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Our Governance

King's Leadership Academy Liverpool is part of the Great Schools Trust (GST), a company limited by guarantee.

The GST members and board of trustees are the proprietors of the trust and set the overarching vision and strategy for all of the GST academies. Trustees’ main responsibilities are the three core governance functions:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction.
Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

In order to discharge these duties successfully the board of trustees has delegated some of these responsibilities to executive leaders and local academy councils (LACs) (see Scheme of Delegation for more information).

King's Liverpool has a committed team of governors who are actively involved in school life. They successfully represent the local community and bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise from a variety of professional backgrounds. Governors include parent and staff representatives.

The LAC has delegated oversight for curriculum and standards, community presence and safeguarding. This includes attendance, student welfare and health and safety. Finance and staffing are the direct responsibility of the trust board. Nevertheless, the GST governance structure allows each LAC chair to be appointed as a trustee. Therefore, local governance is represented in board discussions.

In short, LACs are an integral part of the trust’s governance structure. They are the eyes and ears on the ground at school level. The LAC supports the trust board by adhering to their core governance functions and by holding the school to account for performance and development. In addition, they support school leaders by acting as their ‘critical friend’.

Our Local Academy Council

King’s Liverpool has a relatively new, but committed team of governors who are actively involved in school life. They represent and understand the local community and bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise from a variety of professional backgrounds. There are both staff and parent governors on the committee; however, the school is actively recruiting further parent representation.

The local academy council (LAC) has delegated oversight for curriculum and standards, community presence and safeguarding. This includes attendance, student welfare and health and safety. Finance and staffing are the direct responsibility of the trust board. Nevertheless, the LAC Chair is involved in the budget setting process for the school and supports with recruitment at school level.

In short, LAC's are an integral part of the trust’s governance structure. They are the eyes and ears on the ground at school level. The LAC supports the trust board by adhering to their core governance functions and by holding the school to account for performance and development. In addition, they support school leaders by acting as their ‘critical friend’.

Contact Our Local Academy Council

The Chair of the Local Academy Council is Professor Joseph Spencer

Should you wish to contact the Chair of the Local Academy Council or LAC please contact the Trust’s director of governance, Michelle Jones, via email m.jones@greatschoolstrust.com or by post by addressing any correspondence for the attention of Michelle Jones at the school’s address:

King’s Leadership Academy Liverpool, Dingle Vale, Liverpool, L8 9SJ.

Please note that any complaints regarding the school must be raised in line with our complaints policy and cannot be raised directly with the local academy council.

Chair's Welcome

Welcome to the website of King's Leadership Academy Liverpool.

It is a great privilege to serve as the school’s chair of governors. Our local academy council is committed to being actively involved in the life of the school so that we can best serve our staff, pupils, parents, and the local community. We are determined that every student receives a high-quality education which will in turn lead to future academic success. Our school's specialism of ‘character and leadership’ will help our students develop the attributes they need for their future while emphasising the importance of being caring and compassionate towards others.

To ensure that the school’s vision is realised and that our students’ best interests are factored into every decision we make, the local academy council will support the Trust by acting as a “critical friend,” holding the school to account for the quality of its educational provision and student outcomes. We will also help to define the strategic direction of the school to ensure that resources are optimised and that all students are fulfilling their potential.

King's Liverpool faces a wide variety of exciting challenges and I have no doubt that the combined experience, skills and knowledge of our local academy council, leadership team and staff will ensure that we offer the very best to all members of our school community.

Governor Biographies

Joseph Spencer- Interim Chair of Governors and Chair of Trustees

I have been very fortunate in life being the first in my family to go university. I graduated as an Electrical Engineer and then developed a successful career. When I look back on my journey, I can pick out a few critical things without which my journey would have been very different. The first is a receiving a good education; the second is the opportunity to take part in new activities through schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh award; and thirdly the support of dedicated teachers. These three things gave me self-confidence, a believe in myself that I could do anything and succeed, and resilience to face difficult challenges.

I joined the trust to support the Academies so that all pupils are given opportunities to receive an excellent education, that they are confident and resilient in what they do in life and they believe in themselves irrespective of their background.

Jenna Jensen- Co-opted Governor

My career has spanned working in marketing, communication and the digital sectors for two decades. I spent more than ten years heading up marketing teams in retail which led to a senior role in a large corporate firm. I grew up and went to school and university in Liverpool and have spent the last ten years working with clients across the Liverpool City region, both the public sector and smaller local firms.

I have volunteered because of my belief that every child, from every background, is entitled to have access to the best possible education. I enjoy working with the other governors in overseeing the work that delivers this at King's Leadership Academy.

Ana Filipe - Parent Governor

I am a mom of nine and a grandmother of seventeen children. I have worked as a translator/interpreter for 30 years in all kinds of areas.

For me, education has an important role in the future of a child as an adult, in society. I have been a governor for 20 years, four years here at King's Leadership Academy Liverpool. I accepted this service to the community because I think it is important to support the formation of the youth, as an extension of our families. School is the second place where children live for a large amount of their day, so parents are called to be very much involved in the dynamic of school.