a l s o c o n t i n u e t o f u r t h e r e m b e d o u r z e r o - b a s e d b u d g e t i n g p r o c e s s .

T h r e e n e w a c a d e m i e s j o i n e d t h e t r u s t d u r i n g t h e

2 0 1 8 - 1 9 a c a d e m i c y e a r . We a r e n o w 2 9 a c a d e m i e s

G o v e r n a n c e

P r i o r i t i e s

O u r h a l f t e r m l y R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d s ( R A B s ) h a v e p r o v i d e d a s t r o n g r e g i o n a l g o v e r n a n c e m o d e l i n h o l d i n g o u r a c a d e m i e s a n d r e g i o n s t o a c c o u n t . A s w e l o o k a h e a d t o n e x t y e a r w e w i l l b e d e v e l o p i n g a n e w s t y l e G o v e r n a n c e R e v i e w D a y u s i n g l e s s o n s l e a r n e d f r o m o u r R A B s .

We h a v e f u r t h e r r e f i n e d h o w o u r A m b a s s a d o r s w o r k b y i s s u i n g a n e w E - A C T A m b a s s a d o r C h a r t e r . T h i s n o w i n c l u d e s e x p e c t a t i o n s o f A m b a s s a d o r s a t G o v e r n a n c e R e v i e w D a y s .

P o l i c y r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n c o m m e n c e d i n s u m m e r 2 0 1 9 a n d w i l l c o n s o l i d a t e n e w g u i d a n c e t o p o l i c y i n t h e f o r m o f q u i c k r e f e r e n c e b o o k l e t s n e x t y e a r .

O u r e n h a n c e d s t r a t e g y f o r q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e o f p o l i c y , a p p l i c a t i o n a n d i m p a c t w i l l b e d e v e l o p e d s o t h a t o u r g o v e r n a n c e w o r k i s i n c r e a s i n g l y e m b e d d i n g t h e m o n i t o r i n g o f a l l c o m p l i a n c e a n d p o l i c y f r a m e w o r k s .

S u c c e s s e s

Tr u s t e e s a p p o i n t e d a n e w c h i e f e x e c u t i v e a n d E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m t o d e v e l o p a n d d e l i v e r a n e w c o r e p u r p o s e a n d s t r a t e g y a t E - A C T.

T h e i m p a c t o f h i g h q u a l i t y r e p o r t i n g , s h a r i n g a n d s c r u t i n y o f e v i d e n c e b y o u r r e g i o n a l d i r e c t o r s a t 2 0 R e g i o n a l P e r f o r m a n c e B o a r d s h a s h e l p e d c r e a t e f o c u s e d c o l l a b o r a t i o n t o s e c u r e r a p i d a c a d e m y i m p r o v e m e n t . T h e a n a l y s i s o f t h e i m p a c t o f c o l l a b o r a t i v e w o r k i n a c l u s t e r m o d e l i n t h r e e s e c o n d a r y a c a d e m i e s h a s r e s u l t e d i n f u r t h e r r e f i n e d p o l i c i e s t o s u p p o r t e d u c a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n s a c r o s s E - A C T, h e l p i n g s t a f f t o b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d l e g i s l a t i o n a n d s t a t u t o r y g u i d a n c e .

C h a l l e n g e s

We a r e c o n t i n u i n g t o h e l p s t a f f a c r o s s t h e t r u s t u n d e r s t a n d h o w e v e r y o n e h a s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r e m b e d d i n g g r e a t g o v e r n a n c e a t E - A C T. O u r c h a l l e n g e i s h e l p i n g s t a f f , p a r t i c u l a r l y n e w c o l l e a g u e s , t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t a l l a s p e c t s o f o u r g o v e r n a n c e f r a m e w o r k , u n d e r p i n n e d b y o u r A r t i c l e s o f A s s o c i a t i o n , C h a r i t y L a w a n d s t a t u t o r y g u i d a n c e f r o m E S FA a n d t h e D f E , s u p p o r t o u r a c a d e m i e s i n t h e i r d a y t o d a y o p e r a t i o n s .

We h a v e f u r t h e r r e f i n e d h o w o u r A m b a s s a d o r s w o r k b y i s s u i n g a n e w

A m b a s s a d o r C h a r t e r

P a g e 3 3

O u r k e y p e r f o r m a n c e i n d i c a t o r s 2 0 1 8 - 1 9

We a r e@ E d u c a t i o n E A C T

K e y s t a g e 5 C o n t i n u e d i m p r o v e m e n t a t k e y s t a g e 5 . 9 5 % o f E - A C T s t u d e n t s h a v e

b e e n a w a r d e d a p a s s o r h i g h e r i n o n e o r m o r e

q u a l i f i c a t i o n .

K e y s t a g e 4 T h e p e r c e n t a g e o f

E - A C T s t u d e n t s w h o a c h i e v e d a 4 + i n E n g l i s h

a n d m a t h e m a t i c s . T h e t r u s t ’ s b e s t - e v e r r e s u l t s w i t h m o r e s t u d e n t s t h a n

e v e r b e f o r e p a s s i n g G C S E s i n E n g l i s h a n d

m a t h e m a t i c s .

K e y s t a g e 2 T h e p e r c e n t a g e o f E - A C T p u p i l s

w h o a c h i e v e d t h e e x p e c t e d s t a n d a r d i n r e a d i n g , w r i t i n g a n d m a t h e m a t i c s . S e v e n

a c a d e m i e s s u r p a s s e d t h e n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e o f

6 5 % .

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5 9 % 5 3 % 9 5 %

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1 3T h e n u m b e r o f O f s t e d

v i s i t s i n 2 0 1 8 - 1 9 . I n 2 0 1 9 , H a r e c l i v e

A c a d e m y w a s r a t e d o u t s t a n d i n g i n i t s f i r s t

O f s t e d i n s p e c t i o n s i n c e j o i n i n g t h e t r u s t j u s t

t h r e e y e a r s a g o .

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K e y s t a g e 2 S e v e n a c a d e m i e s a b o v e

n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e f o r p r o g r e s s i n r e a d i n g , 1 1 a b o v e n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e

i n w r i t i n g a n d s e v e n a b o v e n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e

i n m a t h e m a t i c s .

K e y s t a g e 4 N o r t h B i r m i n g h a m

A c a d e m y, T h e O l d h a m A c a d e m y N o r t h a n d

C r e s t A c a d e m y i n L o n d o n a r e a g a i n a b o v e

n a t i o n a l a v e r a g e f o r p r o g r e s s .

H e a r t l a n d s A c a d e m y i s t h e b e s t p e r f o r m i n g s p o n s o r e d a c a d e m y i n E n g l a n d a n d s i x t h i n o v e r a l l r a t i n g s f o r p r o g r e s s .

O v e r a l l , s t a f f c o s t s a r e 7 7 % o f n e t i n c o m e

a s r e c o g n i s e d i n t h e S t a t e m e n t o f F i n a n c i a l a c t i v i t i e s . S t a f f c o s t s

i n c l u d e t e a c h i n g s t a f f s a l a r i e s ( 5 0 % ) , e d u c a t i o n a l s u p p o r t

s t a f f ( 1 4 % ) a n d o p e r a t i o n a l s t a f f ( 1 3 % ) .

E a c h r e g i o n t o r e m a i n f i n a n c i a l l y v i a b l e o v e r t h e n e x t b u d g e t p e r i o d a n d t h r e e - y e a r h o r i z o n ,

w i t h c o n t i n u e d f o c u s o n e f f i c i e n c y i n p r o c e s s a n d a t t a i n i n g v a l u e f o r

m o n e y .

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P a g e 3 5

T h i s y e a r w e a r e c e l e b r a t i n g E - A C T p e o p l e w h o a r e a n i n s p i r a t i o n t o u s a l l . W i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n , e a c h o f t h e s e u n s u n g h e r o e s h a v e s h o w n j u s t h o w i m p o r t a n t i t i s t o l i v e o u r E - A C T v a l u e s i n e v e r y t h i n g w e d o .

O u r u n s u n g h e r o e s h a v e s h o w n a n u n w a v e r i n g c o m m i t m e n t t o e n s u r i n g o u r a c a d e m i e s a r e a l w a y s s u p p o r t e d , e n c o u r a g e d a n d g i v e n t h e s u p p o r t t h e y n e e d .

T h e s e s t o r i e s c e l e b r a t e h o w o u r p e o p l e g o a b o v e a n d b e y o n d i n t h e i r d a y t o d a y w o r k , t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t t o e n r i c h m e n t a n d p a s t o r a l c a r e a n d i n h o w t h e y h a v e q u i c k l y r e s p o n d e d a n d s h o w n g r e a t s k i l l a n d c o u r a g e i n e m e r g e n c y s i t u a t i o n s .

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T h e r e w a s a b o u t t o b e a l e s s o n c h a n g e , s o w e h a d t o m a k e s u r e t h e c o r r i d o r l e a d i n g o f f f r o m t h e c l a s s r o o m w h e r e t h e s t u d e n t w a s b e i n g k e p t r e m a i n e d c l e a r . I w a s s u d d e n l y i n f o r m e d t h a t I n e e d e d t o b r i n g t h e d e f i b r i l l a t o r a s a s e c o n d E p i P e n h a d b e e n a d m i n i s t e r e d b u t w a s n ’ t h a v i n g a n y e f f e c t .

We w e r e u n d e r s t a n d a b l y g e t t i n g v e r y w o r r i e d . T h e r e w e r e t e a r s i n t h e e y e s o f t h e s t u d e n t ’ s f r i e n d s a n d w e k n e w t h e s i t u a t i o n h a d b e c o m e v e r y s e r i o u s . T h e a m b u l a n c e s t i l l h a d n ’ t a r r i v e d , s o t h e p a r a m e d i c s b e g a n t a l k i n g u s t h r o u g h p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r C P R o v e r t h e p h o n e .

I c o u l d n ’ t p i c k u p a p u l s e , t h e r e w a s n o s i g n o f b r e a t h i n g a n d t h e s t u d e n t r e m a i n e d u n r e s p o n s i v e . G e m m a a n d I , w i t h t h e s u p p o r t o f S i a n a n d E m m a , s t a r t e d a d m i n i s t e r i n g m o u t h -t o - m o u t h a n d C P R . A f t e r a b o u t a m i n u t e a n d a h a l f , w e s u d d e n l y f e l t m o v e m e n t a n d t h e s t u d e n t s t a r t e d t o s t i r . T h e p a r a m e d i c o n t h e p h o n e i n s t r u c t e d u s t o s t o p t h e C P R a n d t o p u t h e r i n t o t h e r e c o v e r y p o s i t i o n - i t w a s a t t h a t m o m e n t t h a t t h e p a r a m e d i c s a r r i v e d .

D e s p i t e t h e s t u d e n t ’ s l o n g l i s t o f a l l e r g i e s a n d t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t t h e y c a u s e h e r , s h e j u s t g e t s o n w i t h l i f e a n d s h e ’ s b r i l l i a n t a t e v e r y t h i n g s h e d o e s .”

E m m a D u n k l e y , M a r k F r a n z o n i , S i a n G l o v e r a n d G e m m a H a y n e s , D S LV

H e r e w e m e e t f o u r D S LV a c a d e m y s t a f f w h o s e b r a v e r y i n t h e f a c e o f g r e a t a d v e r s i t y s a v e d t h e l i f e o f a s t u d e n t a t t h e a c a d e m y l a s t y e a r . A s s i s t a n t H e a d t e a c h e r M a r k F r a n z o n i e x p l a i n s w h a t h a p p e n e d .

“A s t u d e n t a t o u r a c a d e m y h a s a n e x t e n s i v e l i s t o f a l l e r g i e s w h i c h m e a n s t h a t o u r s t a f f m u s t b e h y p e r v i g i l a n t t o s i g n s o f a n a l l e r g i c r e a c t i o n . E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , s h e s u f f e r e d f r o m a n a l l e r g i c r e a c t i o n a t a n a t h l e t i c e v e n t a n d o u r P E t e a m h a d t o a d m i n i s t e r h e r E p i P e n . A f t e r t h i s i n c i d e n t , o u r I n d i v i d u a l H e a l t h C a r e P l a n L e a d G e m m a H a y n e s b r i e f e d s t a f f t o e n s u r e t h a t w e w e r e a l l a w a r e o f t h e s t u d e n t ’ s t r i g g e r s , t h e s y m p t o m s o f a n a l l e r g i c r e a c t i o n a n d t h e m e d i c a t i o n s h e r e q u i r e s .

J u s t a f e w w e e k s l a t e r , t h e s t u d e n t w a s i n a s c i e n c e l e s s o n w h e n s h e n o t i c e d t h a t s h e w a s h a v i n g d i f f i c u l t y s w a l l o w i n g . H e r t e a c h e r E m m a D u n k l e y i m m e d i a t e l y c a l l e d d o w n t o t h e a c a d e m y o f f i c e f o r s u p p o r t f r o m r e c e p t i o n i s t a n d f i r s t -a i d e r , S i a n G l o v e r . A l t h o u g h w e h a d a d m i n i s t e r e d h e r E p i P e n , t h e s t u d e n t ’ s s y m p t o m s c o n t i n u e d t o w o r s e n a n d s h e w a s s t r u g g l i n g t o b r e a t h e . A t t h a t p o i n t , E m m a d e c i d e d t h a t w e s h o u l d c a l l a n a m b u l a n c e .

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T h i s y e a r , We n d y s t e p p e d i n t o a s s i s t t h e a r t d e p a r t m e n t w h e n t h e y w e r e w i t h o u t a n a r t t e c h n i c i a n , h e l p i n g s t u d e n t s t o p r e p a r e f o r t h e i r f i n a l e x a m . We n d y c a n a l s o b e c o u n t e d o n t o o f f e r s t u d e n t s s u f f e r i n g f r o m e x a m s t r e s s e m o t i o n a l s u p p o r t . H e r i m p a c t o n t h e s t u d e n t b o d y c o u l d p e r h a p s m o s t b e f e l t d u r i n g l a s t s u m m e r ’ s Ye a r 1 1 f a r e w e l l a s s e m b l y , w h e n s t u d e n t s c o u l d b e h e a r d c h a n t i n g h e r n a m e . We n d y a l s o h a p p e n s t o b e t h e o n l y m e m b e r o f s t a f f t h a t s t u d e n t s a r e g l a d t o s e e o n t h e d a n c e f l o o r a t t h e Ye a r 1 1 p r o m !

We n d y D a v e n p o r tT h e O l d h a m A c a d e m y N o r t h

We n d y h a s w o r k e d a t T h e O l d h a m A c a d e m y N o r t h s i n c e i t f i r s t o p e n e d i n 2 0 1 0 , a n d a c c o r d i n g t o h e r c o l l e a g u e s s h e i s t h e b a c k b o n e o f t h e a c a d e m y. A s w e l l a s c a r r y i n g o u t h e r o w n f u l l - t i m e r o l e o f c a t e r i n g a s s i s t a n t a n d p r e m i s e s c l e a n e r , s h e i s a l w a y s o f f e r i n g t o h e l p o t h e r s a n d h a s b u i l t f a n t a s t i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h b o t h s t u d e n t s a n d s t a f f .

We n d y h a s a l w a y s g o n e a b o v e a n d b e y o n d t o s u p p o r t t h e a c a d e m y ’ s m o s t v u l n e r a b l e s t u d e n t s , f r o m n o t i c i n g w h e n s t u d e n t s n e e d c l e a n u n i f o r m s t o e n s u r i n g t h a t a l l f e m a l e s t u d e n t s h a v e a c c e s s t o t h e h y g i e n e p r o d u c t s t h e y r e q u i r e . D u r i n g b r e a k s , s h e l o o k s o u t f o r c h a n g e s i n s t u d e n t s ’ e a t i n g p a t t e r n s o r b e h a v i o u r , a n d e v e n o u t s i d e o f a c a d e m y, We n d y i s k e e n t o r e m i n d s t u d e n t s t h a t t h e y r e p r e s e n t T h e O l d h a m A c a d e m y N o r t h a t a l l t i m e s .

C o l l e a g u e s n o t e t h a t We n d y i s a l w a y s s m i l i n g a n d i s k e e n t o p i t c h i n a n d b e p a r t o f t h e a c a d e m y t e a m . H e r w o r k e x e m p l i f i e s o u r v a l u e s o f d o i n g t h e r i g h t t h i n g a n d t e a m s p i r i t a n d s h e t a k e s g r e a t p r i d e i n h e r r o l e . We ’ r e d e l i g h t e d t h a t We n d y , a t r u e u n s u n g h e r o o f 2 0 1 8 - 1 9 , w a s t h i s y e a r a w a r d e d t h e E - A C T S t a f f Va l u e s A w a r d f o r S h o w i n g Te a m S p i r i t a t t h e t r u s t ’ s N a t i o n a l C e l e b r a t i o n E v e n t .

J a c k i e D o u g h t yP a r k w o o d E - A C T A c a d e m y

H e r e w e m e e t u n s u n g h e r o J a c k i e D o u g h t y , a p a s t o r a l m a n a g e r a t P a r k w o o d E - A C T A c a d e m y, w h o s e d e d i c a t i o n t o h e r s t u d e n t s k n o w s n o b o u n d s .

“ I n m y r o l e a s p a s t o r a l m a n a g e r a t P a r k w o o d , I ’ m t h e f i r s t p o r t o f c a l l f o r s t u d e n t s a n d p a r e n t s n e e d i n g s u p p o r t . O u r t e a m l o o k s a t a t t e n d a n c e , a t t a i n m e n t , a c h i e v e m e n t a n d b e h a v i o u r , w o r k i n g c l o s e l y w i t h f a m i l i e s t o s e e h o w w e c a n s u p p o r t t h e m . I f t h e r e a r e b a r r i e r s t o l e a r n i n g , I ’ l l s e e w h a t w e c a n d o t o h e l p . B a s i c a l l y , o u r t e a m h e l p s t o k e e p e v e r y t h i n g i n o r d e r s o t h a t t e a c h i n g c a n t a k e p l a c e !

E v e r y d a y i s d i f f e r e n t . N o r m a l l y I g e t i n j u s t a f t e r 7 . 1 5 a m a n d p u t t o g e t h e r a r e p o r t o n y e s t e r d a y ’ s b e h a v i o u r t o s e n d t o o u r p r o g r e s s l e a d e r s . I ’ l l b e o f f o u t o n h o m e v i s i t s a s a t t e n d a n c e c a n b e a n i s s u e w i t h s o m e s t u d e n t s , s o w e a r e t r y i n g d i f f e r e n t t a c t i c s t o e n s u r e t h a t a t t e n d a n c e i s a b o v e 9 5 % .

W h e n I g e t b a c k , I w a l k t h e a c a d e m y g r o u n d s t o c h e c k o n c l a s s e s t h a t m i g h t n e e d a s s i s t a n c e . T h e n I ’ l l b e o u t o n b r e a k d u t y . A f t e r t h a t , i t ’ s b a c k t o s u p p o r t i n g c l a s s e s a n d d e a l i n g w i t h a n y i s s u e s t h a t a r i s e . I ’ l l a l s o n e e d t o t a l k w i t h a n y p a r e n t s t h a t c a l l u s o r p o p i n t o t h e a c a d e m y. A f t e r s c h o o l , I d e a l w i t h a n y s t u d e n t s t h a t h a v e d e t e n t i o n , m a k i n g s u r e t h a t t h e y a r e w h e r e t h e y ’ r e s u p p o s e d t o b e .

I j u s t w a n t e v e r y s i n g l e s t u d e n t a t t h i s a c a d e m y t o d o t h e v e r y b e s t t h e y c a n . I g o h o m e s o m e t i m e s t h i n k i n g , c o u l d I h a v e d o n e m o r e ? W h a t c o u l d I h a v e d o n e b e t t e r ? O u r o l d h e a d t e a c h e r u s e d t o t e l l m e t o s w i t c h o f f w h e n I w e n t h o m e , b u t I c a n ’ t . I l i v e , b r e a t h e a n d e v e n d r e a m t h i s j o b . I t ’ s a v o c a t i o n . I f I d i d n ’ t l o v e i t , I w o u l d n ’ t s t i l l b e d o i n g i t a f t e r 2 0 y e a r s ! ”

A l e x a n d e r , Ye a r 6P e r r y C o u r t E - A C T A c a d e m y

I n M a y 2 0 1 9 , p u p i l s a t P e r r y C o u r t E - A C T A c a d e m y w e r e d e l i g h t e d t o w e l c o m e t h e M a y o r o f B r i s t o l , M a r v i n R e e s t o t h e i r a c a d e m y. Ye a r 6 p u p i l A l e x a n d e r h a d p r e v i o u s l y w r i t t e n t o t h e m a y o r t o i n v i t e h i m t o a s p o n s o r e d c o m m u n i t y l i t t e r p i c k t h a t h e h a d h e l p e d t o a r r a n g e e a r l i e r i n t h e y e a r . W h i l e t h e m a y o r w a s u n a b l e t o a t t e n d t h e e v e n t , h e w a s k e e n t o m e e t A l e x a n d e r a n d v i s i t P e r r y C o u r t a f t e r h e a r i n g a b o u t t h e a c a d e m y ’ s a m a z i n g r e s u l t s a n d n o m i n a t i o n f o r t h e Te s P r i m a r y S c h o o l o f t h e Ye a r a w a r d . A l e x a n d e r w a s d e l i g h t e d t o s h o w t h e m a y o r a r o u n d , t a k i n g h i m t o m e e t d i f f e r e n t c l a s s e s b e f o r e t h e m a y o r a d d r e s s e d p u p i l s a t a s s e m b l y .

