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Statutory Information 2024-2025
Our Governance Structure ensures there are clear reporting lines of accountability to ensure probity, good governance and outstanding performance.
Trustees and Members of the Trust are appointed in accordance with the Trust Articles of Association.
Trustees focus on three core functions of governance:
- Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the Trust;
- Hold trust schools and its leaders to account for the educational performance of the schools and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
- Oversee the financial performance of the Trust and make sure its money is well spent.
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Mrs Ruth Rule-Mullen - Chair Email: r.rulemullen@cfat.org.uk Tel: 01942 487982 Mr Mark Rowlands - Vice Chair |
Governance Roles
The role of Members
Meetings of Members are called 'General Meetings' and the decisions they make are called 'resolutions'. CFAT Members meet at least once a year at the Trusts Annual General Meeting (AGM). Member’s are responsible to ensure the continued adherence of the Trustees to the founding principles of the Trust, namely to secure the best educational standards, personal and academic, for all pupils within the Trusts.
The role of Trustees
The role of Trustee is to oversee the strategic direction of the Trust and work with fellow Trustees to monitor the outcomes of pupils and the application of funds to ensure the continued viability of the Trust. It is also the Trustees role to provide constructive challenge so that they can demonstrate that they are effective and efficient managers of the Trust. Trustees meet at least once a term to discuss key strategic and operational issues.
The Board of Trustees is supported by a Finance, Audit and Risk Committee that meets once per term to monitor internal controls, a Local Academy Board meets once per term at each school/academy and a Headteacher Board (HTB) for the trust school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) facility Kingsbridge meet once per term.
Member, Trustee & Executive Team Pen Portraits
Member and Trustee pen portraits can be viewed by clicking here
Executive Team pen portraits can be viewed by clicking here
School Improvement / Executive Team pen portraits can be viewed by clicking here
The Board of Charitable Trustess (Sept 2024 to Aug 2025)
Name |
Role |
Date of Appointment |
Term of Office |
Date of Resignation (if within 12 months) |
Members |
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Mrs Ruth Rule-Mullen |
Member & Chair |
01st September 2019 |
Members do not technically have a term of office |
|
Mr Neil Bailey |
Member |
01st September 2017 |
Members do not technically have a term of office |
|
Mrs Sarah Greer |
Member |
23rd November 2021 |
Members do not technically have a term of office |
|
Mrs Rose Crompton |
Member |
1st September 2019 |
Members do not technically have a term of office |
|
Mrs Janice Taberner |
Member |
13th October 2022 |
Members do not technically have a term of office |
|
Trustees |
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Mrs Ruth Rule-Mullen |
Trustee & Chair |
Initial 4th May 2018 as Chair 01st September 2019 |
annual appointment as chair SoD |
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Mr Mark Rowlands |
Trustee & Vice Chair (from 26th March 2024) |
01st February 2013 |
4 Years | 31st January 2025 re-elected for a further 4 year term beginning 01 February 2025 at the AGM 19th Nov 2024 |
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Mrs Jane Chambers |
Trustee & Vice Chair (up to 26th March 2024) |
6th March 2018 |
annual appointment as vice chair SoD| 05th March 2022 |
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Mrs Sue Darbyshire |
CEO / Trustee |
14th January 2013 |
4 Years | 31st January 2025 |
31st December 2024 |
Mr Jack Pugh |
Trustee |
01st February 2013 |
4 years | 31st August 2023 |
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Cllr Carl Sweeney |
Trustee |
01st February 2013 |
4 Years |31st January 2025 |
31st August 2024 |
Mrs Michelle Frost |
Trustee |
22nd September 2020 |
4 Years | 22nd Sept 2024 re appointed July 2024 |
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Mrs Lynne Hamnett |
Trustee |
1st September 2019 |
4 Years | 31st August 2023 re appointed July 2023 |
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Mr John McDonald Strategic Finance Manager |
Co-opted member on to the Trustees finance, risk and audit committee |
1st September 2018 |
annual |
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Mr Sean Power Directeur Général - Institut Florimont |
Co-opted /associate member on to the board of Trustees in support of the trusts post covid-19 educational services |
23rd November 2021 |
annual |
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Clerk |
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Ms Marie Collier |
Trust Wide Clerk | 1st September 2018 | annual | |
