“It's great that we can use Judicium as a professional sounding board. It helps us make sure that we are on top of the latest statutory and legal requirements and best practice, and that we are continually moving forward”.

Furness Education Trust in South Cumbria consists of five primaries and two secondaries, with around 2,600 students and almost 500 staff.  Furness Education Trust’s relationship with Judicium began in 2023.

Heading up operations is Amy Warner, who has spent the last 13 years working for the trust’s founding school in governance, policy and comms roles. She has been Chief Operating Officer since September 2025, leading a central services team which provides HR, IT, finance, facilities, people management and marketing functions.

There had been several changes in members of staff, and Amy was faced with “a square peg and round hole” situation as she searched for someone who could pick up the clerking role, which had become increasingly demanding and complex as the trust expanded. The trust’s seven schools have their own
governing bodies, each holding three meetings a year. At trust level, there are regular meetings of the trust board plus three to four meetings per year for each of the three trust board committees: quality of education and standards, remuneration, search and governance and finance, general planning, audit and risk. “We were looking at a lot more meetings, and it was not feasible for one person to be picking that up on top of their day job,” Amy explains. 

“We didn’t have the expertise in our organisation for someone to take it on, or to learn what that role entailed.”

The trust now has its own dedicated remote clerk – Jane Wynn – who is, in Amy’s words, “just brilliant”. Jane will help to set agendas and follow up with reminders about any jobs governors need to complete before meetings, such as reviewing and signing documentation. “Jane will direct us to relevant changes and developments she thinks might be relevant to us that we might want to consider putting on the next agenda,” Amy explains. Jane will virtually attend meetings, offering advice throughout, and then put together detailed minutes. She’s also on hand for any questions at any time. 

"It just takes a huge amount of pressure off us having that point of contact. If something comes up governance-related, if we’ve got an issue with one of our boards, or if someone’s not sure how to do something, it’s a quick email or phone call to Jane or one of her
Judicium colleagues. worked"

If you’d like to learn more about Judicium’s Governance and Clerking services, please feel free to contact enquiries on enquiries@judicium.com or 0345 548 7000