“ I t w a s r e a l l y f u n g e t t i n g t o m e e t t h e m a y o r a n d s h o w h i m a r o u n d . I ’ m

g l a d h e g o t t o s e e a l l o f t h e g r e a t i m p r o v e m e n t s a t o u r a c a d e m y.”

A l e x a n d e r

A f t e r t h e v i s i t , t h e m a y o r t w e e t e d :

“ B r i l l i a n t v i s i t t o P e r r y C o u r t o n F r i d a y . G r e a t t o l e a r n a b o u t t h e

c o m m i t m e n t f o r e v e r y t e a c h e r t o b e t r a i n e d i n M e n t a l H e a l t h F i r s t A i d a n d h o w t h e y e n c o u r a g e s t u d e n t s t o t h i n g b i g , s h o w t e a m s p i r i t a n d

d o t h e r i g h t t h i n g . S p e c i a l t h a n k s t o A l e x a n d e r f o r s h o w i n g m e a r o u n d ! ”

P a g e 3 9

U n s u n g h e r o e s

T h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m a t R e e d s w o o d E - A C T A c a d e m y

I n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 8 , R e e d s w o o d E - A C T A c a d e m y ' s s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m s h o w e d e x c e p t i o n a l t e a m w o r k t o s u p p o r t a p a r t i c u l a r l y u n w e l l p u p i l , w h o w i t h o u t t h e i r i n t e r v e n t i o n a n d c a r e m a y h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d f a r w o r s e c o n s e q u e n c e s .

A c c o r d i n g t o H e a d t e a c h e r M a x i n e L a t h b u r y - C o x , w h o i s a l s o t h e a c a d e m y ’ s d e p u t y d e s i g n a t e d s a f e g u a r d i n g l e a d , s t a f f h a d v o i c e d c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e h e a l t h o f a p u p i l s i n c e t h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h e a u t u m n t e r m .

T h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m , l e d b y D e s i g n a t e d S a f e g u a r d i n g L e a d N a t a l i e S h i p l e y , w o r k e d w i t h t h e p u p i l ’ s f a m i l y t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e p u p i l w a s s e e n b y a d o c t o r g i v e n c o n c e r n s r a i s e d b y s t a f f . T h e p u p i l w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y r e f e r r e d f o r a n M R I s c a n , a n d t h e t e a m s c h e d u l e d a f o l l o w - u p m e e t i n g w i t h t h e f a m i l y t o e n s u r e h e r s i t u a t i o n w a s b e i n g m o n i t o r e d c l o s e l y .

W h e n t h e p u p i l r e t u r n e d a f t e r h a l f t e r m h o w e v e r , h e r c l a s s t e a c h e r We n d y C l i f f t n o t i c e d t h a t s h e h a d d e t e r i o r a t e d o v e r t h e h o l i d a y s . We n d y m a d e a r a p i d a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e p u p i l ’ s h e a l t h a n d i m m e d i a t e l y a l e r t e d t h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m w h o c o n t a c t e d t h e p u p i l ’ s p a r e n t s . U n a b l e t o r e a c h t h e m , t h e t e a m m a d e t h e d e c i s i o n t o t a k e t h e p u p i l t o h o s p i t a l t h e m s e l v e s .

A t B i r m i n g h a m C h i l d r e n ’ s H o s p i t a l , i t w a s d i s c o v e r e d t h a t t h e p u p i l h a d a t u m o u r m e a s u r i n g 7 c m x 4 c m a t t h e b a c k o f h e r b r a i n w h i c h h a d b e e n a f f e c t i n g h e r b a l a n c e a n d c a u s i n g h e r p a i n d o w n o n e l e g . F o r t u n a t e l y a n e m e r g e n c y o p e r a t i o n t o r e m o v e t h e t u m o u r w a s s u c c e s s f u l a n d t h e p u p i l h a s s i n c e m a d e g o o d p r o g r e s s .

M e m b e r s o f t h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m , a s w e l l a s t e a c h e r s f r o m t h e a c a d e m y, v i s i t e d t h e p u p i l w h i l s t s h e w a s i n h o s p i t a l a n d a t h o m e , a n d t h e t e a m a l s o p r o v i d e d s u p p o r t t o t h e f a m i l y , c o l l e c t i n g h e r o l d e r b r o t h e r f r o m s c h o o l w h i l e p a r e n t s w e r e i n h o s p i t a l w i t h t h e i r d a u g h t e r .

T h r o u g h f u n d r a i s i n g w i t h i n t h e a c a d e m y a n d t h e l o c a l c o m m u n i t y , t h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m d o n a t e d p y j a m a s a n d c o m f o r t a b l e c l o t h i n g f o r t h e p u p i l t o w e a r d u r i n g h e r r e c o v e r y , C h r i s t m a s p r e s e n t s f o r t h e p u p i l a n d h e r b r o t h e r s a n d a s h o r t h o l i d a y f o r t h e f a m i l y . S a f e g u a r d i n g o f f i c e r s a t t h e a c a d e m y a l s o s u p p o r t e d t h e f a m i l y t o a p p l y t o a c h a r i t y f o r a s u p p o r t i v e d o n a t i o n .

R e e d s w o o d ’ s s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m d e s e r v e e n o r m o u s c r e d i t , a n d i t i s d o w n t o t h e i r i n c r e d i b l e e f f o r t s t h a t t h e p u p i l r e c e i v e d t h e c a r e s h e n e e d e d a n d i s n o w o n h e r w a y b a c k t o f u l l h e a l t h .

T h e s t u d e n t l e a d e r s h i p t e a m a t N o r t h B i r m i n g h a m A c a d e m y

O v e r t h e l a s t t h r e e y e a r s , t h e s t u d e n t l e a d e r s h i p t e a m a t N o r t h B i r m i n g h a m A c a d e m y h a v e b e e n p l a y i n g a v i t a l r o l e i n i m p r o v i n g a c a d e m y l i f e b y s u p p o r t i n g s t a f f t o l a u n c h n e w a n d i m p o r t a n t s t u d e n t i n i t i a t i v e s .

R e c e n t l y t h e s t u d e n t s h e l p e d t o r e d e s i g n t h e a c a d e m y ’ s r e w a r d s a n d s a n c t i o n s p o l i c y , i d e n t i f y i n g t h a t m o r e f o c u s n e e d e d t o b e p l a c e d o n p o s i t i v e b e h a v i o u r a n d h a r d w o r k . A s a r e s u l t , a r e w a r d s w e e k w a s i n t r o d u c e d t o c e l e b r a t e t h e s u c c e s s e s o f t h e i r p e e r s .

T h e s t u d e n t l e a d e r s h i p t e a m h a v e a l s o h e l p e d t o t a c k l e p u n c t u a l i t y a n d r e d u c i n g l i t t e r a r o u n d t h e a c a d e m y g r o u n d s . F o r e x a m p l e , b y b e i n g a p o s i t i v e p r e s e n c e a t t h e a c a d e m y g a t e s a t t h e s t a r t o f t h e a c a d e m y d a y , p r e f e c t s i d e n t i f y s t u d e n t s w h o a r e r e p e a t e d l y l a t e a n d s u p p o r t t h e m t h r o u g h 1 : 1 m e n t o r i n g .

T h e a c a d e m y c a n b e i n c r e d i b l y p r o u d o f t h e p o s i t i v e i m p a c t t h a t t h e l e a d e r s h i p t e a m h a s h a d o n N B A s t u d e n t s a n d t h e a c a d e m y a s a w h o l e .

U n s u n g h e r o e s

D a i s y , Ye a r 8B o u r n e E n d E - A C T A c a d e m y

D a i s y , a Ye a r 8 s t u d e n t a t B o u r n e E n d E - A C T A c a d e m y, w a s g i v e n t h e i n c r e d i b l y i m p o r t a n t j o b o f t o u r g u i d e w h e n H R H P r i n c e H a r r y v i s i t e d O x f o r d C h i l d r e n ’ s H o s p i t a l o n Tu e s d a y 1 4 M a y 2 0 1 9 .

D a i s y , a f o r m e r p a t i e n t , w a s a s k e d b y o n e o f h e r d o c t o r s i f s h e w o u l d l i k e t o s h o w a V I P a r o u n d t h e h o s p i t a l , b u t i t w a s n ’ t u n t i l t h e d a y b e f o r e t h e v i s i t t h a t D a i s y f o u n d o u t t h a t i t w a s P r i n c e H a r r y ! S h e w a s t h r i l l e d t o m e e t t h e p r i n c e , g i f t i n g h i m a t e d d y b e a r f o r b a b y A r c h i e .

“ M e e t i n g P r i n c e H a r r y w a s s o a m a z i n g . H e w a s r e a l l y d o w n - t o -

e a r t h a n d i t d i d n ’ t f e e l l i k e h e w a s r o y a l t y . W h e n t h e r e w e r e b i g c r o w d s o f p e o p l e d u r i n g t h e t o u r , h e a l w a y s

c h e c k e d I w a s t h e r e b e h i n d h i m ! ”

K a r e n H a y n sB o u r n e E n d E - A C T A c a d e m y

O u r A c a d e m y A m b a s s a d o r s a r e p e o p l e w h o s h a r e a g r e a t p a s s i o n f o r t h e i r a c a d e m i e s . T h e y m i g h t b e a n a c a d e m y p a r e n t , a m e m b e r o f s t a f f o r e v e n a c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r , a n d i t i s t h r o u g h t h e i r a c t i v e i n v o l v e m e n t i n a c a d e m y l i f e t h a t t h e y s u p p o r t o u r p u p i l s b y h e l p i n g t o p r o v i d e t h e m w i t h i n s p i r i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s .

H e r e w e m e e t o n e o f o u r A c a d e m y A m b a s s a d o r u n s u n g h e r o e s , K a r e n H a y n e s , w h o t o g e t h e r w i t h h e r t e a m o r g a n i s e d a n i n s p i r a t i o n a l Wo r l d o f Wo r k e v e n t f o r s t u d e n t s a t B o u r n e E n d A c a d e m y i n 2 0 1 9 .

“A s B o u r n e E n d A c a d e m y o n l y j o i n e d E - A C T i n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 8 , o u r a m b a s s a d o r g r o u p i s r e l a t i v e l y n e w. We f o r m e d i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 a n d a t t h a t t i m e t h e r e w a s o n l y f o u r o f u s . I w a s k e e n t h a t w e d i d n ’ t b e c o m e a c o m m i t t e e t h a t j u s t g o t t o g e t h e r t o h a v e d i s c u s s i o n s a n d n o t r e a l l y m a k e a n i m p a c t . Ve r y q u i c k l y , w e m a d e t h e d e c i s i o n t h a t w e w e r e g o i n g t o u s e t h e t w o t e r m s l e f t i n t h e a c a d e m i c y e a r t o d o s o m e t h i n g s p e c i a l .

We d e c i d e d t o p u t o n a c a r e e r s f a i r , w h i c h w e d u b b e d t h e Wo r l d o f Wo r k e v e n t . We ’ r e l u c k y t o h a v e o u r o w n n e t w o r k s , a s w e l l a s B o u r n e E n d p a r e n t s i n b u s i n e s s t h a t w e c o u l d c a l l o n t o c o m e a n d e x h i b i t f o r t h e s t u d e n t s .

A b b y M i l e sP e r r y C o u r t E - A C T A c a d e m y

T h e p u p i l s o f P e r r y C o u r t E - A C T A c a d e m y a r e p r o u d t o h a v e t h e i r v e r y o w n s p o r t s s t a r a t t h e i r a c a d e m y. T h i s y e a r A b b y M i l e s , a l e a d s p o r t s c o a c h a t P e r r y C o u r t , r e p r e s e n t e d E n g l a n d a t t h e I n d o o r N e t b a l l Wo r l d C u p a n d w a s e v e n n o m i n a t e d f o r a p r e s t i g i o u s B r i s t o l P o s t S p o r t s A w a r d .

A b b y t r a v e l l e d w i t h t h e E n g l a n d N e t b a l l N e t s u n d e r 2 1 t e a m t o c o m p e t e i n S o u t h A f r i c a i n A u g u s t , w h e r e t h e y m a d e i t a l l t h e w a y t o t h e s e m i - f i n a l s . F o r A b b y , t h e a c h i e v e m e n t w a s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o i n s p i r e t h e p u p i l s b a c k a t P e r r y C o u r t , s h o w i n g t h e m t h e f a n t a s t i c p l a c e s t h a t s p o r t c o u l d t a k e t h e m .

A b b y w a s a l s o s h o r t l i s t e d f o r t h e p r e s t i g i o u s C o a c h o f t h e Ye a r a w a r d a t t h e 2 0 1 9 B r i s t o l L i v e & B r i s t o l P o s t S p o r t s A w a r d s . T h e a w a r d s c e l e b r a t e t h e t r u e h e r o e s o f g r a s s r o o t s s p o r t , i n c l u d i n g c o a c h e s a n d c l u b s w h o e n c o u r a g e p e o p l e o f a l l a g e s t o g e t i n v o l v e d . A b b y w a s n o m i n a t e d b y s t a f f , p a r e n t s a n d m e m b e r s o f t h e P e r r y C o u r t E - A C T A c a d e m y c o m m u n i t y , w h o r e c o g n i s e d j u s t h o w h a r d s h e w o r k s t o m o t i v a t e c h i l d r e n t o g e t t h e m i n v o l v e d i n s p o r t .

I d o n ’ t k n o w h o w w e p u l l e d i t a l l t o g e t h e r s o q u i c k l y , b u t t h e e v e n t w a s a h u g e s u c c e s s ! We h a d o v e r 2 0 0 p e o p l e t u r n u p , w i t h g r e a t a t t e n d a n c e f r o m Ye a r 1 0 s t u d e n t s i n p a r t i c u l a r . T h i s w a s a r e a l p o s i t i v e f o r u s a s t h e s e w e r e t h e s t u d e n t s w h o w e r e a b o u t t o e m b a r k u p o n t h e i r f i n a l y e a r o f k e y s t a g e 4 , s o i t w a s g r e a t t o b e a b l e t o g i v e t h e m i d e a s f o r t h e f u t u r e .

S t a r t i n g o u r a c a d e m y a m b a s s a d o r j o u r n e y w i t h a b i g p r o j e c t h e l p e d u s t o f i g u r e o u t o u r d i f f e r e n t s t r e n g t h s a n d w h a t e a c h o f u s c o u l d b r i n g t o t h e g r o u p . I t w a s a l s o a g o o d w a y o f g e t t i n g t o k n o w h o w E - A C T w o r k s a n d i t p u t u s i n t o u c h w i t h h e l p f u l p e o p l e i n t h e n a t i o n a l t e a m .

A s a w o r k i n g p a r e n t , b e i n g a n A c a d e m y A m b a s s a d o r i s m y w a y o f g i v i n g b a c k . I c a r e a b o u t e d u c a t i o n – I ’ v e b e e n b a c k i n e d u c a t i o n m y s e l f a s a n a d u l t a n d I r e a l l y v a l u e i t . I d o n ’ t t h i n k t h a t w i l l e v e r l e a v e m e .

I t h i n k t h e g o o d w o r k t h a t w e ’ v e a l r e a d y d o n e i s d o w n t o e a c h o f u s . E v e n t h o u g h I m a y b e t h e c h a i r , i t ’ s j u s t a n o t h e r r o l e i n t h e g r o u p . E v e r y o n e i n o u r t e a m d o e s t h e i r b i t a n d w o r k s h a r d t o c o m e u p w i t h g r e a t i d e a s a n d k e e p t h a t m o m e n t u m g o i n g . We ’ r e a l r e a d y l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o g e t t i n g s t u c k i n n e x t y e a r .”

P a g e 4 3

T h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m i s n o w w o r k i n g c l o s e l y w i t h t h e K e e p i n g B r i s t o l S a f e p a r t n e r s h i p t o c o m p l e t e a r e v i e w w i t h t h e p a r e n t s , t h e i r s o c i a l w o r k e r a n d a c o m m u n i t y a d v o c a t e , w h i c h w i l l l o o k a t t h e t e a m ’ s p r a c t i c e a n d l e s s o n s t h a t h a v e b e e n l e a r n e d i n t h e p r o c e s s .

S t U r s u l a ’ s s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m d e s e r v e e n o r m o u s c r e d i t , a n d t h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t e f f e c t i v e t e a m w o r k a n d t h e v i g i l a n c e o f s t a f f h a s e n s u r e d t h a t t h e p u p i l a v o i d e d h a r m a n d c o n t i n u e s t o a t t e n d t h e a c a d e m y.

T h e s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m a t S t U r s u l a ’ s E - A C T A c a d e m y a n d R e g i o n a l S a f e g u a r d i n g S y s t e m L e a d e r , J o h n S p r i n g

I t w a s t h a n k s t o t h e m o n u m e n t a l e f f o r t s o f S t U r s u l a ’ s E - A C T A c a d e m y ’ s s a f e g u a r d i n g t e a m t h a t a p u p i l w a s p r o t e c t e d f r o m c o m i n g t o h a r m .

C o n c e r n s a b o u t a c h i l d ’ s s a f e t y c a n b e r a i s e d w h e n a b s e n c e i s r e q u e s t e d b y a p u p i l ’ s f a m i l y . S t U r s u l a ’ s E - A C T A c a d e m y s t a f f p l a c e g r e a t e m p h a s i s o n b u i l d i n g s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h p a r e n t s a n d c a r e r s s o t h e y f e e l a b l e t o c o m m u n i c a t e o p e n l y a n d h o n e s t l y w h e n w a n t i n g t o t a k e t h e i r c h i l d o u t o f a c a d e m y.

T h a n k s t o t h e a c a d e m y ’ s t h o r o u g h r e c o r d - k e e p i n g , s t a f f w e r e a b l e t o s e e h i s t o r i c i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p u p i l f r o m a p r e v i o u s s c h o o l , w h i c h r e v e a l e d t h a t s i m i l a r c o n c e r n s h a d b e e n r a i s e d i n t h e p a s t . I n t e r -a g e n c y w o r k b e t w e e n t h e a c a d e m y, s o c i a l c a r e a n d t h e p o l i c e f o l l o w e d e n s u r i n g t h a t a c t i o n w a s t a k e n b e f o r e t h e p u p i l c o u l d c o m e t o a n y h a r m . F o l l o w i n g t h e i n c i d e n t , t h r o u g h o p e n a n d h o n e s t d i a l o g u e t h e a c a d e m y h a s w o r k e d c l o s e l y w i t h t h e p u p i l ’ s f a m i l y d e s p i t e t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e i s s u e .

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es

“ T h e a d r e n a l i n e r u s h b e f o r e y o u g e t o n s t a g e i n f r o n t o f t h a t m a n y p e o p l e

i s c r a z y . T h e n e r v e s r e a l l y g e t y o u . B u t o n c e w e w e r e o n s t a g e , w e f o r g o t

e v e r y o n e w a s t h e r e a n d e n j o y e d e v e r y s e c o n d .”

P r e c i o u s , l e a d s i n g e r

T h e n e x t c h a p t e r f o r D I VA i s a s c h o o l t o u r , w h e r e t h e y p l a n t o l a u n c h t h e n e w m u s i c t h e y ’ v e b e e n w o r k i n g o n . T h e g r o u p h o p e t o t r a v e l a r o u n d s c h o o l s i n S h e f f i e l d a n d f u r t h e r a f i e l d t o c o n n e c t w i t h o t h e r y o u n g p e o p l e – p a r t i c u l a r l y o t h e r E - A C T s t u d e n t s !

D I VAP a r k w o o d E - A C T A c a d e m y I t h a s b e e n a n u n b e l i e v a b l e y e a r f o r P a r k w o o d A c a d e m y ’ s D I VA . S i n c e w i n n i n g a S p o t l i g h t a w a r d a t t h e N a t i o n a l P u p i l C e l e b r a t i o n e v e n t i n 2 0 1 8 , t h e Ye a r 9 s t u d e n t s h a v e g o n e o n t o p e r f o r m i n f r o n t o f t h o u s a n d s a t We m b l e y A r e n a , h a d o n e o f t h e i r s o n g s p l a y e d o n n a t i o n a l r a d i o a n d g a i n e d a l o y a l f o l l o w i n g o n s o c i a l m e d i a . T h e i r d r i v e , a m b i t i o n a n d a b i l i t y t o t h i n k b i g i s t r u l y i n s p i r a t i o n a l , m a k i n g t h e m t h r e e o f o u r u n s u n g h e r o e s o f 2 0 1 8 - 1 9 .

