Academy Performance Review Committee (APRC) Representative

Academy Performance Review Committee (APRC) Representative Role Description

Hours: Attend six APRC meetings per year; Undertake role of Link APRC representative (three school / online visits /meetings per year).

Term of Office: Four Years

Job purpose: The APRC Representatives oversee the management and administration of the academy or a group of academies within Ethos Academy Trust.

Elected members of political parties are not eligible to become APRC Representatives, due to potential conflicts of interest.

Specific responsibilities of the APRC Representatives

The APRC Representatives should focus on the following two core functions of governance:

• ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• holding senior leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff;

In addition to these core functions, the role of the APRC Representatives collectively is to:

1. act within the confines of the relevant governing documents;
2. provide strategic leadership, continually striving for best practice in governance;
3. develop effective links within the academy’s and wider Trust’s communities, communicating openly and frequently as appropriate and ensuring that each academy meets its responsibilities to its communities in relation to the safeguarding and education of their pupils;
4. develop and decide on operational policies where appropriate;
5. facilitate collaboration between the academies to actively seek opportunities for the academies to work together either with the aim of improving economic efficiencies within the Trust or identifying and implementing best practice;
6. oversee the implementation of academy strategic plans;
7. set and monitor performance benchmarks;
8. uphold the fiduciary duty;
9. develop and implement a risk management strategy;
10. ensure the academy complies with its legal obligations;
11. support the development and building of leadership and governance capacity;

APRC Representatives Person Specification

Personal qualities and values:

• A desire to create positive change for young people;
• A commitment to the aims and objectives of Ethos Academy Trust;
• A willingness to devote time and effort;
• An ability to work effectively as a team while contributing an independent perspective;
• An ability to build productive and supportive professional relationships;
• A commitment to the Nolan’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership;
• A commitment to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice;
• A commitment to Safeguarding children and young people;
• Reliability and integrity.

Education and training:

1. A record of continuous professional development;
2. Educated to higher level in professional area of expertise.

Experience / Core Competencies / Skill Requirements:

• Experience of driving positive change;
• Experience in leadership and management;
• Professional experience in education / accountancy/ finance / business / HR / marketing / law;
• Attend meetings and be prepared to contribute to discussions and commit to agreed actions;
• Be respectful of the views of others and to be open to new ideas and thoughts;
• Treat all confidential information confidentially;
• Act with integrity, avoiding any personal conflicts of interest and complying with the Trust’s Conflict of Interest policy;
• Develop a deep understanding of the vision and ethos of the Trust and its academies and the roles played by all individuals in fulfilment of the Trust’s mission;
• Understand the policies and procedures of the Trust and how these affect the academies;
• Support the Trust in public and act as an ambassador of the Trust and its academies;
• Commit to training and skills development;
• Be ready to ask questions;
• Be focussed on problem solving and be ready to learn from past experiences;
• Adhere to the Nolan Principles.

Knowledge:

• An understanding and acceptance of legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of membership;
• An understanding of the use of attainment and other data to assess the progress, strengths and weaknesses of an educational environment.

Skills:

• Strategic vision;
• An ability to think creatively;
• Good, independent judgement.

Legal Requirements:

Individuals who are not able to make the following declarations may not serve as an APRC Representative:

• I am not disqualified from acting as a charity trustee;
• I have not been convicted of an offence involving deception or dishonesty (or any such conviction is legally regarded as “spent”);
• I have not been involved in tax fraud or other fraudulent behaviour including misrepresentation and/or identity theft;
• I have not used a tax avoidance scheme featuring charitable reliefs or using a charity to facilitate the avoidance;
• I am not an undischarged bankrupt;
• I have not made compositions or arrangements with my creditors from which I have not been discharged;
• I have not been removed from serving as a charity trustee, or been stopped from acting in a management position within a charity;
• I have not been disqualified from serving as a company Trustee;
• I am not included in the list kept by the Secretary of State for Education under s1 of the Protection of Children Act 1999 (or equivalent) or have ever been disqualified from working with children or serving on a governing body of a school;
• I am able to provide a valid Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 which does not disclose any reason why I should be unsuitable for working with children.

APRC Link Representatives

Trust boards may wish to consider linking Academy APRC Representatives to specific areas of responsibility. The Governance Handbook and Competency Framework for Governance sets out the areas where academy trusts should, e.g. SEND, safeguarding (as set out in the statutory guidance- Keeping Children Safe in Education) and Prevent, and where the department recommends that someone on the trust board should take on responsibility for a specific area, particularly where the trust board has specific legal duties. Having link Academy APRC Representatives does not remove the Trust board’s responsibility for these areas.

The role of a link Academy APRC Representative is to ensure that someone has specific oversight of a particular area and to deepen the APRC Representative’s knowledge of a particular area. The role will involve visiting the academy and meeting with key staff to understand how the strategic objectives are being embedded, how money is being spent and any particular issues affecting delivery. These roles should always remain strategic and not operational.  

Taken from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-structures-and-role 

Ethos Academy Trust Link APRC Representative Role

Action required:

• Senior Leaders will make email contact with APRC Representatives during Autumn term.
• Link APRC Representatives and Senior Leaders will agree date for initial meeting / visit.
• Link APRC Representatives and Senior Leaders will agree the focus and dates of future meetings, linked to Trust and School Development Plan priorities.

Suggested activities:

• Tour of the academy.
• Taking part in interviews or as a guest speaker in lessons / assemblies / school council meetings.
• Being interviewed by pupils for a newsletter article.
• Attendance at a parent / carer social event.
• Meeting with senior leaders to gain a deeper understanding of current priorities / successes / challenges.

APRC Representatives should:

• Adhere to any confidentiality agreements.
• Provide feedback and comment on observations.
• Provide brief written / verbal feedback at the following Board meeting.

APRC Representatives should refrain from:

• Making judgements about teaching.
• Inspecting the academies.
• Creating additional workload for leaders or staff.