Governance
BackTrustee Meeting Attendance (updated after the December 2023 Trustee meeting)
Westside Trustees' attendance records are exceptional.
Trustee Meetings Attended in the Last 12 Months
| First Name | Second Name | Attended | Required for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas | Basden | 5 | 5 |
| Dominic | Bolton | 4 | 5 |
| Caroline | Clark (Chair) | 5 | 5 |
| Sarah | Evans | 5 | 5 |
| Patricia | Hanley | 5 | 5 |
| Christina | Lyons | 5 | 5 |
|
Deborah Grazia |
Lee Rapisarda (resigned) |
5 2 |
5 4 |
Audit, Risk and Finance Committee Meeting Attendance (updated after the December 2023 meeting)
ARF Committee Meetings attended in the Last 12 Months (also exceptional)
| First Name | Second Name | Attended | Required for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas | Basden | 3 | 3 |
| Dominic | Bolton | 3 | 3 |
| Caroline | Clark | 3 | 3 |
|
Patricia Grazia |
Hanley Rapisarda |
3 1 |
3 3 |
Important Documents
You can download our Articles of Association (our governing document) below:
Westside Articles Of Association
You can download our most recent annual report and accounts here.
Our Members
| First Name | Surname | Start Date | Extra Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline | Clark | 25/09/2018 | Caroline is the Chair of Westside Academy Trust, and as such, she is an ex-officio Member. |
| Sarah | Evans | 26/07/2006 | Founder of Westside School. Currently a board member of : Westside School, London Interdisciplinary School, AP Challenge Trust, Breaking GB, and three boards in Canada. |
| Julian | Critchlow | 23/03/2017 | Advisory Partner to Bain & Company on Energy Transition and NED Nyobolt. Former Director General of Energy Transformation & Clean Growth at BEIS. Previously National Board of Business In The Community “Employment for Excluded Groups” and Global Futures Council for Energy, World Economic Forum. Honouree International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame |
| Robert | Devereux | 23/03/2017 | Former Trustee of Westside Academy Trust |
| Michael | Milner | 07/12/2015 | Head of the John Madejski Academy. Former head of Senior School at Reddam House School in Berkshire. Independent Inspector for Ofsted. Former Trustee of Westside. Past Executive Principal of Wellington College Academy Trust. Area of Expertise: Teaching and Learning |
Our Trustees
| Name | Appointed by | Date of Appointment | Date of Resignation | End of Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Clark (CHAIR) | Members | 25/09/2018 | 25/09/2026 | |
| Self-employed consultant. Co-Founder and ex-Director of The Great Little Trading Company. Graduate of Columbia University School of Law. Areas of expertise: Business Development and Strategy, Legal | ||||
| Patricia Hanley | Ex Officio, as Head teacher | 01/09/2020 | N/A | |
| Dominic Bolton | Members | 16/09/2014 | 25/09/2026 | |
| Chair of Finance and General Purposes Committee Area of Expertise: Finance | ||||
| Nicholas Basden | Members | 22/06/2015 | 25/09/2026 | |
| Self-employed Business Consultant. MBA Harvard Business School, Ex-Director of Business Development for Starbucks Area of Expertise: Marketing, Business Development and Strategy/Financial Review | ||||
| Christina Lyons | Members | 11/03/2019 | 07/03/2027 | |
| A common law barrister with expertise across a broad spectrum of practice areas including child and family law, local authority liability, public law, employment law, personal injury law and criminal law. Areas of expertise: Specialist advocate and litigator | ||||
| Sarah Evans | Members | 26/07/2015 | 22/07/2026 | |
| Sarah Evans is Founder of Westside School. Chair of London Interdisciplinary School Foundation, Board member of Sadler’s Wells Theatre, AP Challenge Trust, Global Council of INET, and on three advisory boards in Canada. Area of Expertise: Finance, Management Consulting, and Management of Change. | ||||
| Deborah Rhodes | Members | 23/11/2011 | 21/11/2026 | |
| Psychologist Consultant | ||||
| Grazia Rapisarda. Members 4/10/2021 3/10/2025 | ||||
| Grazia Rapisarda has twenty years' experience of working in finance. She is Head of Governance & Controls, Risk Model Control Office at Barclays. | ||||
Please note that parents and carers were invited to apply for positions on the Board of Trustees, but no applications were received. However, two Trustees have children of compulsory school age, which means that the requirements of Article 58 in the Trust's Articles of Association are met.
Interests and Gifts
No Trustee has received any hospitality or gifts in connection with their role as a Trustee of Westside Academy.
Updated in March 2024
Declarations of interests for all trustees, members, and trustees and members who resigned within the last 12 months are available in this spreadsheet
Governing Body
Westside Academy Trust is a charitable company, with registration number 05888220. It is an exempt charity, regulated by the Secretary of State for Education.
The Board of Trustees of the charity is also the Board of Directors of the charitable company.
The Trustees/Directors are the Governing Body. The Governing Body has responsibility for the strategic direction and financial accountability of the school and meets at least four times a year. Staff and advisors attend where appropriate.
The Trustees delegate management of the school to the Head teacher, within the restrictions of the financial delegations, set out in the financial procedures manual.
The term of office for a Trustee is four years.
The Role of the Governing Body is:
| Setting the strategic framework in which the school operates | Setting long-term financial and organisational targets, promoting the Westside small-scale model, what we term mini-mainstream, with aspirational targets and individual support. |
|---|---|
| Setting educational targets and promoting high standards of achievement | Overseeing curriculum delivery, the quality of Teaching & Learning and monitoring achievements vs targets set. |
| Management of the school budget | Budgetary monitoring of the spending and financial performance of the school, plus the driving of fund-raising and the income gained from hiring out the school building facilities. |
| Ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the school | To be ultimately responsible for all staffing issues, disciplinary measures, policy approvals and the general good conduct of the school. |
| Ensuring the safeguarding and well-being of all Westside students | Monitoring well-being surveys, promoting links with both families and local community, and encouraging good tracking of students after they graduate. |
The Audit, Risk and Finance Committee meets three times a year, reporting into the Board of Trustees. Its key functions are the preparation of annual Budgets, monitoring Westside's spending and financial performance and Premises costs.
Dominic Bolton is the Chair of this Committee.
To contact our governance adviser or to ask any questions about Westside governance below:
ex-Trustees
| Name | Appointed by | Date of appointment | Date of resignation | End of term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grazia Rapisarda | December 2024 |
Employees whose benefits exceeded £100k per year
The government requires each Academy Trust to publish the number of employees whose benefits exceeded £100k, in £10k bandings, for the previous year ended 31 August.
Benefits for this purpose include salary, employers’ pension contributions, other taxable benefits and termination payments.
For Westside Academy Trust, one member of staff received benefits exceeding £100k, in the band £100k to £110k.