D I VA f o r m e d b a c k i n Ye a r 7 , a f t e r t h e i r m u s i c t e a c h e r S c o t t S w a l l o w e n c o u r a g e d t h e m t o t r y p l a y i n g t o g e t h e r . T h e g r o u p w e r e s o o n m e e t i n g u p t w i c e a w e e k , p l a y i n g d i f f e r e n t s o n g s t h a t t h e y l i k e d a n d w r i t i n g t h e i r o w n m u s i c .

W i t h s u p p o r t f r o m m u s i c t e a c h e r J o r d a n R a b j o h n , D I VA s t a r t e d r e c o r d i n g t r a c k s a n d s h a r i n g t h e m o n l i n e . T h e y e v e n p r o d u c e d a n u m b e r o f m u s i c v i d e o s a n d s e t u p a c c o u n t s o n s o c i a l m e d i a t o p r o m o t e t h e b a n d . T h e g r o u p w e r e t h r i l l e d w h e n t h e y h e a r d t h e i r s o n g ‘ F e e l i n g s ’ b e i n g p l a y e d o n B B C R a d i o S h e f f i e l d , w h e r e i t g o t l o t s o f p r a i s e f r o m t h e p r e s e n t e r !

A n o t h e r h i g h l i g h t f o r D I VA w a s h a v i n g t h e i r h a r d w o r k a n d t a l e n t r e c o g n i s e d b y t h e Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n Tr u s t , w h i c h s e l e c t e d t h e b a n d a s t h e w i n n e r o f t h e i r R o c k A s s e m b l y c o m p e t i t i o n . T h e i r p r i z e w a s t o p l a y i n f r o n t o f 1 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e a t We m b l e y A r e n a a l o n g s i d e R a z o r l i g h t a n d P r o f e s s o r G r e e n .

P a g e 4 5

2 0 1 9 - 2 0 f u t u r e p l a n s

O p e n i n g M i n d s , O p e n i n g D o o r s

N e x t y e a r w e w i l l i m p l e m e n t o u r c o r e p u r p o s e a n d s t r a t e g y , O p e n i n g M i n d s , O p e n i n g D o o r s .

We w i l l d o t h i s b y :

• H a v i n g u n c o m p r o m i s i n g a s p i r a t i o n s f o r a l l

• L i v i n g o u r v a l u e s • H a v i n g t h e b e s t p e o p l e a n d

i n v e s t i n g i n t h e m • U n d e r s t a n d i n g , c e l e b r a t i n g a n d

w o r k i n g w i t h o u r c o m m u n i t i e s

I n t h e c o m i n g y e a r E - A C T w i l l w o r k o n s e v e n m a i n o b j e c t i v e s i n f u l f i l l i n g t h e f i r s t y e a r o f t h e s t r a t e g y :

• C o n t i n u e t o d e v e l o p g r e a t t e a c h i n g t h r o u g h t h e M a s t e r y R u b r i c

• C o n t i n u e t o f u l l y e m b e d E n g l i s h a n d m a t h s m a s t e r y c u r r i c u l u m a n d a c o h e r e n t a p p r o a c h t o c u r r i c u l u m p l a n n i n g

• F u r t h e r d e v e l o p g r e a t i n d u c t i o n f o r s t a f f

• Tr a n s f o r m o u r r e t e n t i o n a n d r e c r u i t m e n t s t r a t e g y - s t a f f , p u p i l s , a c a d e m i e s , a p p r e n t i c e s

• F u r t h e r d e v e l o p s u c c e s s i o n p l a n n i n g

• C o n t i n u o u s d e v e l o p m e n t o f f i n a n c i a l l i t e r a c y a n d t h r e e - y e a r p l a n n i n g f o r s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a n d g r o w t h

• B r o a d e n a n d d e e p e n u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d i m p r o v e g o v e r n a n c e - R A B s /R P B s , t h e S c h e m e o f D e l e g a t i o n a n d i m p a c t o f A m b a s s a d o r s

We e x p e c t t h e s t r a t e g y t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c e t h e g a p i n o u t c o m e s f o r o u r p u p i l s b e t w e e n o u r h i g h e s t a n d l o w e s t p e r f o r m i n g a c a d e m i e s i n i t s f i r s t y e a r . We w i l l d o t h i s b y d e v e l o p i n g a k n o w l e d g e - r i c h c u r r i c u l u m a n d g r e a t t e a c h i n g . T h e e m b e d d i n g a n d q u a l i t y o f t h e M a s t e r y R u b r i c i s a k e y d r i v e r i n s u p p o r t i n g o u r f i r s t a n d s e c o n d o b j e c t i v e s . T h r o u g h t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f t h e s e v e n o b j e c t i v e s a n d o u r f o c u s o n o u r p e o p l e , w e w i l l a l s o s t r i v e t o b e c o m e a n e m p l o y e r o f c h o i c e .

O v e r 1 , 0 0 0 m e m b e r s o f

s t a f f h a v e b e e n t r a i n e d i n y o u t h a n d a d u l t M e n t a l H e a l t h F i r s t A i d

O u r P e o p l e D e v e l o p m e n t P l a n

We c a n o n l y O p e n M i n d s a n d O p e n D o o r s i f w e h a v e t h e v e r y b e s t p e o p l e w o r k i n g a c r o s s t h e t r u s t . P e o p l e w h o w a n t t o j o i n u s , s t a y w i t h u s a n d d e v e l o p t h e i r c a r e e r a t E - A C T.

T h r o u g h o u r P e o p l e D e v e l o p m e n t P l a n w e w i l l c r e a t e :

• A h a p p y i n s p i r i n g p l a c e t o w o r k w h e r e a l l s t a f f w a n t t o d e v e l o p t h e i r c a r e e r w i t h u s

• A t a l e n t p r o c e s s a n d t a l e n t p o o l t h a t i s t r a n s p a r e n t a n d e q u i t a b l e a n d h e l p s e v e r y o n e f e e l v a l u e d

• A p e r s o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n f o r a l l s t a f f t o h e l p w i t h p r o d u c t i v e a n d h o n e s t c o a c h i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h l i n e m a n a g e r s a n d m e n t o r s

• I n v e s t m e n t i n a l l s t a f f t h r o u g h i n c r e a s i n g l y b e s p o k e p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t r e f l e c t s t h e n e e d s o f t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n a s w e l l a s s p e c i f i c r o u t e s t h r o u g h o u r n e w a n d d e v e l o p i n g c a r e e r p a t h w a y s a t E - A C T

B u i l d i n g o n d e v e l o p m e n t s t h i s y e a r t h r o u g h o u r ‘ b i g c u l t u r e c o n v e r s a t i o n ’ , w e w i l l b e e m b e d d i n g n e w p r o c e s s e s i n t h e c o m i n g y e a r f o r r e t a i n i n g , r e c r u i t i n g a n d n u r t u r i n g o u r t a l e n t . O u r n e w a p p r e n t i c e s h i p s t r a t e g y w i l l h e l p s e c u r e a p p r e n t i c e s a c r o s s o u r e d u c a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n a l f u n c t i o n s i n e a c h r e g i o n .

I n d e v e l o p i n g o u r s t a f f w e w i l l i n c r e a s e o u r i n i t i a t i v e s t o s u p p o r t w e l l - b e i n g . O u r m e n t a l h e a l t h s t r a t e g y i s a c r i t i c a l p a r t o f t h i s w o r k a n d w e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o f u r t h e r d e v e l o p o u r f o c u s o n s t a f f p h y s i c a l , s o c i a l a n d e m o t i o n a l w e l l - b e i n g .

O u r M e n t a l H e a l t h S t r a t e g y

N e x t y e a r w e w i l l c o n t i n u e o u r w o r k a r o u n d s t a f f a n d p u p i l m e n t a l h e a l t h a c r o s s E - A C T. We s t r i v e t o b e n a t i o n a l l y r e c o g n i s e d a s a t r u s t o f e x c e l l e n c e i n s u p p o r t i n g t h e u r g e n t m e n t a l h e a l t h i s s u e s a f f e c t i n g s o m a n y a d u l t s a n d y o u n g p e o p l e t o d a y .

T h e f i v e s t r a n d s i n o u r s t r a t e g y w i l l e n a b l e u s t o f u r t h e r d e v e l o p o u r p e r s o n a l i s e d M e n t a l H e a l t h C u r r i c u l a a n d a M e n t a l H e a l t h H u b i n e v e r y r e g i o n .

T h e f i v e s t r a n d s a r e :

S t r a n d 1 : S u p p o r t i n g y o u n g p e o p l e w i t h m e n t a l h e a l t h d i f f i c u l t i e sS t r a n d 2 : S u p p o r t i n g a d u l t s w i t h m e n t a l h e a l t h d i f f i c u l t i e sS t r a n d 3 : E d u c a t i n g y o u n g p e o p l e a b o u t m e n t a l h e a l t hS t r a n d 4 : U t i l i s i n g s u p p o r t f r o m e x t e r n a l a g e n c i e s a n d c h a r i t i e s e f f e c t i v e l yS t r a n d 5 : S u p p o r t i n g p a r e n t s /c a r e r s a n d t h e c o m m u n i t y w i t h m e n t a l h e a l t h d i f f i c u l t i e s .

O u r f i r s t H u b , T h e L a u n c h p a d i n B r i s t o l , w i l l p r o v i d e s u p p o r t t o p u p i l s f r o m a c a d e m i e s i n t h e r e g i o n w h o m a y b e e x p e r i e n c i n g m e n t a l h e a l t h d i f f i c u l t i e s w h i c h a f f e c t t h e i r i n c l u s i o n , e d u c a t i o n a l a c h i e v e m e n t a n d e m o t i o n a l w e l l b e i n g . S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e h u b w i l l f o c u s o n s u p p o r t f o r p u p i l s w h o s e p r i m e a r e a s o f n e e d a r e a t t a c h m e n t a n d /o r a n x i e t y .

We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o d e l i v e r M e n t a l H e a l t h F i r s t A i d Tr a i n i n g a n d s c o p e o u t t h e s e t t i n g u p o f H u b s i n o u r o t h e r t h r e e r e g i o n s .

P a g e 4 7

C o m m i t t e e c o m p o s i t i o n a n d a c c o u n t a b i l i t y

T h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s a p p o i n t s m e m b e r s o f t h e :

• A u d i t a n d R i s k C o m m i t t e e• F i n a n c e C o m m i t t e e• E d u c a t i o n C o m m i t t e e• P e r s o n n e l C o m m i t t e e

T h e F i n a n c e C o m m i t t e e , A u d i t a n d R i s k C o m m i t t e e , E d u c a t i o n C o m m i t t e e a n d P e r s o n n e l C o m m i t t e e m e e t f i v e t i m e s a y e a r i n a c y c l e o f m e e t i n g s .

T h e f o u r c o m m i t t e e s a r e m a d e u p o f t r u s t e e s w i t h r e l e v a n t k n o w l e d g e , s k i l l s a n d e x p e r i e n c e . T h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m a n d c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f f i c e r h a v e s t a n d i n g i n v i t a t i o n s t o a t t e n d t h e c o m m i t t e e a n d b o a r d m e e t i n g s . B o t h e x t e r n a l a n d i n t e r n a l a u d i t o r s a r e i n v i t e d t o a t t e n d t h e A u d i t a n d R i s k C o m m i t t e e m e e t i n g s . O t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s , f o r e x a m p l e m e m b e r s o f t h e E x t e n d e d E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m , m a y a l s o b e i n v i t e d t o p r e s e n t o n k e y i t e m s o n t h e a g e n d a . T h i s y e a r , m e m b e r s o f o u r E x t e n d e d E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m ( E E LT ) h a v e p r e s e n t e d t o t h e b o a r d a n d c o m m i t t e e s o n a s p e c t s s u c h a s o u r M a s t e r y R u b r i c , o u r c u l t u r e p r o g r a m m e t h r o u g h o u r ‘ b i g c u l t u r e c o n v e r s a t i o n ’ , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a c o h e r e n t k n o w l e d g e - r i c h c u r r i c u l u m a n d s a f e g u a r d i n g o f p u p i l s . T h i s g i v e s a c h a n c e f o r o u r t r u s t e e s t o h e a r f r o m a w i d e r g r o u p o f s e n i o r m a n a g e r s f r o m a c r o s s t h e t r u s t a n d p r o v i d e s g o o d p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t o p p o r t u n i t y f o r o u r E E LT a n d o t h e r s t a f f t o m e e t a n d w o r k d i r e c t l y w i t h t r u s t e e s .

E a c h c o m m i t t e e a n d f u l l b o a r d m e e t i n g u n d e r t a k e s a d e t a i l e d s c r u t i n y o f t h e r e p o r t s a n d d i s c u s s i o n p a p e r s p r e s e n t e d b y t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m . E a c h c o m m i t t e e a g e n d a i n c o r p o r a t e s s t a n d i n g i t e m s a n d o t h e r m a t t e r s d e l e g a t e d t o c o m m i t t e e s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e Te r m s o f R e f e r e n c e f o r e a c h c o m m i t t e e a n d t h e S c h e m e o f D e l e g a t i o n . T h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r , t h e t r u s t e e s a n d E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m e v a l u a t e t h e q u a l i t y o f r e p o r t i n g a n d t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f e a c h c o m m i t t e e , a s w e l l a s c h e c k i n g c o m p l i a n c e w i t h Te r m s o f R e f e r e n c e a n d s t a t u t o r y g u i d a n c e . T h i s e n s u r e s t h a t r o b u s t c h a l l e n g e a n d s u p p o r t f r o m t r u s t e e s i n f o r m s t h e s t r a t e g i c w o r k o f t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m a n d g o o d g o v e r n a n c e . D

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B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s

E - A C T i s a c h a r i t a b l e c o m p a n y l i m i t e d b y g u a r a n t e e ( n u m b e r 0 6 5 2 6 3 7 6 ) a n d a n e x e m p t c h a r i t y . I t i s g o v e r n e d b y i t s M e m o r a n d u m a n d A r t i c l e s o f A s s o c i a t i o n . T h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s , w h o a r e a l s o t h e d i r e c t o r s o f t h e c h a r i t a b l e c o m p a n y f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f C o m p a n y L a w, h a v e o v e r a l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e d i r e c t i o n , m a n a g e m e n t a n d c o n t r o l o f E - A C T a n d e n s u r i n g e x c e l l e n c e i n g o v e r n a n c e a c r o s s t h e t r u s t . O u r f o u r c o m m i t t e e s s u p p o r t t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s i n d i s c h a r g i n g t h e s e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . T h e c h a r i t a b l e c o m p a n y o p e r a t e s a s E - A C T a n d t h e o p e r a t i o n a l m a n a g e m e n t o f E - A C T a c r o s s a l l 2 9 o f o u r a c a d e m i e s i s d e l e g a t e d t o t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f f i c e r ( C E O ) a n d h e r E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p t e a m .

T h e b o a r d m e e t s a m i n i m u m o f f i v e t i m e s p e r a n n u m a n d m a y m e e t a d d i t i o n a l l y a s r e q u i r e d . T h e f u l l B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s m e t f i v e t i m e s d u r i n g t h e y e a r 2 0 1 8 - 2 0 1 9 .

B o a r d c o m p o s i t i o n

T h e b o a r d m a y b e c o m p r i s e d o f n o f e w e r t h a n t h r e e p e o p l e . A l l t r u s t e e s a r e u n p a i d i n t h e i r r o l e s a s t r u s t e e s . A t t h e t i m e o f a p p r o v i n g t h e a c c o u n t s f o r 2 0 1 8 - 1 9 , t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s i s m a d e u p a s f o l l o w s :

• 1 1 t r u s t e e s a p p o i n t e d b y t h e m e m b e r s ( A r t i c l e s 4 5 – 5 0 ) ; a n d

• T h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f f i c e r a s a n e x - o f f i c i o t r u s t e e ( A r t i c l e s 5 0 B a n d 5 7 )

D e t a i l s o f t h e t r u s t e e s w h o s e r v e d d u r i n g t h e y e a r a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e R e f e r e n c e a n d A d m i n i s t r a t i v e d e t a i l s s e c t i o n o f t h i s r e p o r t o n p a g e 6 .

S t r u c t u r e , g o v e r n a n c e a n d m a n a g e m e n t

P a g e 4 9

P o l i c i e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s a d o p t e d f o r t h e i n d u c t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g o f t r u s t e e s

N e w l y a p p o i n t e d t r u s t e e s r e c e i v e a o n e - t o - o n e h a l f d a y i n d u c t i o n a n d w e l c o m e m e e t i n g s w i t h t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f f i c e r a n d e a c h m e m b e r o f h e r E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m . A n i n d u c t i o n p a c k i n c l u d e s k e y p o l i c i e s s u c h a s t h e C o n f l i c t s o f I n t e r e s t P o l i c y , t h e Tr u s t e e E x p e n s e s P o l i c y , t h e A r t i c l e s o f A s s o c i a t i o n a n d t h e r e s p e c t i v e C o m m i t t e e Te r m s o f R e f e r e n c e . I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e r o l e a n d d u t i e s o f a t r u s t e e a r e p r o v i d e d i n d o c u m e n t a t i o n s u c h a s C C 3 ( C h a r i t y C o m m i s s i o n ) E s s e n t i a l Tr u s t e e g u i d a n c e .

Tr u s t e e s a r e k e p t u p t o d a t e w i t h d e v e l o p m e n t s a c r o s s t h e t r u s t t h r o u g h r e g u l a r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s f r o m t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f f i c e r a n d t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m . Tr u s t e e s a r e i n c l u d e d i n t r a i n i n g s e s s i o n s s u c h a s o u r a n n u a l i n t e r n a l s a f e g u a r d i n g c o u r s e . I n l i n e w i t h t h e U K C o r p o r a t e G o v e r n a n c e C o d e , t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s a p p r a i s e s i t s o w n p e r f o r m a n c e a n d c o n t r i b u t i o n o n a n a n n u a l b a s i s . T h e m o s t r e c e n t r e v i e w w a s u n d e r t a k e n i n l a t e s u m m e r 2 0 1 9 a n d t h e f i n d i n g s w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d t o t h e b o a r d i n a u t u m n 2 0 1 9 . Wo r k i n g w i t h t h e g o v e r n a n c e t e a m a n d t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m , t r u s t e e s s h a r e t h e i r s u g g e s t i o n s f o r a d d i t i o n a l t r a i n i n g a n d b r i e f i n g s t o u p s k i l l t h e b o a r d . T h e m o s t r e c e n t i n t e r n a l b o a r d r e v i e w e x a m i n e d w h a t t r u s t e e s w o u l d l i k e t o d e v e l o p f u r t h e r i n t h e c o m i n g y e a r . D r a w i n g o n o u t c o m e s f r o m t h e B o a r d R e v i e w, t h e g o v e r n a n c e t e a m i s w o r k i n g w i t h t r u s t e e s t o d e v e l o p a r e s o u r c e b a n k a n d s p e c i f i c s e s s i o n s t o s u p p o r t n e w a r e a s o f k n o w l e d g e f o r t r u s t e e s .

M e t h o d o f r e c r u i t m e n t a n d a p p o i n t m e n t o r e l e c t i o n o f t r u s t e e s

E a c h t r u s t e e s e r v e s a t e r m o f o f f i c e o f f o u r y e a r s a n d t h i s i s r e n e w a b l e . T h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e i s e n t i t l e d t o a p p o i n t a m e m b e r u n d e r A r t i c l e 1 2 b , a l t h o u g h h e h a s c h o s e n n o t t o e x e r c i s e t h i s e n t i t l e m e n t t h i s y e a r . A p p l i c a t i o n s f o r b o a r d m e m b e r s h i p a r e i n v i t e d b y n a t i o n a l a n d e x t e r n a l a d v e r t i s e m e n t . A p p l i c a n t s a r e i n t e r v i e w e d b y t h e c h a i r o f t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s a n d t h e n a p a n e l o f t r u s t e e s l e d b y t h e c h a i r o f t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c o m m i t t e e . Tr u s t e e s a r e a p p o i n t e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e l e v a n t k n o w l e d g e , c o m p e t e n c i e s a n d e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e d o n t h e b o a r d a t t h a t t i m e . D u r i n g t h e y e a r u n d e r r e v i e w, n o n e w t r u s t e e s w e r e r e c r u i t e d . H o w e v e r , t h e e x - o f f i c i o t r u s t e e w a s u p d a t e d t o r e f l e c t t h e c h a n g e i n c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f f i c e r t h i s y e a r .

