Grovelands and Hellingly CP Schools joined the Wandle Learning Trust in September 2025.  The Wandle Learning Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees and has oversight of all the academies in the Trust. The Local Academy Committee is responsible for academy-specific matters. 

Working closely together, the Board of Trustees and the Local Academy Committee (LAC) have four core strategic functions:

• Provide strategic oversight of the education provision of the school
• Ensure that stakeholder voice is heard and helps to inform strategic decision-making
• Provide strategic oversight of compliance of the school with Trust policies
• Support the Trust Board to ensure good governance across the Trust

LACs provide challenge and support to Academy Leadership Teams as the Academy implements policies and improvement plan priorities.

The LAC meets four times a year at Grovelands Community Primary School, at our LAC meetings we receive and discuss reports from the Executive Headteacher, Heads of School and relevant external agencies. We monitor the results of internal and external assessments of the children’s progress and measure the impact of policies which we have adopted to help the schools’ work. We make sure that the schools’ provision complies with current equalities and safeguarding legislation and that the children and staff have a safe and healthy place to work in. We work as strategic partners with Grovelands and Hellingly staff to plan the schools’ development whilst maintaining their core vision and ethos, within the framework of the vision. 

Within the LAC there are key link roles for:

• Safeguarding
• SEND, inclusion and equalities
• People and stakeholder management
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

Link role holders duties are as follows:

• Meet with relevant school leaders to monitor their area at the school
• Attend specific training for the role 
• Attend Link meetings twice a year to share link reports, ideas, best practice and ensure communication flows between LAC members and Trustees