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Big Creative Academy Governance

Develop Talent   Transform Lives   Create Careers

With a vision to:  Be an outstanding education provider  |  Promote wellbeing for staff, students and the community  |  Bring industry into the classroom

Within a culture of:  Excellence  |  Support  |  Collaboration

To achieve:  Skills  |  Integrity  |  Networks

 

Big Creative Academy Governing Body

Governors have been working behind the scenes for the Academy over the last academic year and have influenced the Academy’s direction in many areas:

  • Governors monitor the Academy’s financial strategy, budget, income and expenditure via dedicated meetings and monthly management accounts. The academy remains a healthy going concern with a small reserve.
  • Governors monitor the quality of teaching and student experience at the Academy via an annual self-assessment report and ongoing quality improvement plan. Achievement rates remain higher than the national average benchmarks and the achievement of all student cohorts is equal with all students achieving at the same rate regardless of background and achievement rates within vocational courses is high at 96% with 93% of student’s progress into Higher Education, employment and apprenticeships whilst 91% of academy students complete work experience. The number of students choosing to accept initial advance offers to the academy remains high.
  • Under the Governors direction, the academy gained the Gatsby standards and Kite mark this academic year.
  • Governors have considered and laid out the principles for setting executive pay, including that of the Principal. Details are documented in the Academy’s Pay Policy.
  • Governors considered and approved a staffing restructure to create new appointments to strengthen, finance, careers and marketing, and student well-being this academic year.
  • Governors ensured staff have been trained to provide mental health support to students throughout the academic year and there has been a specific focus to ensure.
  • Governors continue to ensure the Academy’s risk assessment is updated throughout the academic year.
  • Governors completed an annual skills audit and self-evaluation to ensure governance is effective.
  • Link governors regularly visit the academy and monitor of specific areas throughout the academic year. As a result,
  • Governors have noted that the quality of education, safeguarding, and student well-being all continue to improve.
  • Governors directed the construction of an improved lunch and break area for students and a new T Level Fashion Design block this academic year.
  • Governors also directed the budget be used to update IT facilities, and art and design equipment this academic year.

Mark Shaw the Governance Professional can be contacted by email on [email protected]

Chair of Trustees and Governors
Link Governor Safeguarding

Appointed 31 May 2019

John Stone brings over 40 years experience in education to the governing body at Big Creative Academy. His career started in South London where he was appointed as a ‘Lecturer with an interest in Music’ charged with setting up a new course in Music Instrument Technology which is still in operation today. Since then he has held a variety of senior roles which include Principal of Ealing Hammersmith and West London College, before moving to be Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Network and latterly Principal of Treloars,  a residential school and college for young people with complex physical disabilities. Throughout his career John’s focus has been on improving the quality and range of educational opportunities for students. He is a strong believer in promoting technical innovation and the power of Education to support regeneration.

John is also Chair of the Learner Experience Committee and link governor for safeguarding.

Academy Principal
Date of Appointment: 3 February 2014

Sacha Corcoran MBE is Principal of Big Creative Academy and also sits on the governing body. A single mum and homeless at 16, Sacha’s own success story is inspirational. She started as a PE teacher and has now been involved in education for more than 20 years. Sacha assisted in establishing BSix College and was Deputy Director for Learning at City and Islington College. She also had a three-year sabbatical at the Sector Skills Council developing the national Creative Apprenticeship project.

Sacha’s place on the governing body is an ex-officio post in accordance with the Academy’s Articles of Association. She is also the Accounting Officer for Big Creative Academy.

Chair of Finance and General Purposes Committee

Appointed 18 February 2020

Finance professional with 15 years of experience across professional services, banking and social impact investing. As a Director within the Shawbrook financial sponsors business based in London James supports management teams of SMEs raise funding to support buyouts and acquisitions. As a fund manager at the Big Issue Invest, James worked with social enterprises seeking to raise funding to invest in new projects and assets to grow impact and build financial resilience.

Appointed 21st November 2023

Link Governor Careers

Appointed 11 September 2022

Sarah has significant senior project and relationship management experience in addition to eight years of governing body experience. Sarah has led partnership projects with world-leading organisations including the Burberry Foundation, KPMG, RADA, Roundhouse, Barbican Centre, Law Society and Bar Council and secured valuable employer contributions for events including National and London Skills Shows, Leicester City’s Fashion & Textiles Showcases, Screenskills Open Doors and Kickstarter recruitment events.

She is passionate about helping young people develop creatively, and brings with her a solid understanding of the education and skills landscape and the routes students can take beyond BCA whether that be moving into work based apprenticeships, continuing their studies at university or training to be the creative entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Local Champion
Link Governor Marketing

Appointed 25 January 2018

 

Adam Taylor is a local champion for Big Creative Academy with networks across the creative arts sector in Waltham Forest. He is a Marketing Manager for John Lewis. He has a keen sense of the requirements of the industry and  joins up the work done by students with local businesses and volunteers.

Parent Governor
Link Governor SEND

Appointed 11 July 2022

Tracy brings several years of governing experience having held positions as a governor at other schools.

She is passionate about ensuring all children can access the same educational and wellbeing opportunities and for this reason she has been appointed as the link governor for SEND.

Link Governor Wellbeing

Appointed 21 October 2020

Amani Simpson is an award-winning social entrepreneur, coach, activist and filmmaker. At the age of 21, he was stabbed 7 times after intervening in a robbery attempt. 

Since then he has dedicated his life to empowering young people through digital media, events and personal development under his social enterprise Aviard Inspires CIC. In January 2019, he produced a powerful, now award-winning short film called ‘AMANI’ about his life experiences starring Hollywood actor Joivan Wade (DC’s Doom Patrol, Shiro’s Story & The First Purge) which amassed 1 million views in just 4 days. It has now been viewed over 3 million times!

Amani is using his short film and story in schools, alternative provisions and events as a tool to transform the lives of young people across the country. He was named as the North London Ambassador for the Mayor of London’s ‘London Needs You Alive’ campaign and was shortlisted from 28,000 candidates as a positive role model at the 2019 National Diversity Awards.

Amani is a former BCE student and is the Academy’s link governor for wellbeing.

Appointed 1 November 2022

Staff Governor

Appointed 8 February 2020

Trustee

Appointed 19th February 2023

Company Roles

Alexis Michaelides

Appointed 17 July 2013

Ian Morton

Appointed 17 December 2012

Ben Jolly

Appointed 17 December 2012

John Stone

Appointed 31 May 2019

Martin Rosner

Appointed 1 February 2023

Sacha Corcoran

Appointed 1 September 2014

Louise Elford

Appointed 4th September 2023

Mark Shaw

Appointed 1 November 2022

Trustees who have resigned from Office in the last Year

Documents

Big Creative Academy Trust Articles of Association
Big Creative Academy Funding Agreement
Register-of-Pecuniary and Business Interests-Official – Dec 2023-24
Big Creative Academy Accounts 2022 – 2023
Big Creative Academy Ofsted Report, April 2017
Scheme of Delegation for Governance Functions
Scheme of Responsibility
Sub-Committee Terms of Reference
Governors Code of Conduct
Big Creative Academy Policies
BCA Value for Money statement 2022/23