M e m b e r s ’ l i a b i l i t y

E a c h m e m b e r o f t h e c h a r i t a b l e c o m p a n y u n d e r t a k e s t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e a s s e t s o f t h e c h a r i t a b l e c o m p a n y i n t h e e v e n t o f i t b e i n g w o u n d u p w h i l e t h e y a r e a m e m b e r , o r w i t h i n o n e y e a r a f t e r t h e y c e a s e t o b e a m e m b e r , s u c h a m o u n t a s m a y b e r e q u i r e d , n o t e x c e e d i n g £ 1 0 , f o r t h e d e b t s a n d l i a b i l i t i e s c o n t r a c t e d b e f o r e t h e y c e a s e d t o b e a m e m b e r .

Tr u s t i n d e m n i t i e s

T h e r e a r e n o q u a l i f y i n g t h i r d p a r t y i n d e m n i t y p r o v i s i o n s .

M e e t o u r B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s a t

w w w. e - a c t . o r g . u k

P a g e 5 1

R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d s ( R A B s )

T h r o u g h a s i x w e e k c y c l e o f h a l f -t e r m l y R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d d a y s i n e a c h a c a d e m y, t h e r e g i o n a l e d u c a t i o n d i r e c t o r s h o l d h e a d t e a c h e r s a n d l e a d e r s h i p t e a m s t o a c c o u n t u n d e r t h e d e l e g a t e d a u t h o r i t y o f t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s . T h e r e g i o n a l o p e r a t i o n s d i r e c t o r s h o l d t h e l o c a l o p e r a t i o n s t e a m s t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e i m p a c t o f t h e i r w o r k i n e a c h a c a d e m y i n t h e r e s p e c t i v e r e g i o n .

R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d d a y s h o l d a c a d e m i e s t o a c c o u n t f o r e d u c a t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e a n d o p e r a t i o n a l c o m p l i a n c e a n d t h e d a y p r o v i d e s a b a l a n c e o f c h a l l e n g e a n d s u p p o r t i n i d e n t i f y i n g k e y p r i o r i t i e s a n d s t r a t e g i e s f o r i m p r o v e m e n t . T h e g u i d a n c e u s e d b y r e g i o n a l t e a m s e n s u r e s s c r u t i n y a c r o s s t h e t r u s t i s c o n s i s t e n t a n d e f f e c t i v e .

U n t i l t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f l a s t y e a r e v e r y a c a d e m y r e c e i v e d a h a l f -t e r m l y R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d r e g a r d l e s s o f c u r r e n t p e r f o r m a n c e . H o w e v e r d u r i n g t h e s p r i n g a n d s u m m e r t e r m 2 0 1 9 t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m b e g a n t o d e v e l o p a t r i a l o f r e d u c i n g t h e f r e q u e n c y o f R A B s i n o u r o u t s t a n d i n g a c a d e m e s . T h e s e a c a d e m i e s h a v e s u s t a i n a b l e c a p a c i t y a n d s t r o n g p u p i l o u t c o m e s s o d o n o t n e e d t h e h i g h l e v e l s o f s u p p o r t t h a t o t h e r a c a d e m i e s m a y r e q u i r e .

B y m o d e l l i n g a m o r e b e s p o k e a c c o u n t a b i l i t y p r o c e s s c o u p l e d w i t h t a r g e t e d w o r k i n g a l o n g s i d e d a y s t o o f f e r s u p p o r t a s n e e d e d , t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m w i l l t a k e f o r w a r d a n e w, m o r e b e s p o k e m o d e l o f G o v e r n a n c e R e v i e w D a y s c o m m e n c i n g i n J a n u a r y 2 0 2 0 . T h e s e w i l l c o n s t i t u t e a g o v e r n a n c e a c c o u n t a b i l i t y d a y w i t h o n e v e r y d e e p f o c u s e d d a y f o r e a c h a c a d e m y p e r t e r m .

I n b e t w e e n t h e g o v e r n a n c e r e v i e w d a y s , t h e n a t i o n a l d i r e c t o r o f e d u c a t i o n , r e g i o n a l d i r e c t o r s a n d r e g i o n a l e x p e r t s w i l l p l a n a n d d e l i v e r a s u p p o r t p a c k a g e w h e r e b y e a c h a c a d e m y r e c e i v e s s u p p o r t a n d c h a l l e n g e d e p e n d i n g u p o n i t s c u r r e n t p e r f o r m a n c e a n d r a t e o f p r o g r e s s . T h i s s u p p o r t i n t h e f o r m o f w o r k i n g a l o n g s i d e d a y s w i l l e n a b l e b o t h r e g i o n a l a n d a c a d e m y c o l l e a g u e s t o t a c k l e t h e a r e a s w i t h i n a c a d e m i e s t h a t r e q u i r e t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t d e v e l o p m e n t .

O r g a n i s a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e a n d o u r r e g i o n a l m o d e l o f g o v e r n a n c e

I n t h i s r e g i o n a l m o d e l o f g o v e r n a n c e o u r r e g i o n a l d i r e c t o r s l e a d o n m a n y s c r u t i n y a n d c h a l l e n g e f u n c t i o n s c a r r i e d o u t b y t h e f o r m e r l o c a l g o v e r n i n g b o d i e s .

T h e i l l u s t r a t i o n b e l o w s h o w s h o w t h e g o v e r n a n c e m o d e l o p e r a t e s i n h o l d i n g a c a d e m i e s a n d r e g i o n a l t e a m s t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e i r p e r f o r m a n c e a n d h o w t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s t h r o u g h t h e c o m m i t t e e c y c l e i n t u r n h o l d t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e a n d h e r E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m t o a c c o u n t . I n a d d i t i o n i t i s t h r o u g h o u r R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d p r o c e s s t h a t w e b a l a n c e a c c o u n t a b i l i t y w i t h i d e n t i f y i n g b e s t p r a c t i c e a n d k e y p r i o r i t i e s t h a t o u r r e g i o n a l s y s t e m a n d s e n i o r l e a d e r s h i p t e a m s c a n d e v e l o p i n r e g i o n s t o d r i v e s u s t a i n a b l e a c a d e m y i m p r o v e m e n t .

A c a d e m y R a i s i n g A c h i e v e m e n t B o a r d s ( R A B s )

0 1

R e g i o n a l P e r f o r m a n c e B o a r d s ( R P B s )

0 2

C o m m i t t e e c y c l e s

0 3

Tr u s t b o a r d c y c l e

0 4

E v i d e n c e /d a t a a n d a n a l y s i s

0 5

E - A C T o p e r a t e s 2 9 a c a d e m i e s a c r o s s f o u r r e g i o n s i n E n g l a n d ( L o n d o n & B u c k s , S o u t h We s t , N o r t h a n d M i d l a n d s i n c l u d i n g D a v e n t r y ) .

E - A C T h a s a d e v o l v e d g o v e r n a n c e s t r u c t u r e w i t h o p e r a t i o n a l a n d e d u c a t i o n a l m a n a g e m e n t l e d b y o u r r e g i o n a l d i r e c t o r s i n e a c h o f t h e f o u r r e g i o n s . A l l f o u r r e g i o n s a r e r e q u i r e d t o o p e r a t e w i t h i n a t r u s t -w i d e n a t i o n a l g o v e r n a n c e f r a m e w o r k s e t b y t h e t r u s t e e s a n d E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m ( E LT ) .

T h i s d e v o l v e d s t r u c t u r e o f g o v e r n a n c e i s l e d b y o u r r e g i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n a l d i r e c t o r s . T h e y m a y b e s u p p o r t e d b y d e p u t i e s a n d w i l l o f t e n h a v e a s m a l l t e a m o f e x p e r t s i n a r a n g e o f s y s t e m l e a d e r r o l e s . T h i s m a y i n c l u d e r o l e s s u c h a s s y s t e m l e a d e r s f o r f i n a n c e , p r o c u r e m e n t , s a f e g u a r d i n g , s u b j e c t s p e c i a l i s t s a n d s y s t e m l e a d e r s f o r s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n a l n e e d s a n d d i s a b i l i t i e s .

I t i s t h r o u g h j o i n t w o r k o f t h e r e g i o n a l g o v e r n a n c e t e a m , h e a d t e a c h e r s a n d o u r s e n i o r l e a d e r s h i p t e a m s t h a t w e s e c u r e e f f e c t i v e a n d e f f i c i e n t d e c i s i o n m a k i n g i n a n d f o r t h e r e g i o n s . T h i s i s d e s i g n e d n o t o n l y t o i n c r e a s e a c c o u n t a b i l i t y b u t a l s o i n c r e a s e t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d o w n e r s h i p i n o u r d e c i s i o n m a k i n g p r o c e s s e s .

P a g e 5 3

R e g i o n a l P e r f o r m a n c e B o a r d s ( R P B s )

T h e h a l f - t e r m l y R e g i o n a l P e r f o r m a n c e B o a r d s l e d b y t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m h o l d t h e r e g i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a n d r e g i o n a l o p e r a t i o n s d i r e c t o r s t o a c c o u n t f o r o p e r a t i o n a l a n d e d u c a t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e i n t h e r e g i o n . T h e s e c h a l l e n g e m e e t i n g s g i v e r e g i o n a l d i r e c t o r s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o a g g r e g a t e e v i d e n c e f r o m t h e R A B s a n d v a r i o u s s o u r c e s o f d a t a i n t o a c r i t i c a l r e v i e w o f t h e r e g i o n t o p r e s e n t t o E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m . T h e r o b u s t d e b a t e a t t h e s e m e e t i n g s e n a b l e s E LT t o e x a m i n e k e y i s s u e s a s w e l l a s i d e n t i f y i n g g o o d p r a c t i c e i n a n d a c r o s s t h e f o u r r e g i o n s .

Tr u s t e e c o m m i t t e e s a n d t h e f u l l B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s

T h r o u g h t h e c y c l e o f c o m m i t t e e s , t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m a r e h e l d t o a c c o u n t o n e d u c a t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e , p e r s o n n e l m a t t e r s , o p e r a t i o n a l p e r f o r m a n c e , f i n a n c e a n d a u d i t a n d r i s k a c r o s s t h e t r u s t .

T h e s e m e e t i n g s e n a b l e t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m t o p r e s e n t a r a n g e o f e v i d e n c e i n s c r u t i n y p a p e r s , c o l l a t e d f r o m f i n d i n g s a t t h e R e g i o n a l P e r f o r m a n c e B o a r d s a n d p r e s e n t e d a s s u m m a r y p a p e r s o r p a p e r s t h a t r e q u i r e t r u s t e e d i s c u s s i o n a s p a r t o f o u r e d u c a t i o n a l a n d o p e r a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y w o r k a c r o s s t h e t r u s t . Tr u s t e e s f o c u s o n t h e e f f i c a c y a n d i m p a c t o f t h e r e g i o n a l g o v e r n a n c e m o d e l a n d c o m p l i a n c e w i t h o u r l e g a l a n d s t a t u t o r y r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .

E - A C T A c a d e m y A m b a s s a d o r s

O u r E - A C T A m b a s s a d o r s p e r f o r m a v i t a l v o l u n t e e r r o l e i n c o n n e c t i n g o u r a c a d e m i e s t o t h e c o m m u n i t i e s w e s e r v e . O u r v o l u n t e e r s a r e u n s u n g h e r o e s i n t h e g e n e r o u s w a y s t h e y g i v e t h e i r t i m e , e n e r g y a n d i n s i g h t w h e n w o r k i n g w i t h u s a c r o s s o u r t r u s t .

O u r A m b a s s a d o r s a r e w e l l p l a c e d t o e n t e r d i a l o g u e w i t h p a r e n t s a t e a c h a c a d e m y b e c a u s e t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p i s p e r s o n a l , u n i q u e , l o c a l a n d s p e c i f i c . We k n o w t h a t t h e l o c a l k n o w l e d g e a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p u p i l s a n d f a m i l i e s c a n h e l p u s i m p r o v e e a c h a c a d e m y t h r o u g h g o o d c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d l i a i s o n w i t h o u r s e n i o r l e a d e r s a n d r e g i o n a l t e a m s . T h i s i s w h y E - A C T r e q u i r e s a c a d e m i e s t o h a v e a g r o u p o f A m b a s s a d o r s w h i c h i n c l u d e s t w o p a r e n t a n d c o m m u n i t y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s w h o h a v e k e y r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h i n t h e a r e a s t h a t o u r 2 9 a c a d e m i e s s e r v e .

U s i n g g o o d w i l l , i m a g i n a t i o n a n d e x p e r i e n c e , o u r E - A C T A m b a s s a d o r s w o r k w i t h h e a d t e a c h e r s , a c a d e m i e s a n d r e g i o n a l t e a m s t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e l i n k s b e t w e e n t h e a c a d e m y a n d t h e c o m m u n i t y , a n d e n g a g e w i t h a c a d e m y i m p r o v e m e n t s t r a t e g y t o s e c u r e g r e a t e d u c a t i o n f o r a l l p u p i l s .

E - A C T A m b a s s a d o r s h a v e a d i r e c t l i n k t o t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s t h r o u g h o u r n o m i n e e t r u s t e e , C a m e r o n P y k e . T h e c h a i r o f t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s a p p r o v e s t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f t h e c h a i r s o f A m b a s s a d o r s a n d A m b a s s a d o r s h a v e a d i r e c t l i n e t o t h e t r u s t e e s t h r o u g h t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e c h a i r s .

O v e r t h e l a s t t w o y e a r s t h e A m b a s s a d o r C h a r t e r h a s f o c u s e d o n f o u r k e y a r e a s o f w o r k ; c o m m u n i c a t i o n , c o m m u n i t y , c e l e b r a t i o n , c o m p l a i n t s ( t h e f o u r C s ) , a n d o u r A c a d e m y A m b a s s a d o r s h a v e l e d m a n y p r o j e c t s a c r o s s t h e t r u s t . F r o m c e l e b r a t i n g p u p i l a c h i e v e m e n t a t o u r r e g i o n a l c e l e b r a t i o n e v e n t s , o r g a n i s i n g e v e n t s t o b r i n g o u r c o m m u n i t i e s t o g e t h e r , c u l t u r a l e v e n t s , a l l o t m e n t a n d g a r d e n p r o j e c t s t o b e i n g A m b a s s a d o r m e m b e r s i n e x c l u s i o n p a n e l s , t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t i s u n w a v e r i n g .

B u i l d i n g o n w o r k o v e r t h e l a s t t w o y e a r s , t h e g o v e r n a n c e t e a m c o m p l e t e d a r e v i e w o f t h e p r e v i o u s l y t i t l e d A m b a s s a d o r i a l A d v i s o r y G r o u p s ( A A G s ) a n d e v a l u a t e d t h e i m p a c t o f t h e t r u s t i n m e e t i n g t h e s t r a t e g i c p r i o r i t y f r o m t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r ’ s a n n u a l r e p o r t , 2 0 1 7 - 1 8 . F r o m t h e r e v i e w, t h e g o v e r n a n c e t e a m w o r k i n g w i t h t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m a n d t r u s t e e s h a v e r e v i s e d t h e A m b a s s a d o r r e m i t a n d r e f o c u s e d t h e C h a r t e r t o t h e c o r e p u r p o s e a n d s t r a t e g y f o r 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 O p e n i n g M i n d s , O p e n i n g D o o r s .

M e e t B o u r n e E n d A c a d e m y

A m b a s s a d o r K a r e n H a y n s o n p a g e 4 1

P a g e 5 5

A r r a n g e m e n t s f o r s e t t i n g p a y a n d r e m u n e r a t i o n o f k e y m a n a g e m e n t p e r s o n n e l

I n l i n e w i t h E - A C T ’ s s c h e m e o f d e l e g a t e d a u t h o r i t y , t h e p a y a n d r e m u n e r a t i o n p a c k a g e o f a l l o f t h e E x e c u t i v e L e a d e r s h i p Te a m , r e g i o n a l d i r e c t o r s a n d h e a d t e a c h e r s a r e f o r m a l l y a p p r o v e d b y t h e P e r s o n n e l C o m m i t t e e . D u r i n g t h e a c a d e m i c y e a r u n d e r r e v i e w, t r u s t e e s a p p r o v e d t h e r e m o v a l o f p e r f o r m a n c e - r e l a t e d p a y f o r a l l e m p l o y e e s a t E - A C T w h i c h i n c l u d e d k e y m a n a g e m e n t p e r s o n n e l . T h i s c h a n g e c a m e i n t o e f f e c t i n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 9 a n d t h e t e a c h e r p a y a n d a p p r a i s a l p o l i c i e s w e r e u p d a t e d t o r e f l e c t t h e c h a n g e .

A p a y f r a m e w o r k w a s a p p r o v e d i n J u n e 2 0 1 9 f o r s e n i o r l e a d e r s w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h e C E O, E LT a n d E E LT. H e a d t e a c h e r s w i l l r e m a i n o n l e a d e r s h i p s c a l e s a n d t h e i r s c a l e p o i n t s a r e t o b e n o t e d a n n u a l l y b y t h e r e m u n e r a t i o n c o m m i t t e e .

T h e p r e v i o u s C E O w a s a w a r d e d a p a y i n c r e a s e b y t h e t r u s t e e s d u r i n g t h e y e a r t a k i n g h i s s a l a r y t o £ 1 6 0 , 7 8 9 . T h e n e w C E O w a s a p p o i n t e d o n a s a l a r y o f £ 1 7 7 , 7 7 3 w h i c h w i l l b e r e v i e w e d a n n u a l l y b y t r u s t e e s . T h e n e w C E O i s t o b e f o r m a l l y a p p r a i s e d b y t h e c h a i r a n n u a l l y .

R e l a t e d p a r t i e s a n d o t h e r c o n n e c t e d c h a r i t i e s a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n s

E - A C T i s a m u l t i - a c a d e m y t r u s t a n d s p o n s o r i n i t s o w n r i g h t a n d i s n o t p a r t o f a w i d e r a c a d e m y n e t w o r k . E - A C T i s e n g a g e d w i t h o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n s i n t h e p r o v i s i o n o f e d u c a t i o n .

A c a d e m i e s a n d a c a d e m y p r o p r i e t o r s ( o t h e r w i s e k n o w n a s a c a d e m y t r u s t s o r a c a d e m y c o m p a n i e s ) a r e e x e m p t c h a r i t i e s , w h i c h m e a n s t h e y a r e e x e m p t f r o m d a y t o d a y C h a r i t y C o m m i s s i o n s u p e r v i s i o n ( T h e C h a r i t i e s A c t 2 0 1 1 ) . T h e s e c h a r i t i e s c a n n o t r e g i s t e r w i t h t h e C h a r i t y C o m m i s s i o n a n d a r e o u t s i d e t h e i r m o n i t o r i n g a n d i n v e s t i g a t i v e p o w e r s , b u t t h e y h a v e t h e s a m e s t a t u s a n d t a x b e n e f i t s a s o t h e r c h a r i t i e s i n E n g l a n d a n d Wa l e s a n d m u s t c o m p l y w i t h g e n e r a l c h a r i t y l a w. T h e y a r e s u b j e c t t o t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n o f t h e c o u r t s a n d c a n a s k t h e C h a r i t y C o m m i s s i o n t o e x e r c i s e t h e i r s u p p o r t p o w e r s w h e n n e c e s s a r y , f o r e x a m p l e , t o a u t h o r i s e a n a c t i o n n o t o t h e r w i s e a l l o w e d b y t h e i r g o v e r n i n g d o c u m e n t . T h e p r i n c i p a l r e g u l a t o r f o r e v e r y a c a d e m y t r u s t , s i n c e 1 A u g u s t 2 0 1 1 , i s t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r E d u c a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e D e p a r t m e n t f o r E d u c a t i o n ( D f E ) , w i t h f i n a n c e a n d g o v e r n a n c e o v e r s e e n b y t h e E d u c a t i o n a n d S k i l l s F u n d i n g A g e n c y .

T h e C h a r i t y C o m m i s s i o n a n d t h e D f E e n t e r e d i n t o a m e m o r a n d u m o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g i n J u l y 2 0 1 2 t o f o r m a l i s e t h e d e t a i l s o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p a s p r i n c i p a l r e g u l a t o r s . I t w a s d e s i g n e d t o e n s u r e t h a t a c a d e m i e s a r e r e g u l a t e d a p p r o p r i a t e l y a n d e f f e c t i v e l y a s c h a r i t i e s b u t t h r o u g h o v e r s i g h t m e c h a n i s m s t o e n s u r e t h a t r e g u l a t i o n i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e a n d a v o i d s d u p l i c a t i o n .

E - A C T i s c u r r e n t l y n o t w o r k i n g w i t h a n y r e l a t e d p a r t i e s o r o t h e r c o n n e c t e d o r g a n i s a t i o n s .