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Associate Attendees / Executive Team |
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Craig Holden | Chief Operating Officer | attendee by virtue of their position | - | |
Carol Brockbank | Chief Finance Officer | attendee by virtue of their position | - |
Platt Bridge Local Academy Board (LAB) information can be reviewed by clicking here
Kingsbridge SCITT Headteacher Board (HTB) information can be reviewed by clicking here
Trustee or committees with specific roles - updated July 2022
Name or Committee | Specific Role |
Mr Jack Pugh |
Safeguarding and Staffing |
Mrs Lynne Hammett |
Vulnerable Groups including Special Educational Needs & Disability |
Cllr Carl Sweeney |
Pupil Premium and Looked after Children |
Mrs Jane Chambers |
Pupil Progress and Outcomes including Curriculum |
Mr Mark Rowlands |
Health & Safety and Estates |
Finance Audit and Risk committee (FAR) |
Finance, Audit & Risk |
Mrs Ruth Rule-Mullen, Mrs Jane Chambers, Mr Mark Rowlands & Mr Jack Pugh |
CEO/Executive Pay Committee |
Kingsbridge Headteacher Board (HTB) |
Responsible for advising and challenging the Trusts SCITT activity inline with its Scheme of Delegation. |
The Trust Scheme of Delegation applies to all schools/academies & business areas within the Charitable Trust including its SCITT. It is available for review at the footer of this page.
Meetings of Members and Trustees
All meetings of both Trust Members and Trustees take place at the Trust's registered office which is Rivington Ave, Platt Bridge, Wigan, WN2 5NG and generally start at 17:30hrs unless stated otherwise.
Minutes of meetings are available for inspection via request from the Trusts registered office.
Request for Copies
Anyone can by law request a copy of the accounts from the charity at any time. Our accounts are however, displayed online at the footer of this page for public review.
If you would like to request copies of anything else please contact our Clerk in the first instance by emailing info@cfat.org.uk
Contact
To contact any member of the Trusts Governing Board, please contact the Trust Clerk by emailing info@cfat.org.uk
record of meeting attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings September 2024- August 2025
P – present
A – apology received and accepted
N – apology received but not accepted
D – did not attend, no apology received
meetings of cfat members (sept 2024 to Aug 2025)
Name |
Planned AGM 19th November 2024 |
Ruth Rule Mullen |
P |
Rose Crompton |
A |
Sarah Greer |
P |
Neil Bailey |
P |
Janice Taberner |
A |
meetings of cfat trustees (septt 2024 to Aug 2025)
Name |
17th Sept 2024 Business & Resources Agenda |
19th Nov 2024 Standards Agenda |
28th Jan 2025 Finance & Resources Agenda |
25th March 2025 Standards Agenda |
10th June 2025 Finance & Resources Agenda |
15th July 2025 Standards Agenda |
Attendance - out of a possible 6 meetings |
Ruth Rule-Mullen (Chair) | P | P | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Mark Rowlands (Vice Chair) | P | P | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Jane Chambers | P | A | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Sue Darbyshire | P | P | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Jack Pugh | P | P | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Lynne Hamnett |
A | D | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Michelle Frost |
P | P | X out of a possible 6 |
in attendance
Sean Power - Associate |
A |
D | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Craig Holden (COO) |
P |
P |
|
|
X out of a possible 6 | ||
Carol Brockbank (CFO) |
P |
P | X out of a possible 6 | ||||
Marie Collier (Clerk) |
P |
P | X out of a possible 6 |
meetings of the finance, audit and risk commitee (sept 2024 to Aug 2025)
Name | 27th November 2024 | 12th Feb 2025 | 21st May 2025 | Attendance - out of a possible 3 meetings |
John McDonald |
X out of a possible 3 | |||
Jack Pugh (Committee Chair) |
X out of a possible 3 | |||
Ruth Rule-Mullen |
X out of a possible 3 | |||
Michelle Frost (Committee Vice Chair) |
X out of a possible 3 | |||
|
in attendance
Sue Darbyshire (CEO) | A | X out of a possible 3 | ||
Carol Brockbank (CFO) | X out of a possible 3 | |||
Craig Holden (COO) | X out of a possible 3 | |||
Marie Collier (Clerk) | X out of a possible 3 |
record of attendance - members and trustees meeting (previous academic years)
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2023-2024
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2022-2023
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2021-2022
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2020-2021
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2019-2020
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2018-2019
Click Here to review the Record of Attendance - Members and Trustees Meetings 2017-2018
Collecting Board Diversity Information
Click Here to review report on Community First Academy Trust’s Governing Board diversity indicators following the collection of diversity data.
