Local Governing Body

East Anglian Schools Trust

Saxmundham Primary School joined the Avocet Academy in November 2018.  Avocet Academy Trust was founded in 2014 with the shared belief that collaboration is a key to success.  This belief is adopted at all levels throughout each of the Academy schools.  

In November 2023 we joined East Anglian Schools Trust (EAST)

Our vision centers on the child.  The way we ensure everything centers on the child is through our core values:

• Collaboration
• Diversity
• Responsibility
• Enrichment
• Inclusion

We believe that this enables children to excel in whatever they do. 

EAST (MAT) is based on a set of values that determine all actions and decisions made throughout the Trust.  All of these values are focused on the children to ensure that they have the perfect platform from which to grow.

With all decisions and actions based around these core values, we are able to deliver an education which takes into account the needs of the different pupils, schools and communities which they serve.

The Trust has a Board of Trustees that has ultimate responsibility for everything that goes on within the Trust and its schools.  The Trust Board oversees educational policy and practice, the standards achieved, the deployment of people and other resources, governance and strategic development for the whole family of EAST schools.

Local Governing Body

Each school within the Academy has a Local Governing Body. 

The Trust Board has established five key roles for these Governing Body:

• To advise/act as a critical friend to the school leader;
• To advise the Trust Board about local issues they need to consider that affect the school;
• Represent the interest of the school community in the running of the school;
• Represent the school in its community;
• Provide support to the school leader in undertaking appropriate day to day procedures that are essential in the life of the school.

The five roles translate specifically into the following tasks that the Governing Body undertakes: 

• it acts as a key link between the school, parents and local community;
• it supports the work of the school in the community;
• it supports the school leadership team in the development and implementation of the school development plan and other relevant plans, ensuring that the the Trust ethos remains at the heart of the school community; ​​​​​​
• it helps on the ground with the implementation of certain whole Academy and school policies;
• it offers challenging but positive and proactive support to the school leader;
• it regularly reviews the school’s performance in relation to the Key Performance Indicators.

Current Local Governing Board Members (September 2024)

All agendas and minutes are available upon request (excepting confidential documents). 

Please contact mail@eastmat.org stating the documents you are requesting.