P u b l i c b e n e f i t

E - A C T ’ s t r u s t e e s h a v e c o m p l i e d w i t h t h e i r d u t y t o h a v e d u e r e g a r d t o t h e g u i d a n c e o n p u b l i c b e n e f i t p u b l i s h e d b y t h e C h a r i t y C o m m i s s i o n i n e x e r c i s i n g t h e i r p o w e r s o r d u t i e s . E - A C T p r o m o t e s e d u c a t i o n f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f t h e l o c a l c o m m u n i t i e s i n w h i c h i t s a c a d e m i e s a r e s i t u a t e d a n d o f f e r s e d u c a t i o n a l a n d r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s t o l o c a l c o m m u n i t y g r o u p s o u t s i d e a c a d e m i e s ’ c o r e h o u r s f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c . C o m m u n i t y b a s e d p r o j e c t s a n d f u n d r a i s i n g a r e a l s o u n d e r t a k e n t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r b y s t a f f a n d s t u d e n t s , w h i c h f u r t h e r e n h a n c e s t h e p u b l i c b e n e f i t .

E - A C T ’ s A m b a s s a d o r i a l A d v i s o r y G r o u p s h a v e a r e m i t t o s e e k n e w w a y s f o r e a c h a c a d e m y t o i m p r o v e i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d r o l e w i t h i n t h e l o c a l c o m m u n i t y . F o r t h e y e a r u n d e r r e v i e w, t h i s w a s t h e f o c u s o f b e s p o k e A A G p r o j e c t s w h i c h r a n i n s e v e r a l o f t h e a c a d e m i e s , s u c h a s f a m i l y f u n d a y s , b u i l d i n g a l i b r a r y a n d h o s t i n g a c a r e e r s e x p o .

Tr a d e u n i o n f a c i l i t y t i m e

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P a g e 5 7

G o i n g c o n c e r n

To a s s e s s t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n ’ s p o s i t i o n a n d e n s u r e E - A C T r e m a i n s a g o i n g c o n c e r n , t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s h a v e t a k e n i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n s e v e r a l k e y f a c t o r s , w h i c h i n c l u d e ; • T h e l e v e l o f r e s e r v e s c u r r e n t l y

h e l d b y E - A C T • T h e 2 0 1 9 - 2 0 b u d g e t a n d f u t u r e

y e a r s ’ f o r e c a s t s • R i s k s f a c i n g E - A C T a n d t h e

m a n a g e m e n t o f t h o s e r i s k s • I n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f p u p i l s a n d

p r o j e c t e d p u p i l n u m b e r s• T h e s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f o u r r e g i o n s • T h e r i s k a d v e r s e a p p r o a c h t o c a s h

m a n a g e m e n t

T h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s h a v e a r e a s o n a b l e e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t t h e t r u s t h a s a d e q u a t e r e s o u r c e s t o c o n t i n u e i n o p e r a t i o n a l e x i s t e n c e f o r t h e f o r e s e e a b l e f u t u r e . F o r t h i s r e a s o n , E - A C T c o n t i n u e s t o a d o p t t h e g o i n g c o n c e r n b a s i s i n p r e p a r i n g t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t s . F u r t h e r d e t a i l s r e g a r d i n g t h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e g o i n g c o n c e r n b a s i s c a n b e f o u n d i n t h e S t a t e m e n t o f A c c o u n t i n g P o l i c i e s .

E m p l o y e e i n v o l v e m e n t a n d e m p l o y m e n t o f d i s a b l e d p e r s o n s

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e t r u s t a n d a c a d e m y e q u a l i t y o b j e c t i v e s , E - A C T h a s a s u i t e o f p o l i c i e s t h a t c o v e r a l l a s p e c t s o f p e r s o n n e l m a n a g e m e n t . F o r e x a m p l e :

• E q u a l i t y a n d D i v e r s i t y • S a f e r R e c r u i t m e n t• D i g n i t y a t Wo r k • A p p r a i s a l • P a y• C o d e o f C o n d u c t• C h i l d P r o t e c t i o n a n d S a f e g u a r d i n g • L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t P e n s i o n S c h e m e• P e n s i o n S c h e m e D i s c r e t i o n s • H e a l t h a n d S a f e t y

E - A C T h a s i n p l a c e a n a t i o n a l r e c o g n i t i o n a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e m a i n t e a c h i n g a n d s u p p o r t u n i o n s . R e g u l a r m e e t i n g s o f t h i s J o i n t N e g o t i a t i n g C o m m i t t e e w e r e h e l d i n t h e y e a r w h e n m a t t e r s o f m u t u a l i n t e r e s t w e r e d i s c u s s e d . T h e u n i o n s c o m m u n i c a t e t o t h e i r m e m b e r s t h r o u g h l o c a l l y a p p o i n t e d u n i o n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . T h e h e a d t e a c h e r o f e a c h a c a d e m y m e e t s t h e i r s t a f f r e g u l a r l y t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e y a r e a w a r e o f r e l e v a n t i s s u e s a n d i n i t i a t i v e s .

E - A C T h a s l o n g - e s t a b l i s h e d f a i r e m p l o y m e n t p r a c t i c e s i n t h e r e c r u i t m e n t , r e t e n t i o n , p r o m o t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g o f d i s a b l e d s t a f f . I n t h e u n f o r t u n a t e c i r c u m s t a n c e o f a c u r r e n t e m p l o y e e b e c o m i n g d i s a b l e d , E A C T w i l l t a k e a l l r e a s o n a b l e s t e p s p o s s i b l e t o s u p p o r t t h a t m e m b e r o f s t a f f .

M o d e r n s l a v e r y a n d h u m a n t r a f f i c k i n g

E - A C T i s c o m m i t t e d t o e n s u r i n g t h a t t h e r e i s n o m o d e r n s l a v e r y o r h u m a n t r a f f i c k i n g i n o u r s u p p l y c h a i n o r i n a n y p a r t o f o u r c h a r i t y . We a r e c o m m i t t e d t o a c t i n g e t h i c a l l y a n d w i t h i n t e g r i t y i n a l l o u r c h a r i t a b l e a n d b u s i n e s s r e l a t i o n s h i p s .

A s a n e d u c a t i o n a l t r u s t , E - A C T ’ s i m m e d i a t e s u p p l y c h a i n i s e n t i r e l y w i t h i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m ; w e d o n o t t r a n s a c t w i t h o r g a n i s a t i o n s o u t s i d e o f t h e E U . A r o u n d 7 7 % o f E - A C T ’ s c o s t s a r e d i r e c t e m p l o y m e n t c o s t s . O u r e x t e n d e d s u p p l y c h a i n , s e c o n d t i e r a n d t h i r d t i e r a r e p r e d o m i n a t e l y b a s e d w i t h i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m . E - A C T d o e s n o t c o n s i d e r , a s a t r u s t , t h a t w e t r a n s a c t w i t h a n y c o u n t r i e s o r r e g i o n s t h a t a r e c o n s i d e r e d a r e a s o f r i s k .

S h o u l d t h e p o s i t i o n a r i s e w h e r e E - A C T t r a n s a c t s w i t h a n a r e a c o n s i d e r e d t o b e a p o t e n t i a l r i s k , t h e r e l e v a n t r e g i o n a l o p e r a t i o n s d i r e c t o r w i l l e n s u r e a r i s k a s s e s s m e n t i s c o m p l e t e d . I n a d d i t i o n t h e y w i l l u n d e r t a k e t h e n e c e s s a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , d u e d i l i g e n c e a n d a p p r o p r i a t e t r a i n i n g f o r s t a f f p r i o r t o e n g a g e m e n t w i t h t h e s u p p l i e r .

E - A C T a l s o p u r s u e s f u l l y i t s o b l i g a t i o n s f o r s a f e g u a r d i n g i n p r o t e c t i n g o u r p u p i l s , s t a f f a n d t h e i r f a m i l i e s . S h o u l d c o n c e r n s a b o u t s a f e g u a r d i n g a r i s e , t h e y w i l l b e m a n a g e d a n d r e f e r r e d t h r o u g h o u r r o b u s t s a f e g u a r d i n g p r o c e d u r e s .

O n t h e B o a r d o f Tr u s t e e s , G u r p r e e t D e h a l i s t h e n a m e d t r u s t e e w h o h a s t h e p o r t f o l i o i n t e r e s t f o r s a f e g u a r d i n g .

D u r i n g t h e f i n a n c i a l y e a r 2 0 1 8 -1 9 , a r e v i e w w a s c o n d u c t e d o f t h e r e g i o n a l a n d n a t i o n a l r i s k s t o E - A C T v i a s a f e g u a r d i n g a n d s u p p l y c h a i n r o u t e s . S y s t e m s a n d p r o c e s s w e r e f o u n d t o b e r o b u s t , e s p e c i a l l y i n r e l a t i o n t o s a f e g u a r d i n g a n d i m p r o v e m e n t s i n c o n t r o l s i d e n t i f i e d i n p r o c u r e m e n t . T h e f i n d i n g s a n d a r e a s o f f o c u s f o r t h e n e x t f i n a n c i a l y e a r a r e p u b l i s h e d i n t h e M o d e r n S l a v e r y S t a t e m e n t a p p r o v e d b y t r u s t e e s i n F e b r u a r y .

P a g e 5 9

F i n a n c i a l s t a t e m e n t s

Governance statement

Scope of responsibility

As trustees, we acknowledge we have overall responsibility for ensuring that as a multi-academy trust, E-ACT has an effective and appropriate system of control, financially, operationally and educationally. However, such a system is designed to manage rather than to eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

The Board of Trustees has delegated the day-to-day operational responsibility to the chief executive officer, as Accounting Officer, for ensuring that financial controls conform with the requirements of both propriety and good financial management and in accordance with the requirements and responsibilities assigned to it in the funding agreement between E-ACT and the Secretary of State for Education.

The chief executive officer, as Accounting Officer is also responsible for reporting to the Board of Trustees any material weaknesses or breakdowns in internal control.

Governance

The information on governance included here supplements that described in the Trustees’ Report and in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities. The board may be comprised of no fewer than three people and currently consists of 11, not counting the Chief Executive Officer as an ex-officio trustee. All members of the board are unpaid in their roles as trustees. In December 2018, the trustees reviewed whether or not the chief executive officer should remain as a trustee following the removal of the requirement in ESFA’s Academies Financial Handbook 2018. Trustees agreed that having the chief executive officer as a trustee provides an additional layer of responsibility and accountability to their role and to them as an individual so this should continue. The board also upholds its decision that members should not be separate from trustees and during the financial year under review, 11 trustees were also members. The board deem that this does ensure greater benefit for our pupils by not separating out key decision-making powers from the strategic trustee group. A check and balance is in place in the form of the vice-chair who continues to hold the senior independent trustee (SIT) role. This role provides support for other trustees who may share any concerns they have with SIT if they judge that effective governance practice is not being upheld.

At the end of the 2018-19 financial year, the Board of Trustees comprised the following:

• 11 trustees appointed by the members (Articles 45-50); and • The chief executive as an ex-officio trustee (Articles 50B and 57)

At the time of approving the accounts, the Board of Trustees currently comprises the following:

• 11 trustees appointed by the members (Articles 45-50)

P a g e 6 1

The following information in this governance statement relates only to the 2018-19 academic and financial year.

Committee composition

The Board of Trustees appoints members of the Audit and Risk Committee, Finance Committee, Education Committee, Personnel Committee and the Renumeration Committee.

In the academic year under review, the Education and Personnel Committee was split into two distinct committees with separate purposes and Terms of Reference. In October 2019, the creation of a Remuneration Committee was approved by the Board. This will be operational from December 2019.

Each committee is formed of trustees voted into the committee and members of the Executive Leadership Team. In addition, members of the Extended Executive Leadership Team have also been invited to present and participate in meetings when the agenda items provide opportunity to provide additional briefings or updates from personnel leading on key pieces of work across the trust.

Both external and internal auditors are invited to attend the Audit and Risk Committee meetings. A closed session is held between the head of internal audit and trustees prior to every Audit and Risk Committee. A closed session is made available for external audit and trustees prior to approval of the annual accounts.

The Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees has formally met five times during the year.

At trustee level, the predominance of the interrogation and scrutiny happens at the following committees: Finance, Audit and Risk, Education and Personnel.

These committees have delegated authority on key decisions. This is set out in our Scheme of Delegation and the chair of each committee reports back to the full Board of Trustees at each of their meetings. Each committee also has the authority and responsibility to raise matters to the full board for further consideration.

Each group of meetings is called a cycle and there were five cycles in the 2018-19 academic year. The Personnel Committee held six meetings with the extra meeting focused on the executive pay framework.

Attendance at committees is reported as:

Board Audit and

Risk Finance Education Personnel Michael Wemms 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 Jean Scott 3 out of 5 5 out of 5 6 out of 6 Angus Hislop 5 out of 5 4 out of 5 5 out of 6 Cameron Pyke 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 6 out of 6 Brian Lightman 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 6 out of 6 Gurpreet Dehal

5 out of 5 4 out of 4

4 out of 4

1 out of 1

2 out of 2

Bryan Winchester

4 out of 5

4 out of 5

4 out of 6

Sean Alleyne 4 out of 5 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 Theresa Keating 3 out of 5 5 out of 5 5 out of 5 Pamela Coles 5 out of 5 4 out of 5 4 out of 5 Nadeem Kiyani 4 out of 5 4 out of 5 4 out of 5

Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees meets five times a year which complements the regional governance model and the committee cycle. The trustees do not feel that they need to meet more frequently in order to discharge their obligations for the following reasons: The governance structure provides a national framework of robust challenge and

interrogation from academy level through to the trustees The process begins at academy level with the Raising Achievement Boards (RABs) at

which the regional directors hold headteachers and academy to account The outcomes from the Raising Achievement Boards (RABs) at the academies in each

region provide an accurate assessment of the key strengths and priorities in the region, interrogated at the Regional Performance Boards. The Executive Leadership Team hold the regional directors to account for their regions.

The Regional Performance Boards inform the national picture which the specialist trustee committee interrogate and hold the Executive Leadership Team to account. At the full board, the trustees challenge and interrogate trust-wide matters which informs the strategy and direction of the trust. Trustees regularly discuss strategic matters and organisational development between cycles both as a group of trustees and with their respective Executive Leadership Team senior lead. In addition, they are updated out of cycle on key matters such as findings from Ofsted inspections, financial matters and findings from internal audit findings and personnel matters relating to key appointments at E-ACT.

Key pieces of work throughout the year have included: • Recruitment and appointment of a new chief executive officer and her Executive

Leadership team • Consultation and subsequent closure of Burnham Park Academy • Approval of the addition of Bourne End Academy to strengthen the London and

Bucks region from 1 September 2018

P a g e 6 3

• Approval of a revised Scheme of Delegation with further clarification using RACI • Approval of the removal of Performance-Related Pay (PRP) from September 2019 • Undertaking an Internal Board Effectiveness Review • A board strategy day on 8 May 2019 focused on E-ACT culture and people

development strategy • Approving a new core purpose and strategy called Opening Minds, Opening Doors

commencing on 1 September 2019 • Increased embedding of understanding of risk across the trust with the further

development of a risk appetite framework for E-ACT • Sustained a relentless focus upon the quality of education and the securing of the

mastery Rubric in use across the trust • Further embedding of the zero-based budgeting approach with regional teams

and headteachers to increase depth of understanding and application. This model secures an levelling out of disparities between academy funding by allocating funds on the basis of need. Critical work has developed to help all leaders examine how the academy budgets are inextricably linked to curriculum development, ensuring each academy has the funding required to meet the specific needs of its pupils and staff

• Approval of the 2019-20 budget

Audit and Risk Committee

The Audit and Risk Committee is a committee of the Board of Trustees. The core purpose is to ensure the quality and integrity of the organisation’s risk management framework; accounting and reporting practices, controls and financial statements; legal and regulatory compliance; the auditor’s qualifications and independence; and the performance of the company’s internal audit function and independent auditors.

The work of the Audit and Risk Committee this year has included:

• Oversight of the KPMG Audit 2018-19 • Closure of the 2017-18 Audit Management Letter actions, all of which are

completed • Strategic oversight and scrutiny of the second year on rolling out the Internal Audit

Plan • Continued scrutiny and challenge in relation to improving procurement

compliance and processes • Strategic review and challenge of the transfer in of the three new

academies under the due diligence processes • Recommendation of the statutory accounts to the board • Strategy oversight and scrutiny of the risk management framework, along

with scrutiny and challenge relating to the embedding of risk management across E-ACT

• Strategic oversight, development and recommendation of a risk appetite to the Board of Trustees

• Strategic oversight and interrogation around the closure of Burnham Park

Academy • Oversight of organisational whistleblowing investigations and oversight of

the investigation reports • Scrutiny and challenge of the capability matrix, designed to improve the way

risk is understood and embedded within the organisation, as well as identify under capacity areas and understand challenges in advance

• Oversight of organisational reputational risk and escalation of this risk within the overall risk framework – challenge to the Executive Leadership Team regarding how this is managed and mitigated

• Approval of trust-wide policies on Health and Safety, Data Breach, Freedom of Information, Gifts and Hospitality and Whistleblowing

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee is a committee of the Board of Trustees. The overall purpose of the committee is to support the board in ensuring the maintenance of systems of financial management and control to assure financial probity and transparency, and effective financial stewardship and management of the organisation.

The work of the Finance Committee this year has included:

• Regular review of the management accounts • Scrutiny and challenge on value for money within the trust • Strategic oversight and guidance on the continued development and

implementation of the zero-based budgeting (ZBB) approach and reviewing how the CFO and his team are continuing to support through training the quality and rigour of ZBB

• 2019-20 budget approval and recommendation to board • Oversight of the organisation’s reserves and providing strategic advice on the

development of a reserves strategy • Scrutiny of the trust-wide actions for securing increased use of the levy funding and

a scoping for apprenticeships across the trust provision programme • Strategic oversight and interrogation around the closure of Burnham Park

Academy • Approval of trust-wide policies on Charging and Remissions, trustee and

ambassador expenses and the LGPS Discretions Policy (joint approval with the Personnel Committee

Education Committee

The Education Committee is a committee of the Board of Trustees. Its core purpose is to provide strategic direction, scrutiny, challenge and support for educational outcomes and curriculum development for the academies.

The work of the Education Committee this year has included:

• Regular review of the performance of each of E-ACT’s academies, identifying risks and challenging intervention, sustaining a robust focus

P a g e 6 5

upon the academies that are not rated ‘good’ by Ofsted • Review of academy exam results, at academy level and trust-wide, and

strategic oversight of improvement actions throughout the year, including ways to enhance collaboration between academies in each region and across regions, a new cluster model in the Midlands region used as a trial model

• A review with trustees’ input related to the new Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF) and the revised Ofsted MAT Summary Evaluation process.

• Strategic oversight and interrogation around the potential closure of Burnham Park Academy

• Strategic input on trust-wide education and enrichment strategies, for example attendance, English and Maths mastery and the E-ACT pupil passport

• Increased analysis of the impact of referrals and outcomes from safeguarding matters across the trust including the scrutiny and challenge on safeguarding internal audit findings

• Regular oversight of safeguarding incidents, policy compliance and strategy • Approval of policies on Administration of medicines / support for children with

medical needs, Special Educational Needs and Learning, and Relationships and Sex Education Policies for primary and secondary academies

Personnel Committee

The Personnel Committee is responsible for overseeing trust-wide personnel matters and has delegated authority to appoint senior staff, as well address matters of remuneration. From December 2019, remuneration items will be received by the new Remuneration Committee. The work of the Personnel Committee this year has included:

• Implementation of the new people strategy across E-ACT and associated executive pay framework

• Strategic oversight and advice on the removal of Performance-Related Pay • Strategic oversight of the trust-wide continuing professional development

plan and external HR provision • Approval of Executive Leadership Team objectives for the year • Strategic oversight of the trust-wide mental health strategy and analysis of the

impact of the MHFA training programme with a comprehensive discussion with the E-ACT national lead for mental health

• Strategic oversight and monitoring of staff vacancies, recruitment and retention

• Reviewing the standing items and focus items for the five cycles of the Personnel Committee

• Approval of trust-wide policies on Equality and Diversity, Equal Opportunities, Capability, Code of Conduct, Flexible Working, special leave, References, Recruitment and Selection and joint approval of LGPS Discretions Policy (with the Finance Committee)

Review of value for money

As Accounting Officer, the chief executive has responsibility for ensuring that the academy trust delivers good value in the use of public resources. The accounting officer understands that value for money refers to the educational and wider societal outcomes achieved in return for the taxpayer resources received.

The Accounting Officer considers whether the academy trust’s use of its resources has provided good value for money during the academic year, and reports to the trustees highlighting the areas where value for money can be improved, including the use of benchmarking data where appropriate. The Accounting Officer for the academy trust has delivered improved value for money during the year by:

• Continuation of embedding a Zero-Based Budgeting approach to annual budgeting and forecasting

• Increased transparency in internal management reporting with all members of an Extended ELT being part of the group budgeting process and all having sight of every cost in the group

• Facilitated peer to peer challenge on educational and operational spend during the year

• Setting value for money targets for the group as a whole and new regional targets set by the regions for the 2019-20 academic year

• Benchmarking against set VFM targets and other academy trusts • Increased focus on national procurement contracts and use of regional

procurements where this is not possible • Continued drive of supplier rationalisation • Enhancing the procurement data available • Identifying and meeting with key suppliers

System of internal control The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a level that sits within an appetite agreed for the trust rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives. It can, therefore, only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal control is based on an on-going process designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the achievement of academy trust policies, aims and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised and their impact should they be realised. It also considers how risks are managed and whether they are deemed efficient, effective and economic. The system of internal control utilises a number of sources including internal scrutiny, user experience, and objective data sets. These are combined to provide trustees and our regulator with assurance that designed frameworks are functioning effectively and in line with expectations. The System of Internal Control works together with the external control functions operated by Ofsted and our external auditors, KPMG.