declared conflicts of intrest register
Click Here to review the Trust's Register of Business Interest
group annual impact report 2020
click here to view our Group Annual Impact Report Aug 2020
finanical statements
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2023
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2022
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2021
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2020
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2019
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2018
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Statement to Aug 2017
trust financial regulations manual
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Financial Regulations Manual.
audit management letters
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Management Letter 2023
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Management Letter 2022
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Management Letter 2021
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Management Letter 2020
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Management Letter 2019
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Management Letter 2018
cfat value for money statement
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Value for Money Statement
cfat articles of association and memorandum of association
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Memorandum of Association
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Articles of Association
cfat scheme of delegation (sept 2023 to Aug 2024)
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Scheme of Delegation (updated 19/09/2023)
Please click here to view the Terms of Reference of the Trust Finance, Audit and Risk Committee 2023-24
Please click here to view the Terms of Reference of the Trust Kingsbridge EIP SCITT Headteacher Board 2023-24
Please click here to view the DfE's Governance Handbook
cfat funding agreements
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Deed of Variation of Funding Agreement
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Supplemental Funding Agreement
general data protection regulations
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust General Data Protection Regulations
trade union facility time publications
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Trade Union Facility Time 2018-19
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Trade Union Facility Time 2019-20
Please click here to view Community First Academy Trust Trade Union Facility Time 2020-21
Please click here to view Community First Academy trust Trade Union Facility Time 2021-22
Please click here to view Community First Academy trust Trade Union Facility Time 2022-23
ADMINSSION ARRANGEMENTS
MATs must publish the admission arrangements for their schools on the central trust website and ensure this information is made available for the duration of the offer year.
Our admission arrangements within the trust comply with the DfE’s ‘School Admissions Code’ and ‘School Admission Appeals Code’.
Click Here for Platt Bridge Community School
publication of executive pay
AFH 2.32 - Trusts must publish on its website in a separate readily accessible form the number of employees whose benefits exceeded £100k, in £10k bandings, as an extract from the disclosure in its financial statements for the previous year ended 31 August.
The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer national insurance contributions) exceeded £100,000 was:
Financial Statement August 2016 | Financial Statement August 2017 | Financial Statement August 2018 | Financial Statement August 2019 | Financial Statement August 2020 | Financial Statement August 2021 | Financial Statement August 2022 | Financial Statement August 2023 | Financial Statement August 2024 | |
£60,001 - £70,000 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
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£70,001 - £80,000 |
1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
£80,001 - £90,000 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
£90,001 - £100,000 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
£100,001 - £110,000 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
£110,001 - £120,000 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
£120,001 - £130,000 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | |
£130,001 - £140,000 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | |
£140,001 - £150,000 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
*extract as published in the annual audited accounts statements