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info@pfcmat.org
Governance
Governance at Pope Francis CMAT is strong and balanced. It offers professional support and challenge so that leaders are supported to create opportunities and push boundaries while maintaining a laser-like focus on results and quality.
Our Governance Structure
Members
The Members of The Pope Francis Catholic MAT are equivalent to shareholders of a trading company. As the Trust is charitable, with no power to distribute profit to shareholders, they are best viewed as guardians of the constitution - changing the Articles if necessary and ensuring the charitable object is fulfilled.
The Archbishop, through the Diocesan Education Department, also exercises oversight and supervision as diocesan authority. All Trust Governors are required to observe directions issued by on on behalf of the Archbishop.
Directors
Decision making and accountability for Pope Francis CMAT rests with the Directors, who are Directors for charity law purposes and company directors registered with Companies House. They are personally responsible for the actions of the Trust and its Academies, accountable to the Members, Secretary of State for Education and the wider community for the quality of education and spending of public money.
The Directors have systems in place through which they can assure themselves of the quality, safety and good practice of the affairs of the Trust. They meet as a board and delegate aspects of governance and the day to day oversight of school leadership to Local Governing Bodies within each academy. Other committees established by the Board may by tasked with fulfilling particular functions or advising the Directors on strategic matters.
All of the governance information shown below is updated within one week of each board meeting to reflect current attendance, declarations and other relevant information regarding trust governance.
Director Committee Membership 2023-24
Directors' Attendance 2023-2024
Directors' Declaration of Interests
If you would like to review copies of any of our governance minutes, or if you have any questions about governance at Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust or its academies, please email info@pfcmat.org and we will pass this on to our Governance Director to help you.
Directors' Profiles
Isobel Macdonald-Davies, Chair
Anthony Boyle
Father Mervyn
Cath O'Leary
Jen Murphy
Jen Murphy is Director of the Rainbow Teaching School Hub.Carl Gilbertson (Associate Director)
Carl Gilbertson is the Founder and Managing Director of IT Support company, MGL. A former recipient of the title ‘Merseyside’s Businessperson of the Year’, Carl is a governor at five local schools.Jane Billows
Jane Billows is Senior OD Business Partner at Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a CIPD Chartered Member.Bill Skilki
Bill Skilki is a successful architect and property developer. Bill has worked at chief executive and director level in commercial and residential property development in the private, public and voluntary sectors.Samantha Birchall
Samantha Birchall is an Ofsted inspector and experienced Headteacher, she has the national award for Special Educational Needs and NPQH.Father Michael Fitzsimons
Fr Michael Fitzsimons is the Episcopal Vicar for Education in Liverpool Archdiocese.Anne Pontifex (Resigned July 2023)
Anne Pontifex has experience of working across a range of secondary schools in a variety of contexts, as a secondary Headteacher and an Executive Headteacher. Anne also has extensive governance experience and is the lead for ALSSIT.Local Governing Boards (LGBs)
The role of a Governor within the Trust is an important one - the Trust has sought to ensure that, as much as possible, the responsibility to govern is vested in those closest to the impact of decision making and that such responsibility matches the capacity of those assuming responsibility.
The Trust Board has established LGBs for each of the Academies, for the most part made up of individuals drawn from their community, both as elected and appointed members. Those serving on the Local Governing Body are accountable to the Directors and the Archbishop, and must ensure that, at all times, they act in good faith and in the best interests of the Academies and the Trust, exercising reasonable care and skill, and having particular regard to local knowledge and experience.
The Governors of at each LGB share a common belief that children should receive an education of the best possible quality. Staff Governors are teachers or other employees of the academy who are elected into office by their colleagues. Parent Governors are elected onto the Governing Body by parents of pupils currently attending the academy. Foundation Governors are appointed by Archbishop to represent and sustain their interests and priorities.
The Chair of Governors forum is made up of the Chairs of LGBs, which meets termly and provides a clear link between the Directors Board and the LGBs.
Click below for further information about each of our Local Governing Bodies, including attendance, appointment details and declarations of interest:
Our core governing documents can be found below:
Scheme of Delegation and Terms of Reference
Governors' Area
Use these buttons to login to your account with NGA or GovernorHub, click to view our governance dashboards, and book your training with Sefton Governor Services:
National Governance Association
Joining our Governance Team
If you are a skilled and experienced sector leader looking to volunteer locally as a Director on our Trust Board, or as a member of the Local Governing Body (LGB) at one of our academies, please do get in touch via info@pfcmat.org.
Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust aims to provide the very best Catholic education for the young people in our schools and excellent governance is at the heart of this mission. We enable schools, aspiration and faith to flourish by: ‘Uplifting Hearts, Inspiring Minds’. Our aim is to facilitate Catholic schools to retain their identity and history but to be supported by a multi academy trust that offers systems, services and a policy framework that allows all its schools and academies to flourish. Pope Francis CMAT ensures all students receive an excellent Catholic education, knowing more, remembering more and achieving the best outcomes they can.
Our governing team ensures best practise across the Trust in three layers of accountability. Our Members Board ensure compliance with charity and Company law requirements and Directors are then responsible for the strategic priorities of the Trust. On a local level, Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) hold each Headteacher to account for what is delivered in their academy, each LGB at PFCMAT has a strong level of responsibility for their school's progress and success through our governing principle of subsidiarity.
Our Directors and LGB members attend half-termly face to face meetings as a full board, and are usually members on additional committees in areas such as standards and safeguarding or Catholic life, with some additional meetings as relevant to school or the trust. Our governors have a strong sense of integrity and live out the Nolan Principles of Public Life and the Academy Trust Governance Code. They are committed members of our community who can have a significant impact on how well a school is run and what pupils and staff can achieve.