P a g e 6 7

The system of internal control has been in place in E-ACT multi-academy trust for the period 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019 and up to the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements.

Capacity to handle risk The Board of Trustees has reviewed the key risks to which E-ACT is exposed, together with the operating, financial and compliance controls that have been implemented to mitigate those risks. The Board of Trustees is of the view that there is an effective process for identifying, evaluating and managing the academy trust’s significant risks that has been in place for the period 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019 and up to the date of approval of the annual report and financial statements. This process is regularly reviewed by the Board of Trustees.

The risk and control framework The academy trust’s system of internal financial control is based on a framework of regular management information and administrative procedures including the segregation of duties and a system of delegation and accountability. In particular, it includes:

Comprehensive budgeting and monitoring systems with an annual budget and periodic financial reports which are reviewed and agreed by the Board of Trustees

Reviews by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of reports which indicate financial performance against the forecasts and of major purchase plans, capital works and expenditure programmes

Setting targets to measure financial and other performance

Clearly defined purchasing (asset purchase or capital investment) policies and processes

Delegation of authority and segregation of duties

Identification and management of risks

Following the decision of the Board of Trustees to employ its own internal audit function led by the head of internal audit and risk management, the function has been in operation during the year under review. In that time the following internal audits were undertaken and include:

Testing of purchase systems and payment systems

Testing of control accounts and bank reconciliation

Financial management

Student safety on trips and visits

Health and safety

Ring fenced funding - pupil premium grant, catch-up funding, sport premium and post-16 bursary

Governance and statutory compliance

Capital procurement

Performance management procedures

The internal audit function within the trust meets the statutory financial obligations within the Academies Financial Handbook. The function also exceeds this by undertaking wider reviews across all facets of the trust and is driven by continual improvement. Validation of E-ACT values and delivery of regional and national priorities identified by trustees. Throughout 2018-19 the Internal Audit team delivered 62 audit reviews and 21 follow-up reviews (FURs) covering a range of both academy and regional reviews covering 26 aspects of education and operations. The head of internal audit and risk management has a closed meeting with the trustees of the Audit and Risk Committee prior to the start of their committee meetings. The head of internal audit and risk management holds regular discussions with board members. In addition, internal audits are discussed at the committee most appropriate to the particular aspect under review and when an audit involves trust-wide analysis, it is also discussed at the Board of Trustee meeting. The Internal Audit team has delivered their work in accordance with the approved internal audit plan for the year.

P a g e 6 9

Going concern To assess the organisation’s position and ensure E-ACT remains a going concern, the Board of Trustees have taken into consideration several key factors, which include:

The level of reserves currently held by E-ACT The 19-20 budget and future years’ forecasts Risks facing E-ACT and the management of those risks Increasing numbers of pupils and projected pupil numbers The strengthening of our regions The risk adverse approach to cash management

The Board of Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, E-ACT continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Statement of Accounting Policies.

Financial review During the year ended 31 August 2019, the total expenditure (excluding restricted fixed assets and pension funds) was £116m (2018: £101m) and income (excluding restricted fixed assets and pension funds) was £117m (2018: £101m). Overall, there has been a small increase in restricted general funds reserves of £0.1m and a small increase in unrestricted fund reserves of £0.9m. £0.5m of unrestricted and £0.6m of restricted general funds were applied against restricted general funds expenditure.

Restricted fixed asset income for the year was £3.1m, and total restricted fixed asset expenditure during the year amounted to £4.1m. The difference here was funded by a transfer from revenue to capital funding.

At 31 August 2019, Restricted Reserves totalled £130m and Unrestricted Reserves totalled £4.2m. The Restricted Reserves comprise £177m surplus in Fixed Asset Reserves, £48m deficit in Pension Reserves, and £0.7m surplus in Restricted General Funds.

The small increases in reserves are ensuring that E-ACT has some reserve funds to help deal with any future financial shocks or emergencies.

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis but the aforementioned deficit resulting from the Local Government Pension Funds is required to be shown as a liability on the balance sheet by Financial Reporting Standards (FRS).

The principal sources of income are government grants accounting for 98% of E-ACT’s income. Revenue and small capital grants are paid annually to each academy, together with a larger capital grant that is received by E-ACT and allocated, on a needs basis, to the academies. The trustees continue to deploy all net incoming resources to investing in the educational purposes and fabric of our academies, although funding from this source continues to get tighter, especially taking into consideration the lag in funding in academies with increasing pupil numbers and inflation not being offset by increases in the funding. These grants and associated expenditure are shown as Restricted Funds in the Statement of Financial Activities.

As an academy trust, the parents and pupils in E-ACT’s academies have the assurance that all of our income must be and is applied for educational purposes. As an educational charity, E-ACT benefits from tax exemption on our educational activities and on its investment income and gains, provided these are applied for our charitable aims. E-ACT is also entitled to an 80% reduction on our business rates on the property we occupy for our charitable purposes. The financial benefits we receive from these tax exemptions are all applied for educational purposes. E-ACT does, however, pay tax as an employer through the national insurance contributions that it makes.

In addition to the very substantial benefits E-ACT’s academies brings to its pupils, the local community and society through the education it offers, our programme of community interaction and the letting out of our premises enables an even larger number of people to take advantage of our facilities.

Review of Effectiveness

As Accounting Officer, the chief executive has responsibility for reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control. During the year in question the review has been informed by:

• The work of the internal auditor • The work of the external auditor • The work of the Executive Leadership Team within the multi-academy trust

who have responsibility for the development and maintenance of the internal control framework

The Accounting Officer has been advised of the implications of the result of their review of the system of internal control by the Audit and Risk Committee and a plan to address weaknesses and ensure continuous improvement of the system is in place.

Approved by order of the members of the Board of Trustees on 12 December 2019 and signed on its behalf by:

Michael Wemms Jane Millward

Chair of E-ACT Accounting Officer

P a g e 7 1

E-ACT academies’ ability to undertake effective financial forward planning is heavily dependent on DfE funding announcements. E-ACT expects to continue to have very challenging savings targets to meet over the coming years – at a time when E-ACT needs to increase its investment in its academies to achieve its targeted educational aspirations

Reserves policy E-ACT is predominately funded on a monthly basis by DfE grants and income which fairly matches expenditure, with around 77% of this being spent on teaching and other staffing.

The Master Funding agreement, which was agreed with the DfE and signed by the Board of Trustees in March 2016, enables funding to be carried forward without restriction.

At the year end, reserves amounted to £4.8m, which is an increase of £921k from the previous year. This is considered to be low, bearing in mind the trust’s monthly operational costs. The trustees’ aim is to manage the reserves in line with the Department for Education’s guidance on the carry forward of reserves.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) liabilities are recognised in the accounts as a significant deficit within restricted funds (£48.0m); however, this does not mean there is an immediate liability for the total amount. Rather, the balance reflects the potential for increases in employer pension contributions in later years to finance the deficits.

E-ACT has no recourse to other revenue income streams of any significance and maintaining a level of reserves is essential to protect the trust against future potential financial risk. The operating reserves at 31 August 2019 total £4.8m (£4.2m unrestricted plus £0.6m restricted). In 2016, the trustees set a target level of reserves for the organisation as follows:

5% of turnover for general use linked to E-ACT’s charitable objects 1% of turnover to fund future estates needs 1% of turnover to fund future ICT needs

These are long-term aims and the charitable trust’s reserves are currently below these aspirations. Academies, regions and the national teams prepare financial forward plans for at least the next three years alongside the annual budget and actively maintain a risk register to enable the trust to foresee potential issues that might affect the viability.

Investment policy The Board of Trustees, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee, approved a revised Treasury Management Policy in July 2014, which remains in place. The principal consideration in this policy is risk minimisation. Therefore, temporary cash deposits are invested with UK high street banks only. E-ACT does not hold any other investments.

Principal risks and uncertainties E-ACT has continued to develop its management of risk exposure and build upon the strength of systems seen in previous years. E-ACTs internal audit and risk team remain strong systems for risk management to keep it embedded across the academies within the organisation. Principle risks and uncertainties for 2018-19 are as follows:

Apprenticeship Levy The effective use of the apprenticeship levy has been a risk across the year. Having adequate access to stable provision to develop areas of the trust and achieve value for money has been a challenge. The trust is working alongside new apprentice providers to develop strategies that support our people strategy as well as provide quality programmes, schemes and support.

Educational performance For the communities we serve, E-ACT’s objective is to give every pupil in every one of its academies the best possible education. E-ACT academies are located in some of the most challenging areas in the country, and the trust works to support both teaching and professional services staff employed by E-ACT to raise pupils’ attainment alongside their life experiences.

E-ACTs strategy continues to centre on getting the best possible outcomes for each and every one of our students. In order to mitigate against future concerns on funding, E-ACT is of the view that if we deliver high quality education then our academies will have higher intakes of students and hence funding will increase.

The level of future funding from the government Whilst the national funding formula (NFF) is getting closer, there still remains uncertainty on the levels of funding, especially when considering the national political landscape. The potential specific funding risks are as follows;

The move towards a National Funding Formula continues as a key risk. The NFF will not be fully rolled out until 2020-21 with the expected result being that it will produce winners and losers on a large scale. Many, but not all, of E-ACT’s academies are situated in poorly funded areas and so E-ACT expects that these academies should benefit from the move to a national formula. Unfortunately, this cannot be guaranteed to be an immediate benefit to us.

Pupil Premium continues as a significant source of funding for our academies, such that there is a financial risk if the funding is not continued in some form as we move forward. This source of funding is directed to help the most vulnerable students in E-ACT’s academies and a reduction would adversely affect their education. Pupil premium funding is around £9m per annum. The risk is managed by our regions and academies having a clear understanding of what activities they use Pupil Premium funding for which is borne out by E-ACTs ‘Zero-Based Budgeting’ approach. This ensures the academies are in a good position to plan any potential budget reductions should they be forced to do so.

16–19 funding not increasing in line with inflation creates a squeeze on resources and has resulted in some sixth forms not being financially viable. E-ACT has taken the decision in some instances to suspend certain academies sixth forms to ensure there is not a need to use funding from other sources. As part of the annual budget cycle E-ACT reviews the financial viability of all of our sixth form provision.

The School Condition allocations (Capital Grants) continue to be short of what our condition surveys state as being required. Whilst E-ACTs allocation has increased due to additional schools joining the group we are not able to cover all the projects. Spend in this area is prioritised based on Health and Safety and Safeguarding. Looking forward it is expected that this grant will be based on the condition of our academies rather than be a multiplier of pupil numbers. At the moment though E-ACT continues to expect year on year funding to remain similar. E-ACT has no access to other funds for major (and often, by their nature, urgent) requirements, such as boiler, roof and window replacements, or for any significant ongoing general refurbishment of buildings or other infrastructure. The risks in this area are mitigated to some extent by employing a national estates manager, who works with the regions of E-ACT and prioritises expenditure, and E-ACT does have some financial reserves which can be used in an emergency.

Retention and recruitment of staff The retention and recruitment of teaching and professional services staff continues to be a challenge. Across the sector it is well publicised that there is a shortage of teaching professionals and E-ACT is exposed to this. Without the right people in all areas of the organisation, it is difficult to meet educational and operational objectives. Whilst E-ACT has succession planning and talent management in its regions, this continues to be an uncertainty. E-ACT has recently appointed a people & organisational development director who will help coordinate work in this area; E-ACT also is the first multi-academy trust to move away from ‘performance-related pay’ (PRP) and hence has started a journey on creating the best possible culture for our pupils and staff.

Recruitment of pupils As discussed in the risks on funding above, the popularity of E-ACT’s academies is a direct consequence of the educational outcomes that we achieve for our pupils. Failure to deliver improved standards will inevitably lead to a drop in pupils and hence a drop in income in future years.

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Reorganisation costs As a multi-academy trust, E-ACT is committed to ensuring that pubic money is spent in the most efficient and effective way in order to produce the best educational outcomes for our pupils. If necessary, costs of any planned reorganisations and capability procedures that are beyond thresholds that the DfE is willing to fund will fall to be funded by the academy trust.

EU Referendum result ‘Brexit’ The continued uncertainty of ‘Brexit’ and the impact it will have on industry and commerce across the UK.

Funds held as Custodian Trustees on behalf of others E-ACT does not hold any funds as custodian trustee.

Auditor Insofar as the trustees are aware:

there is no relevant audit information of which the academy trust’s auditor is unaware the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of

any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information

The trustees’ report, incorporating a strategic report, was approved by order of the Board of Trustees, as the company’s directors on 12 December 2019 and signed on the board’s behalf by:

Michael Wemms

Chair of E-ACT

Statement of regularity, propriety and compliance As accounting officer of E-ACT, I have considered my responsibility to notify the academy trust board of trustees and the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) of material irregularity, impropriety and non-compliance with terms and conditions of all funding received by the academy trust, under the funding agreement in place between the academy trust and the Secretary of State for Education. As part of my consideration I have had due regard to the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook 2018.

I confirm that I and the academy trust board of trustees are able to identify any material irregular or improper use of funds by the academy trust, or material non-compliance with the terms and conditions of funding under the academy trust's funding agreement and the Academies Financial Handbook 2018.

I confirm that no instances of material irregularity, impropriety or funding non-compliance discovered to date. If any instances are identified after the date of this statement, these will be notified to the board of trustees and ESFA:

Jane Millward

Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer

12 December 2019

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Statement of trustees' responsibilities for the financial statements The trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with the Annual Accounts Requirements issued by the Education & Skills Funding Agency, United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 and the Academies Accounts

Direction 2018 to 2019 Make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material

departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to

presume that the charitable company will continue in business

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for ensuring that in its conduct and operation the charitable company applies financial and other controls, which conform to the requirements both of propriety and of good financial management. They are also responsible for ensuring grants received from ESFA\DfE have been applied for the purposes intended.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Approved by order of the members of the Board of Trustees on 12 December 2019.

__________________________________ __________________________________

Michael Wemms Jane Millward

Chair of E-ACT Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF E-ACT Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of E-ACT (“the charitable company”) for the year ended 31 August 2019 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, and Cash flow Statement, and related notes, including the accounting policies in note 1.

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 August 2019, and of the charitable company’s incoming resources and application of resources, including the charitable company’s income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

have been properly prepared in accordance with UK accounting standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland;

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006; and

have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) and the Academies Accounts Direction 2018 to 2019 issued by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our responsibilities are described below. We have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities under, and are independent of the charitable company in accordance with, UK ethical requirements including the FRC Ethical Standard. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is a sufficient and appropriate basis for our opinion.

Going concern

The directors have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate the group or the company or to cease their operations, and as they have concluded that the group and the company’s financial position means that this is realistic. They have also concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt over their ability to continue as a going concern for at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements (“the going concern period”).

We are required to report to you if we have concluded that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is inappropriate or there is an undisclosed material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt over the use of that basis for a period of at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements. In our evaluation of the Directors’ conclusions, we considered the inherent risks to the Company’s business model, including the impact of Brexit, and analysed how those risks might affect the Company’s financial resources or ability to continue operations over the going concern period. We have nothing to report in these respects.

However, as we cannot predict all future events or conditions and as subsequent events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that were reasonable at the time they were made, the absence of reference to a material uncertainty in this auditor's report is not a guarantee that the group or the company will continue in operation. Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information, which comprises the Reference and Administrative Details, the trustees’ Annual Report and Governance Statement. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except as explicitly stated below, any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether, based on our financial statements audit work, the information therein is materially misstated or inconsistent with the financial statements or our audit knowledge. Based solely on that work:

we have not identified material misstatements in the other information;

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in our opinion the information given in the trustees' Annual Report, which constitutes the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report for the financial year, is consistent with the financial statements; and

in our opinion that report has been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Under the Companies Act 2006, we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept by the charitable company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

the charitable company’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

Trustees’ responsibilities

As explained more fully in their statement set out on page 74, the trustees (who are the Directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for: the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view; such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern; and using the going concern basis of accounting unless they either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue our opinion in an auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but does not guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.

A fuller description of our responsibilities is provided on the FRC’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.

The purpose of our audit work and to whom we owe our responsibilities

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and its members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Michael Rowley (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor

Chartered Accountants One Snow Hill Snow Hill Queensway Birmingham

B4 6GH

Independent Reporting Accountant’s Assurance Report on Regularity to E-ACT and the Education and Skills Funding Agency In accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated 14 December 2017 and further to the requirements of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) as included in the Academies Accounts Direction 2018 to 2019, we have carried out an engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether the expenditure disbursed and income received by E-ACT during the period 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019 have been applied to the purposes identified by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them. This report is made solely to E-ACT (the academy trust) and ESFA in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter. Our work has been undertaken so that we might state to the academy trust and ESFA those matters we are required to state in a report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the academy trust and ESFA, for our work, for this report, or for the conclusion we have formed. Respective responsibilities of the academy trust’s accounting officer and the reporting accountant The accounting officer is responsible, under the requirements of the academy trust’s funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education dated 21st April 2016 and the Academies Financial Handbook, extant from 1 September 2018, for ensuring that expenditure disbursed and income received is applied for the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them. Our responsibilities for this engagement are established in the United Kingdom by our profession’s ethical guidance and are to obtain limited assurance and report in accordance with our engagement letter and the requirements of the Academies Accounts Direction 2018 to 2019. We report to you whether anything has come to our attention in carrying out our work which suggests that in all material respects, expenditure disbursed and income received during the period 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019 have not been applied to purposes intended by Parliament or that the financial transactions do not conform to the authorities which govern them. Approach We conducted our engagement in accordance with the Academies Accounts Direction 2018 to 2019 issued by ESFA. We performed a limited assurance engagement as defined in our engagement letter. The objective of a limited assurance engagement is to perform such procedures as to obtain information and explanations in order to provide us with sufficient appropriate evidence to express a negative conclusion on regularity. A limited assurance engagement is more limited in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in a reasonable assurance engagement. Accordingly, we do not express a positive opinion. Our engagement includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the regularity and propriety of the academy trust’s income and expenditure. The work undertaken to draw our conclusion included:

Documenting the framework of authorities which govern the activities of the academy trust;

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Reviewing the evidence supporting the representations included in the Accounting Officer’s statement on regularity, propriety and compliance with the framework of authorities;

Undertaking a risk assessment based on our understanding of the general control environment and any weaknesses in internal controls identified by our audit of the financial statements;

Reviewing the output from the self-assessment questionnaires completed by the Regional Operational Directors and the Headteachers on behalf of the Governing Body;

Testing compliance with delegated authorities for a sample of material transactions; Testing transactions with connected parties to determine whether the trust has complied with the

‘at cost’ requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook 2018; Confirming through enquiry and sample testing that the trust has complied with its procurement

policies and that these policies comply with delegated authorities; and Reviewing any evidence of impropriety resulting from our work and determining whether it was

significant enough to be referred to in our regularity report.

This list is not exhaustive and we performed additional procedures designed to provide us with sufficient appropriate evidence to express a negative conclusion on regularity consistent with the requirements of Annex B of the Academies Accounts Direction 2018 to 2019. Conclusion In the course of our work, nothing has come to our attention which suggests that in all material respects the expenditure disbursed and income received during the period 1 September to 31 August 2019 has not been applied to purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions do not conform to the authorities which govern them. Reporting Accountant for and on behalf of KPMG LLP Chartered Accountants One Snow Hill Snow Hill Queensway Birmingham B4 6GH

Statement of financial activities for year ended 31 August 2019 (including income and expenditure account)

All Academies

Unrestricted Funds

Restricted General Funds

Restricted Fixed Asset Funds

Total 31 August

2019

Total 31 August

2018

Notes £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 Income and endowments from:

Donations and Capital grant Transfers of existing academies Transfer from local authority on conversion Charitable activities:

3 148

(1,547)

(1,122)

3,119

12,150

11,640

3,267

10,603

10,518

3,369

7,492

Funding for the academy trust’s educational operations Teaching Schools Other trading activities Investments

4 5 6

455

1,645 105

114,268 114,723

1,645 105

99,636

1,545 56

Total 2,353 111,599 26,909 140,861 112,098 Expenditure on: Raising funds 7 Charitable activities: Grants

8

116

116

126

Academy trust educational operations

9

993

117,744

13,162

131,899

113,990

Teaching schools Total 993 117,860 13,162 132,015 114,116 Net income / (expenditure) 1,360 (6,261) 13,747 8,846 (2,018) Transfer between funds 19 (506) (618) 1,124 - - Other recognised gains and (losses)

Actuarial (losses) gains on defined benefit pension schemes.

