>[!Essential Bits]+ >- The below is pretty comprehensive. You don't need to know it all 😀 >- I think the bits you NEED to know are (1) [[Salford SU Articles of Association|Articles of Association]], (2) [[Salford SU Strategy]] and (3) review the basics of the [[Charity Good Governance Code]]. The rest you can learn as you go along. # Trustee Knowledge ## About the organisation - We are a 'charitable company limited by guarantee'. This means we are both a charity and a company. - Our governing document is the [[Salford SU Articles of Association]], approved by the [[charity commission]] and the University of Salford (due to the [[1994 Education Act]]) - This includes [[Salford SU's charitable objects]] which we must adhere to at all times, and trustees are responsible for. We must act for "[[students as students]]". - We have a strategy - see [[Salford SU Strategy]]. For more see: - We have a specific [[Tackling Loneliness Strategy FINAL.pdf|Tackling Loneliness Strategy]] which is our 'Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)'. See [[Why is Loneliness the focus of our BHAG?]] ## About the Law - Trustees have responsibilities under the Charities Act 2011 - There is also Charity Commission Guidance (called [[CC3 - The Essential Trustee]]) as well as the [[Charity Good Governance Code]]. I prefer the latter. - You must declare conflicts of interest- see [[Source - Managing Conflicts of Interest in a Charity by GOV.UK|Managing Conflicts of Interest in a Charity]] ## About the Board - [[Salford SU Trustees|SSU Board of Trustees]]: bits about the composition of the Board - Practical matters - Dates of trustee meetings (we will send these separately) - [[Role of a Trustee]] - Understanding the role of a Student Officer can be key. See [[How to be an amazing Student Officer]] for some similar guidance to this. - See also the [[Staff Officers Roles Matrix]] - a document that outlines the different roles that elected student officers and staff have ## Key pieces of information - Lots of key pieces of information are held on our website and on the Charity Commission website. This includes details of the trustees, as well as our current and previous Annual Reports and Accounts. - We also have a [[Risk Register]] as well as an established [[SSU risk appetite]] approach. - You will regularly receive management accounts as part of board papers, and you will be trained to read and understand them. If you do not, please do not hesitate to contact us. - [[Salford SU Scheme of Delegation of Authority]] - [[Salford SU Safeguarding Policy]] - Data Protection Policies - ==UNDER REVIEW (2025/26)== - [[Salford SU Financial Procedures Manual]] ## Detail about the organisation ### What we believe - We wrote a [[Policy Book]] in 2024 to lay all this out! ### Departments - [[Salford SU Finances]] - [[Salford SU HR]] - [[Staff Cost of Living Crisis 2022-23]] - [[Salford SU Pension Schemes]] - EDI - See also other [[Salford SU Departments]] ### Partnership with the University - [[University of Salford]] ### Key People - [[Student Officers 2024-25]] - [[Ed Moloney Biography]] - [[Why I'm sharing my second brain]] - Lauren Beckett - DCEO ## Broader stuff (more for the geeks) ### Students, Higher Education and SUs - [[Higher Education Students]] - [[Higher Education]] - [[Office for Students]] - [[University of Salford]] - [[Students’ Unions]] - [[The Future of Students' Unions]] - [[The History of Students' Unions and NUS]] - [[Why do students need a union?]] - The 'student sector' - [[NUS UK]] and [[NUS Charity]] - [[NUS Mission, Vision Values]] - [[NUS Contribution]] - [[Wonkhe]] - [[Higher Education ACRONYMS!]] You will also spend some time talking about [[Students’ Unions]]. You might be interested in looking at some of these notes: - [[The History of Students' Unions and NUS]] - [[The Future of Students' Unions]] - [[Why do students need a union?]] ### Current Issues *I've tried to separate these into different sections, although there is a lot of inter-related sections. Ie HE sector funding affects University finances which affects SU finances* #### Student- related issues - [[Student Mental Health and Student Support]] - Belonging and [[Loneliness in Students]] - [[Black Awards Gap]] - [[EDI Statement of Ambition]] - [[Sexual assault and misconduct]] - Spiking issue 2022 - International student support - [[International Payment Plans]] - [[International Student Experience]] - [[Student Cost of Living Crisis 2022 onwards]] - [[Student Housing Crisis]] - [[Access and Participation]] #### HE sector-related issues - The value of higher education, to the government, and students themselves. - [[HE sector finances]] and [[reducing real-term tuition fee income]] - [[retention of students]] - UCU [[Strike Action]] over pay and pensions - [[Freedom of Speech]] - [[Office for Students]] burdensome oversight and [[B3 Student Outcomes]] #### NUS and Students' Unions related issues - [[NUS Anti-semitism complaint 2022]] - [[Salford SU Response to NUS Antisemitism 'Tuck' Report Jan 2023]]