30 (10,830) (10,830) 12,655

Net movement in Funds

854 (17,709) 14,871 (1,984) 10,637

Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward 3,338 (29,621) 162,300 136,017 125,380 Total funds carried forward

4,192

(47,330)

177,171

134,033

136,017

Under E-ACT’s funding agreement, the trust is permitted to transfer funds from within unrestricted funds to restricted general funds, and also from restricted general funds to restricted fixed asset funds. During the year and as planned, the trust moved unrestricted funds to cover educational spend and fixed asset spend.

P a g e 8 1

Balance Sheet 31 August 2019 Company Number 0652 6376

E-ACT E-ACT 31 August

2019 31 August

2018 Notes £’000 £’000 Fixed Assets Intangible assets

13

33

87

Tangible assets 14 177,138 162,213 Current Assets Stock 15 32 28 Debtors 16 5,414 5,287 Cash at bank and in hand 14,437 10,168 19,883 15,483 Liabilities Creditors: Amount falling due within one year

17

(15,034)

(11,555)

Net current assets 4,849 3,928 Total assets less current liabilities

182,020 166,228

Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year Net Assets excluding pension scheme liability

18

-

182,020

-

166,228 Defined benefit pensions scheme liability

30 (47,987) (30,211) Total net assets

134,033 136,017 Funds of the academy trust:

Restricted funds Fixed asset fund

19

177,170

162,300

Restricted income fund 19 658 590 Pension Reserve 19 (47,987) (30,211) Total restricted funds

129,841

132,679

Unrestricted income funds

19

4,192

3,338

Total funds

134,033

136,017

The financial statements on pages 59 to 104 were approved by the trustees and authorised for issue on 12 December 2019 and signed on their behalf by:

__________________________________ __________________________________

Michael Wemms Jane Millward

Chair of E-ACT Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer

Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 August 2019

Notes 31 August 31 August 2019 2018 £’000 £’000 Cash Flow from operating activities

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 23 5,171 2,535 Cash flows from investing activities 25 (902) (897) Cash flows from financing activities 24 - - Change in cash and cash equivalents in reporting period 4,269 1,638 Cash and cash equivalents at 1 September 2018 10,168 8,530 Cash and cash equivalents at 31 August 2019 26 14,437 10,168

P a g e 8 3

Notes to the financial statements 1. Accounting policies Basis of preparation

The financial statements of the academy trust, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Academies Accounts Direction 2017 to 2018 issued by ESFA, the charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

E-ACT meets the definition of a public-funded benefit entity under FRS 102.

Going concern

E-ACT’s business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position are set out within this report and the trustees report. In addition, the financial statements include the Company’s objectives, policies and processes for managing its capital, its financial risk management objectives, details of its financial policy, and its exposures to risk. E-ACT has some financial resources in the form of reserves together with long-term contracts under the Master Funding Agreement's with the Department for Education. Consequently, the Trustees believe that the company is well placed to manage its business risks successfully despite the current uncertain national economic outlook.

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of at least one year from the date of authorisation for issue of the financial statements and have concluded that the academy trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and there are no material uncertainties about the academy trusts ability to continue as a going concern, thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Income

All incoming resources are recognised when E-ACT has entitlement to the funds, the receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably.

Grants receivable Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the balance sheet. Where income is received in advance of meeting any performance related conditions there is not unconditional entitlement to the income and its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income until the performance-related conditions are met. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

General Annual Grant is recognised in full in the statement of Financial Activities in the year for which it is receivable and any abatement in respect of the period is deducted from income and recognised as a liability.

Capital grants are recognised in full when there is an unconditional entitlement to the grant. Unspent amounts of capital grant are reflected in the balance in the restricted fixed asset fund. The annual School Condition Allocation (SCA) grant is an exception, as the grant covers a period of April to March as opposed to E-ACTs financial year, the grant is deferred accordingly.

The academy trust is benefiting from the ESFA’s (Priority Schools Building Programme). The funding for the programme is not recognised as a capital grant until there is unconditional entitlement from costs being incurred, and the development occurring on a site where the academy trust controls through lease the site where the development is occurring.

Sponsorship income Sponsorship income provided to the academy trust which amounts to a donation is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities in the period in which it is receivable (where there are no performance-related conditions), where the receipt is probable and it can be measured reliably.

Donations Donations are recognised on a receivable basis (where there are no performance-related conditions) where the receipt is probable and the amount can be reliably measured.

Other income Other income, including the hire of facilities, is recognised in the period it is receivable and to the extent the academy trust has provided the goods or services

Donated goods, facilities and services Goods donated for resale are included at fair value, being the expected proceeds from sale less the expected costs of sale. If it is practical to assess the fair value at receipt, it is recognised in stock and ‘Income from other trading activities’. Upon sale, the value of the stock is charged against ‘Income from other trading activities’ and the proceeds are recognised as ‘Income from other trading activities’. Where it is impractical to fair value the items due to the volume of low value items they are not recognised in the financial statements until they are sold. The income is recognised within ‘Income from other trading activities’

Transfer on conversion

Where assets and liabilities are received by the academy trust on conversion to an academy, the transferred assets are measured at fair value and recognised in the balance sheet at the point when the risks and rewards of ownership pass to the academy trust. An equal amount of income is recognised as transfer on conversion within Donations and capital grant income to the net assets received.

Transfer of existing academies into the academy trust

Where assets and liabilities are received on the transfer of an existing academy into the academy trust, the transferred net assets are measured at fair value and recognised in the balance sheet at the point when the risks and rewards of ownership pass to the academy trust. An equal amount of income is recognised for the transfer of an existing academy into the academy trust within Donations and capital grant income to the net assets required

Donated fixed assets (excluding Transfers on conversion/into the academy trust)

Where the donated good is a fixed asset it is measured at fair value, unless it is impractical to measure this reliably, in which case the cost of the item to the donor should be used. The gain is recognised as income from donations and a corresponding amount is included in the appropriate fixed asset category and depreciated over the useful economic life in accordance with the academy trust’s accounting policies.

Interest receivable Interest earned on cash balances is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities in the period in which it is receivable.

P a g e 8 5

Expenditure Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Expenditure on raising funds This includes all expenditure incurred by the academy to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and non-charitable trading.

Charitable activities These are costs incurred on the academy trust’s educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the academy trust apportioned to charitable activities.

All resources expended are inclusive of any irrecoverable VAT.

Intangible fixed assets Intangible assets costing £500 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably. Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost are subsequently measured at cost net of amortisation and any provision for impairment. Amortisation is provided on intangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its expected useful life, as follows:

Purchased computer software – over 3 years, or useful economic life.

Tangible fixed assets Assets £500 or more are capitalised as tangible fixed assets and are carried at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.

Where tangible fixed assets have been acquired with the aid of specific grants, either from the Government or from the private sector, they are included in the Balance Sheet at cost or valuation and depreciated over their expected useful economic life. Where there are specific conditions attached to the funding requiring the continued use of the asset, the related grants are credited to a restricted fixed asset fund in the Statement of Financial Activities and carried forward in the balance sheet. Depreciation on the relevant assets is charged directly to the restricted fixed asset fund in the Statement of Financial Activities. Where tangible fixed assets have been acquired with unrestricted funds, depreciation on such assets is charged to the unrestricted fund.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets other than freehold land and assets under construction, at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its expected useful lives, as follows:-

Freehold Buildings – over 50 years, or useful economic life.

Leasehold Land – over the length of lease, or useful economic life.

Long leasehold buildings – lower of 50 years, length of lease, or useful economic life.

Short leasehold buildings – over the period of the lease

ICT equipment and software – 3 years, or useful economic life.

Fixtures, fittings and equipment – 5 years, or useful economic life.

Motor vehicles – 5 years, or useful economic life.

Assets in the course of construction are included at cost. Depreciation on these assets is not charged until they are brought into use and reclassified to freehold or leasehold land and buildings.

A review for impairment of a fixed asset is carried out if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of any fixed asset may not be recoverable. Shortfalls between the carrying value of fixed assets and their recoverable amounts are recognised as impairments. Impairment losses are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Liabilities Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the academy trust anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Provisions Provisions are recognised when the academy has an obligation at the reporting date as a result of a past event which it is probable will result in the transfer of economic benefits and the obligation can be estimated reliably.

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised within interest payable and similar charges.

Leased Assets Rentals under operating leases are charged on a straight line basis over the lease term. Investments The Trust has no subsidiaries Financial Instruments The academy trust only holds basic financial instruments as defined in FRS 102. The financial assets and financial liabilities of the academy trust and their measurement basis are as follows;

Financial assets – trade and other debtors are basic financial instruments and are debt instruments measured at amortised cost as detailed in note 16. Prepayments are not financial instruments. Amounts due to the charity’s wholly owned subsidiary are held at face value less any impairment.

Cash at bank – is classified as a basic financial instrument measured at face value.

Financial liabilities – trade creditors, accruals and other creditors are financial instruments, and are measured at amortised cost as detailed in notes 17 and 18. Taxation and social security and not included in the financial instruments disclosure definition. Deferred income is not deemed to be a

P a g e 8 7

financial liability, as the cash settlement has already taken place and there is an obligation to deliver services rather than cash or another financial instrument. Amounts due to a charity’s wholly owned subsidiary are held at face value less any impairment.

Stock Unsold uniforms and catering stocks are valued at the lower of cost or net realisable value.

Taxation E-ACT is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

Accordingly, the academy trust is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by part 11, chapter 3 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Pensions benefits Retirement benefits to employees of the academy trust are provided by the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (‘TPS’) and the Local Government Pension Scheme (‘LGPS’). These are defined benefit schemes.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme and contributions are calculated so as to spread the cost of pensions over employees’ working lives with the academy trust in such a way that the pension cost is a substantially level percentage of current and future pensionable payroll. The contributions are determined by the Government Actuary on the basis of quadrennial valuations using a prospective unit credit method. TPS is an unfunded multi-employer scheme with no underlying assets to assign between employers. Consequently, the TPS is treated as a defined contribution scheme for accounting purposes and the contributions recognised in the period to which they relate.

The LGPS is a funded multi-employer scheme and the assets are held separately from those of the academy trust in separate trustee administered funds. Pension scheme assets are measured at fair value and liabilities are measured on an actuarial basis using the projected unit method and discounted at a rate equivalent to the current rate of return on a high quality corporate bond of equivalent term and currency to the liabilities. The actuarial valuations are obtained at least triennially and are updated at each balance sheet date. The amounts charged to operating surplus are the current service costs and the costs of scheme inductions, benefit changes, settlements and curtailments. They are included as part of staff costs as incurred. Net interest on the net defined benefit liability/asset is also recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities and comprises the interest cost on the defined benefit obligation and interest income on the scheme assets, calculated by multiplying the fair value of the scheme assets at the beginning of the period by the rate used to discount the benefit obligations. The difference between the interest income on the scheme assets and the actual return on the scheme assets is recognised in other recognised gains and losses.

Actuarial gains and losses are recognised immediately in other recognised gains and losses.

Defined contribution scheme

i) Head office Pension Scheme Head office employees historically have had the option of joining a defined contribution scheme operated by Scottish Widows. The pension costs for the scheme represent the contributions payable in the period. This is a defined contribution scheme, and contributions for the year amounted to £36k.

Fund accounting Unrestricted income funds represent those resources which may be used towards meeting any of the charitable objects of the academy trust at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted fixed asset funds are resources which are to be applied to specific capital purposes imposed by funders where the asset acquired or created is held for a specific purpose.

Restricted general funds comprise all other restricted funds received with restrictions imposed by the funder/donor and include grants from the Education & Skills Funding Agency.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions The academy trust makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

Fixed assets are depreciated over their expected useful lives taking into account residual values, where appropriate. Factors taken into consideration in reaching such decisions include the economic viability and expected future financial performance of the asset.

The present value of the Local Government Pension Scheme defined benefit liability depends on a number of factors that are determined on an actuarial basis using a variety of assumptions. The assumptions used in determining the net cost (income) for pensions include the discount rate. Any changes in these assumptions, which are disclosed in note 30, will impact the carrying amount of the pension liability. Furthermore a roll forward approach which projects results from the latest full actuarial valuation performed at 31 March 2016 has been used by the actuary in valuing the pensions liability at 31 August 2018. Any differences between the figures derived from the roll forward approach and a full actuarial valuation would impact on the carrying amount of the pension liability.

2. General Academy Grant (GAG) In line with the funding agreement. E-ACT is not subject to limits on the carry forward of GAG

P a g e 8 9

3. Donated and capital grants Unrestricted

Funds £’000

Restricted Funds £’000

Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Total 31 August 2018

£’000

Capital grants - 3,119 3,119 2,816 Donated Fixed assets - 23,790 23,790 9,174 Other donations Pension liability transferred in

148 -

- (2,669)

148 (2,669)

553 (1,682)

148 24,240 24,388 10,861

4. Funding for the academy trust’s Education Operational Unrestricted

Funds £’000

Restricted Funds £’000

Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Total 31 August 2018

£’000

DfE/EFA Grants General Annual Grant (GAG) - 109,074 109,074 92,908 Start Up Grants - 325 325 162 Other DfE/EFA grants - 1,529 1,529 512 - 110,928 110,928 96,582 Other Government grants Local authority grants - 3,340 3,340 2,706 Special educational projects - - - - - 3,340 3,340 2,706

Other income from the academy trust’s educational operations

455 455 348

455 114,268 114,723 99,636

5. Other trading activities Unrestricted

Funds £’000

Restricted Funds £’000

Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Total 31 August 2018

£’000

Hire of facilities 767 - 767 642 Income from other charitable activities Income from ancillary trading activities

878

-

878

903

1,645 - 1,645 1,545

6. Investment income Unrestricted

Funds £’000

Restricted Funds £’000

Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Total 31 August 2018

£’000

Short term deposit 105 - 105 56 105 - 105 56

7. Expenditure Staff Costs

£’000

Non Pay Expenditure Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Premises £’000

Other Costs £’000

Expenditure on raising funds - - - - - Academy’s educational operations: Direct Costs 74,555 - 8,015 82,570 72,376 Allocated Support costs

Teaching School

16,508 7,521 25,416 49,445 41,740

-

91,063 7,521 33,431 132,015 114,116

Please refer to note 30 for further detail of resources expanded, on an academy by academy basis.

Net income/(expenditure) for the period includes:

Total 31 August

2019

Total 31 August

2018

Operating lease rentals 249 323 Depreciation 8,558 8,579 (Gain)/loss on disposal of fixed assets 4,415 - Amortisation of intangible fixed assets (included within Charitable Activities – Academy trust educational operations)

57 60 - -

Fees payable to auditors for: - Audit - Other services

74 0

75 8

Included within expenditure are the following transactions.

Total £

Individual items above £5,000 Amount £ Reason Compensation payments – – Gifts made by the trust – – Fixed asset losses 4,415,621 4,415,621 Partial Impairment of Royton &

Crompton building Stock losses – – Unrecoverable debts – – Cash losses – – – –

Total £ Individual items

Amount £ Reason/nature Ex-gratia payments – –

The legal authority sought to make ex-gratia payments was in compliance with the Academies Financial Handbook 2017, being delegated authority or approval from the Education Funding Agency. For the Financial Year ended 31 August 2018, there were no ex-gratia payments.

8. Analysis of grants Unrestricted

Funds £’000

Restricted Funds £’000

Restricted Asset Funds £’000

Total 31 Funds 18/19 £’000

Pre-opening grants - - - -

Mat Development fund - 116 - 116

EIG Grant Support Grant

- - - -

- 116 - 116

P a g e 9 1

9. Charitable activities Total

31 August 2019

Total 31 August

2018

Direct costs – educational operations 82,570 72,376 Support costs – educational operations 49,445 41,740 132,015 114,116

Analysis of Support costs

Total 2019 £000

Total 2018 £000

Support staff costs 14,896 13,156 Depreciation 8,746 8,597 Technology costs 1,979 1,994 Premises costs 7,730 6,622 Other support costs 15,783 10,980 Governance costs 311 391 Total support costs 49,445 41,740

10. Staff a. Staff costs during the period were

Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Total 31 August 2018

£’000

Wages and salaries 67,037 59,204 Social security costs 6,546 5,771 Pension costs Apprenticeship Levy

10,190 320

8,761 281

84,093 74,017

Agency staff costs 4,389 3,511 Staff restructuring costs 713 512 5,102 4,024 Staff restructuring costs comprise:

Redundancy Payments 226 278 Severance Payments 487 234 Other restructuring costs - - 713 512

b. Non Statutory/non-contractual staff severance payments Included in staff restructuring costs are 6 non-statutory/non-contractual severance payments totalling £55,589 (2018 £64,000) Individually the payments made were £15,000, £13,844, £10,000, £8,932, £4,020 and £3,793

c. Staff numbers The average number of persons employed by the trust during the period was as follows:

2019 2018

Teachers 1,063 931 Administration and Support 1,336 1,171 Management 146 162 2,545 2,264

d. Higher paid staff The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

2019 (No.)

2018 (No.)

£60,001–£70,000 37 49 £70,001–£80,000 19 17 £80,001–£90,000 11 7 £90,001–£100,000 5 8 £100,001–£110,000 4 6 £110,001–£120,000 2 3 £120,001–£130,000 2 3 £130,001–£140,000 1 - £140,001–£150,000 - - £150,001–£160,000 1 2 £160,001–£170,000 1 -

e. Key Management Personnel

The key management personnel of the academy trust comprise the trustees (whom work on a voluntary basis) ,the senior management team and regional senior personnel as listed on below The total amount of employee benefits (including employer pension contributions) received by key management personnel for their services to the academy trust was £4,932,852 (2018: £4,162,776).

Included in the above figures are: Central Executive Leadership Team, Regional Education Directors, Regional Operations Directors and Academy Head Teachers

f. Central Services The E-ACT trust has provided the following central services to its Academies during the year: Chief Executives Office, Business Planning and Strategy, Central HR and Training, Legal, Internal and External Communications, IT, Central Finance and Procurement, Governance, Educational Improvement and Estates Support.

As from 2017 the academy trust, in line with the funding agreement with the Department of Education pools the General Annual Grant (GAG) and therefore does not recharge out central services.

11. Related Party Transactions – Trustees Remuneration and Expenses

One trustee has been paid remuneration or has received other benefits from employment with the academy trust. The chief executive officer and other staff trustees (of which there are none) only receive remuneration in respect of services they provide undertaking the roles of principal and staff members under their contracts of employment.

The value of trustee’s remuneration and other benefits was as follows:

Remuneration from 1 September 2018 to 31 August 2019

David Moran (Chief Executive Officer Sep-Apr): £ 105,966 Employer’s Pension contributions: £ 6,358

Jane Millward (Chief Executive Officer May-Aug): £ 54,454 Employer’s Pension contributions: £ 8,974

During the period ended 31 August 2019, travel and subsistence expenses totalling £2,784 (2018: £4,840) were reimbursed or paid directly to 6 trustees (2018: 7 trustees).

P a g e 9 3

12. Trustees’ and Officers’ Insurance

E-ACT is a member of the DfE’s RPA (Risk Protection Arrangement). The risk protection arrangement is an alternative to commercial insurance for academy trusts. Under RPA, the UK government covers the losses of commercial insurance including trustees and officers liability cover.

13. Intangible Fixed Assets Computer

Software £’000

Total

£’000 Cost At 1 September 2018 732 732 Additions Disposals

3 -

3 -

At 31 August 2019 735 735 Amortisation At 1 September 2018 645 645 Charged in the year Disposals

57 -

57 -

At 31 August 2019 702 702 Carrying amount At 31 August 2018 87 87 At 31 August 2019 33 33

14. Tangible Fixed Assets

Freehold Land and Buildings

£’000

Leasehold Land and Buildings

£’000

Furniture

and Equipment

£’000

Computer Equipment

£’000

Motor

Vehicles

£’000

Assets in the

course of construction

£’000

Total

31 August 2019 £’000

Cost At 1 September 2018 5,556 185,327 12,227 12,737 130 14 215,991 Acquisitions Additions Disposals

7,300 130

-

16,300 1,767

-

108 1,346

-

82 828

-

- 16

-

- 23

-

23,790 4,110

- Impairment (4,648) - - - - - (4,648) At 31 August 2019 8,338 203,394 13,681 13,647 146 37 239,243 Depreciation At 1 September 2018 3,021 31,338 7,234 12,082 103 - 53,778 Charged in the year Disposals

331 -

5,858 -

1,901 -

457 -

12 -

- -

8,559 -

Impairment (232) - - - - - (232) At 31 August 2019 3,120 37,196 9,135 12,539 115 - 62,105 Net book values At 31 August 2018 2,535 153,989 4,993 655 27 14 162,213 At 31 August 2019 5,218 166,198 4,546 1,108 31 37 177,138

The academy trust’s transactions relating to land and buildings includes;

The taking up of a lease on Badock’s Wood Academy, Bourne End Academy and the freehold of Royton & Crompton Academy from 1st September 2018 for nil consideration.

The impairment relates to the Royton building which at year end was only partly in use and being prepared for demolition, due to the new school building coming into use September 2019

15. Stock Total 31

August 2019 £’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Clothing 32 28 32 28

16. Debtors Total 31

August 2019 £’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Trade Debtors 510 84 Prepayments and accrued income 4,044 4,068 VAT recoverable 720 702 Intercompany debtor - - Other debtors 140 432 5,414 5,287

Debtors are accounted for at the point when they become due and are calculated for on an accruals basis.

17. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Total 31

August 2019 £’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Trade creditors 2,525 2,238 Other taxation and social security 1,666 1,499 Other creditors 2,843 2,466 Accruals and deferred income 8,000 5,351 15,034 11,555

Total 31 August

2019 £’000

Deferred income at 1 September 2018 2,826 Resources deferred in year 4,175 Amounts released from previous years (2,826)

Deferred income at 31 August 2019 4,175

At the balance sheet date, the academy trust was holding funds received in advance for devolved formula capital (£775k) grant for 2019/20 academic year and SCA funding (£2,341k).

18. Creditors: amounts falling due in greater than one year

2019 £’000

2018 £’000

Other Creditors – – – –

P a g e 9 5

19. Funds

Balance at 1 September

2018 £’000

Transfer in during the

year £’000

Income

£’000

Expenditure

£’000

Gains, Losses and Transfers

£’000

Balance at 31 August

2019 £’000

Restricted General Funds General annual grant (GAG) 590 - 100,182 (99,497) (618) 657 Start-up grant Pupil Premium

- -

- -

325 8,893

(325) (8,893)

- -

- -

Other grants - - 4,868 (4,868) - - Pension Reserve (30,211) (2,669) - (15,107) - (47,987) (29,621) (2,669) 114,268 (128,690) (618) (47,330) Restricted fixed asset funds

DfE/EFA capital grants Capital expenditure from GAG

162,300 - -

23,790 3,119 (13,162) 1,124 177,171 - -

162,300 23,790 3,119 (13,162) 1,124 177,171 Total restricted funds 132,679 21,121 117,387 (141,852) 506 129,841 Total Unrestricted funds 3,338 - 2,353 (993) (506) 4,192 Total funds 136,017 21,121 119,740 (142,845) 0 134,033

Comparative information in respect of the preceding period is as follows:

Balance at 1 September

2017 £’000

Transfer in during the

year £’000

Income

£’000

Expenditure

£’000

Gains, Losses and Transfers

£’000

Balance at 31 August

2018 £’000

Restricted General Funds General annual grant (GAG) 349 - 87,828 (88,302) 715 590 Start-up grant Pupil Premium

- 130

- -

162 8,079

(162) (8,209)

- -

- -

Other grants - - 3,219 (3,219) - - Pension Reserve (36,563) (1,682) - 8,034 - (30,211) (36,084) (1,682) 99,288 (91,858) 715 (29,621) Restricted fixed asset funds

DfE/EFA capital grants Capital expenditure from GAG

158,431 - -

9,174 2,816 (8,597) 476 162,300 - -

158,431 9,174 2,816 (8,597) 476 162,300 Total restricted funds 122,347 7,492 102,104 (100,455) 1,191 132,679 Total Unrestricted funds 3,033 - 2,502 (1,007) (1,191) 3,338 Total funds 125,380 7,492 104,606 (101,461) 0 136,017

Total funds analysis by academy Funds balances at 31 August 2019 were allocated as follows: 2019

£’000 2018 £’000

E-ACT Group 4,849 3,928 Total before fixed asset fund and pension reserve 4,849 3,928 Restricted fixed asset fund 177,171 162,300 Pension reserve (47,987) (30,211)

129,184 132,089 Total 134,033 136,017 Operating Funds for the Group are in surplus of £4,849k. these are presented as a Group balance due to E-ACT adopting the new funding agreement in 2016 and being able to ‘pool’ GAG income. The group continues to work on extended financial plans to ensure financial stability for Academies and students. The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows: All funds will be applied to education and the support of education for E-ACT students in line with E-ACT charitable objectives. Due to E-ACT using the latest DfE funding agreement funds are retained centrally. £70K is being held with reserves for artificial football pitch maintenance obligations

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Total cost analysis by academy

Teaching and Educational

Support Staff Costs £’000

Other Support

Staff Costs £’000

Educational supplies

£’000

Other Cost (excluding

depreciation)

£’000

Total 2019

£’000

Total 2018

£’000

Blackley Academy 1,612 185 378 185 2,361 2,378 Oldham Academy Parkwood Academy

4,411 3,511

491 171

917 521

529 393

6,347 4,595

5,937 4,802

Pathways Academy Royton & Crompton

1,608 4,624

166 676

260 580

194 531

2,227 6,412

2,335 -

Regional 500 1,203 109 126 1,939 1,730 North Region Total 16,266 2,892 2,765 1,958 23,881 17,183 Bourne End Academy 3,147 234 384 631 4,396 - Braintcroft Academy Burnham Park Academy

2,474 1,540

158 220

317 295

294 321

3,243 2,376

1,367 2,793

Chalfont Valley Academy City Heights Academy The Crest Academy Denham Green Academy

539 3,845 4,690

742

95 294 471 148

130 656 839 126

148 438 941 119

912 5,233 6,941 1,135

940 5,666 7,249 1,031

Regional 861 1,360 325 (8) 2,538 1,802 South & Bucks Region Total

17,838 2,980 3,072 2,884 26,774 20,848

Badocks Wood Academy 1,038 65 168 123 1,394 - Greenfield Academy Hareclive Academy

1,388 1,354

117 184

244 278

176 131

1,925 1,947

1,927 1,993

Perry Court Academy Ilminster Avenue Academy St Ursulas Academy Regional

1,193 1,237 1,452

882

111 62

149 1,007

230 229 273

65

136 108 138 187

1,670 1,636 2,012 2,141

1,727 1,638 1,936 1,809

South West Region Total 8,544 1,695 1,487 999 12,725 11,030

DSLV 3,646 457 456 622 5,181 5,263 Parker Academy Heartlands Academy

3,046 3,390

394 261

437 453

517 578

4,394 4,682

3,917 5,473

Mansfield Green Academy Meritts Brook Academy Nechells Academy North Birmingham Academy Reedswood Academy Shenley Academy West Walsall Academy Willenhall Academy

1,490 812 803

4,269 1,500 4,161 3,744 4,102

281 59 77

315 190 328 301 157

314 165 119 709 280 789 594 518

199 115 168 589 155 424 383 658

2,284 1,151 1,167 5,882 2,125 5,702 5,022 5,435

2,369 1,161 1,252 6,328 2,025 6,570 4,592 6,616

Regional 431 3,300 191 393 4,315 2,693 Midlands Region Total 31,394 6,120 5,025 4,801 47,340 48,259 Head Office

90

2,244

490

1,032

3,856

3,580

Total 74,136 15,930 12,838 11,672 114,576 100,900

During the year there was a transfer of £1.1M from revenue to capital funds

20. Analysis of net assets between funds Fund balances at 31 August 2019 are represented by:

Unrestricted Funds £’000

Restricted General Funds

£’000

Restricted Fixed Asset Funds

£’000

Total Funds £’000

Intangible fixed assets 33 33 Tangible fixed assets 177,138 177,138 Current assets 4,192 15,691 19,883 Current liabilities (15,034) (15,034) Pension scheme liability (47,987) (47,987) Total net assets 4,192 (47,330) 177,171 134,033

Comparative information in respect of the preceding period is as follows: Unrestricted

Funds £’000

Restricted General Funds

£’000

Restricted Fixed Asset Funds

£’000

Total Funds £’000

Intangible fixed assets 87 87 Tangible fixed assets 162,213 162,213 Current assets 3,338 12,145 15,483 Current liabilities (11,555) (11,555) Pension scheme liability (30,211) (30,211) Total net assets 3,338 (29,621) 162,300 136,017

21. Capital Commitments Total 31

August 2019 £’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Contracted for, but not provided for in the financial statements. 391 41

22. Commitments under operating leases At 31 August 2019, the total of the academy trust’s future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases was:

Total 31 August

2019 £’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Amounts due within one year 257 237 Amounts due between one and five years 310 102 Amounts due after five years 7 - 573 339

P a g e 9 9

23. Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash inflow from operating activities

Total 31 August

2019 £’000

Total 31 August

2018 £’000

Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities)

8,846 (2,019)

Adjusted for: - - Less fixed assets transferred / donated in Amortisation (note 13)

(23,790) 57

(9,174) 60

Depreciation (note 14) Movement on WIP

8,559 13

8,579 -

Capital grants from DfE and other capital (3,119) (2,816) Interest receivable (note 6) (Profit) / Loss on disposals

(105) 4,415

(56) -

Defined benefit pension scheme cost less contributions payable (note 30)

3,391 4,073

Defined benefit pension scheme finance cost (note 30) 886 985 Add pension liability transferred in Less pension liability transferred out

2,669 1,681

(Increase)/decrease in stocks (3) 17 Decrease/(increase) in debtors (127) (373) (Decrease)/increase in creditors 3,479 1,578 Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities 5,171 2,535

24. Cash flows from financing activities Balance

31 August 2019 £’000

Balance 31 August

2018 £’000

Repayment of borrowing Cash inflows from new borrowing

–

–

Net cash provided by / (used in) financing activities – –

25. Cash flows from investing activities Balance

31 August 2019 £’000

Balance 31 August

2018 £’000

Dividends, interest and rents from investments 105 56 Purchase of intangible fixed assets (2) (26) Purchase of tangible fixed assets (4,123) (3,743) Capital grants from DfE/EFA 3,119 2,816 Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities (901) (897)

26. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents At

1 September 2018 £’000

Cash flows

£’000

At 31 August

2019 £’000

Cash in hand and at bank 10,168 4,269 14,437 Surplus on local authority funds - 10,168 4,269 14,437

27. Guarantees, letters of comfort and indemnities

There were no guarantees, letters of comfort or indemnities as at 31 August 2019.

28. Contingent liabilities

There are no contingent liabilities held on the balance sheet date.

29. Members Liability

Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of it being wound up while he/she is a member, or within one year after he/she ceases to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £10 for the debts and liabilities contracted before he/she ceases to be a member.

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30. Pension and similar obligations The academy trust’s employees belong to two principal pension schemes: The Teachers’ Pension Scheme England and Wales (TPS) for academic and related staff; and the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for non-teaching staff, which is managed by the scheme managers listed below. Both are multi-employer defined benefit schemes.

The latest actuarial valuation of the TPS related to the period ended 31 March 2012 and of the LGPS 31 March 2016.

Scheme managers Greater Manchester Pension Fund – Blackley Academy Buckinghamshire County Council Pension Fund – Bourne End Academy London Borough of Brent Pension Fund – Braintcroft Academy Buckinghamshire County Council Pension Fund – Burnham Park Academy Avon Pension Fund – Badocks Wood Academy Buckinghamshire County Council Pension Fund – Chalfont Valley Academy Lambeth Pension Scheme – City Heights Academy London Borough of Brent Pension Fund – Crest Academy Northamptonshire County Council Pension Fund – Danetre and Southbrook Learning Village Academy Buckinghamshire County Council Pension Fund – Denham Green Academy Avon Pension Fund – Greenfield Primary Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Heartlands Academy Avon Pension Fund – Hareclive Academy Avon Pension Fund – Ilminster Avenue Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Mansfield Green Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Merritts Brook Primary Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Nechells Primary Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – North Birmingham Academy Greater Manchester Pension Fund – Oldham Academy Northamptonshire County Council Pension Fund – Parker Academy South Yorkshire Pension Fund – Parkwood Academy South Yorkshire Pension Fund – Pathways Academy Avon Pension Fund – Perry Court Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Reedswood Primary Academy Greater Manchester Pension Fund – Royton & Crompton Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Shenley Academy Avon Pension Fund – St Ursula's Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – West Walsall Academy West Midlands Pension Fund – Willenhall Academy

Contributions amounting to £430,360 (2017:£352,620) were payable to the schemes at 31 August and are included within creditors.

Teachers’ Pension Scheme The Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) is a statutory, contributory, defined benefit scheme, governed by the Teachers' Pensions Regulations. Membership is automatic for full-time teachers in academies and, from 1 January 2007, automatic for teachers in part-time employment following appointment or a change of contract, although they are able to opt out.

The TPS is an unfunded scheme and members contribute on a ‘pay as you go’ basis – these contributions along with those made by employers are credited to the Exchequer. Retirement and other pension benefits are paid by public funds provided by Parliament.

Valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme The Government Actuary, using normal actuarial principles, conducts a formal actuarial review of the TPS in accordance with the Public Service Pensions (Valuations and Employer Cost Cap) Directions 2014 published by HM Treasury. The aim of the review is to specify the level of future contributions. Actuarial scheme valuations are dependent on assumptions about the value of future costs, design of benefits and many other factors. The latest actuarial valuation of the TPS was carried out as at 31 March 2012 and in accordance with the Public Service Pensions (Valuations and Employer Cost Cap) Directions 2014. The valuation report was published by the Department for Education on 9 June 2014. The key elements of the valuation and subsequent consultation are:

employer contribution rates set at 16.48% of pensionable pay (including a 0.08% employer administration charge (currently 14.1%);

total scheme liabilities (pensions currently in payment and the estimated cost of future benefits) for service to the effective date of £191,500 million, and notional assets (estimated future contributions together with the notional investments held at the valuation date) of £176,600 million, giving a notional past service deficit of £14,900 million;

an employer cost cap of 10.9% of pensionable pay will be applied to future valuations.

The assumed real rate of return is 3% in excess of prices and 2% in excess of earnings. The rate of real earnings growth is assumed to be 2.75%. The assumed nominal rate of return is 5.06%.

The TPS valuation for 2016 determined an employer rate of 23.68% from September 2019. The next valuation of the TPS will be as at March 2020, whereupon the employer contribution rate is expected to be reassessed and will be payable from 1 April 2023. The pension costs paid to TPS in the period amounted to £6,272,498 (2018 £5,503,008). A copy of the valuation report and supporting documentation is on the Teachers Pensions Website. Under the definitions set out in FRS 102, the TPS is an underfunded multi-employer pension scheme. The academy trust has accounted for its contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme. The academy trust has set out above the information available on the scheme. Local Government Pension Scheme The LGPS is a funded defined-benefit scheme, with the assets held in separate trustee-administered funds. The total contributions made for the year ended 31 August 2019 was £5,760,739 (2018: £4,967,483), of which employer’s contributions totalled £4,530,467 (2018: £3,912,566) and employees’ contributions totalled £1,230,272 (2018: £1,054,917). The agreed contribution rates for future years range from 13.1% to 35% per cent for employers and range from 5.5% to 12.5% per cent for employees. Parliament has agreed, at the request of the Secretary of State for Education, to a guarantee that, in the event of academy closure, outstanding Local Government Pension Scheme liabilities would be met by the Department for Education. The guarantee came into force on 18 July 2013. Principal Actuarial Assumptions

31 August 2019 Range

(Top) 31 August

2019 Range (Bottom)

31 August 2018 Range

(Top) 31 August

2017 Range (Bottom)

Rate of increase salary 2.6% 2.0% 3.8% 2.0% Rate of increase for pension in payment/inflation 2.3% 2.1% 2.4% 2.2% Discount rate for scheme liabilities 2.9% 1.8% 2.9% 2.7% Inflation assumption (CPI) 2.3% 2.0% 2.4% 2.1% Commutation of pensions to lump sums 50.0% 50.0% 50.0% 50.0%

E-ACT has not conducted a sensitivity analysis on the key assumptions used within the actuarial valuations. It is deemed that the figures are subjective and are not referred to by wider government when actually calculating funding for the schemes. The output of any sensitivity analysis is therefore of little help. E-ACT finance and trustees continue to monitor LGPS pension rates and the valuations as necessary. The current mortality assumptions include sufficient allowance for future improvements in mortality rates. The assumed life expectations on retirement age 65 are:

31 August 2019 Range

(Top) 31 August

2019 Range (Bottom)

31 August 2018 Range

(Top) 31 August

2017 Range (Bottom

Retiring Today Males 25.3 20.6 26.2 21.5 Females 28.3 23.0 28.8 23.9 Retiring in 20 years Males 24.6 22.0 26.3 23.0 Females 26.7 24.5 28.5 25.8

P a g e 1 0 3

The academy trust’s share of the assets in the scheme was:

2019 £000

2018 £000

Equities Bonds

38,119 9,212

31,063 7,249

Property 5,197 4,138 Cash 2,789 3,042 Other 6,630 4,485 Total Market Value of Assets 61,947 49,977

The actual return on scheme assets was £3,565,000 (2017: £1,898,000)

Amounts recognised in the statement of financial activities 2019

£’000 2018 £’000

Current Service cost Transfer in from new academy

(14,276) (2,669)

(6,362) (1,682)

Interest income Interest cost

1,536 (2,334)

1,187 (2,144)

Benefit changes, gain/(loss) on curtailment and gain / (loss) on settlement Admin expenses

- (33)

- (27)

Total amount recognised in the SOFA (17,776) (9,028)

Changes in the present value of defined benefits obligations were as follows: 2019

£’000 2018 £’000

At 1 September Current service cost Interest cost

80,188

6,648 1,536

80,520

6,362 2,144

Employee contributions 1,204 1,009 Actuarial (gain)/loss 11,322 (11,694) Benefits paid (1,180) (616) Losses or gains on curtailments - - Business combinations 3,107 (208) Transfer in from new academies 7,307 2,671 Academies transferring out - - At 31 August 109,934 80,188

Changes in the fair value of academy trust’s share of scheme assets: 2019

£’000 2018 £’000

At 1 September Interest cost Administrative Expenses

49,977

1,536 (33)

43,957

1,186 (27)

Return on plan assets (excluding net interest on the defined pension liability) 2,046 405 Actuarial (gain)/Loss - - Employer contributions 3,920 3,339 Employee contributions 1,204 1,009 Benefits paid (1,180) (616) Plan introductions, benefit changes, curtailments and settlements Transfer in from new academies Academies transferring out

(161) 4,638

-

334 390

- At 31 August 61,947 49,977

31. Related Party Transactions

Owing to the nature of the academy trust and the composition of the Board of Trustees being drawn from local public and private sector organisations, transactions may take place with organisations in which the trustees have an interest. All transactions involving such organisations are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the AFH and with the academy trust’s financial regulations and normal procurement procedures relating to connected and related party transactions. No related party transactions took place in the financial period.

32. Transfer of academies into the trust

On 1st September 2018 Bourne End Academy in Buckingham transferred from another multi-academy trust. Badocks Wood Academy in Bristol and Royton & Crompton academy in Oldham joined the trust from their respective local authorities.

The transfers have been accounted for as a combination that is in substance a gift. The assets and transferred were valued at their fair value and recognised in the balance sheet under the appropriate headings with a corresponding net amount recognised as a net gain of £21,121 in the statement of financial activities as a donation coming into E-ACT.

The following table sets out the fair values of the identifiable assets transferred and an analysis of their recognition in the SOFA.

Bourne End Academy

£’000

Badocks Wood Academy

£’000

Royton & Crompton Academy

£’000

Total 31 August 2019

£’000

Tangible Fixed Assets Leasehold land and buildings Freehold land and buildings

12,150 -

4,150 -

- 7,300

16,300 7,300

Furniture and equipment Computer Equipment

- 108 82

108 82

Pensions LGPS pension scheme assets LGPS pension scheme liabilities

1,599 (3,146)

427 (734)

2,612 (3,427)

4,638 (7,307)

Net Assets / (Liabilities) 10,603 3,843 6,675 21,121

33. Events after the end of the reporting period

Following the 2018/19 balance sheet date, Burnham Park Academy closed and pupils and staff were offered places at Bourne End Academy. The land and buildings will be transferred back to the local authority. Royton and Crompton has had a partial demolition of their building and a partial new build.

34. Income and expenditure

Income

Total 31 August

2019

GAG Funding 109,399 Other Govt Grants Private Sector Funding Other Income

4,669 32

2,521 -

116,621 Expenditure Staffing Costs Wages and salaries

67,037 Social security costs Pension costs Apprenticeship Levy Staff restructuring costs Agency Staff

6,546 10,190

320 713

4,389 89,195 Other Costs Premises and occupational costs

7,730

Educational Supplies and Services ICT Costs Other Expenses

12,838 1,979 3,958

26,505 Total Expenditure 115,700 Surplus / (Deficit) Exc. Capital 922

The £24m of income received under restricted income, within the statement of financial activity, represents the incoming value of the building assets transferred into E-ACT as part of the transfer in of 3 academies. This does not represent cash coming into the trust.

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