When Esteem Multi-Academy Trust was approached about acquiring an independent provider specialising in one-to-one tuition for young people at risk of exclusion, many of whom had Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), the proposal appeared to fit well with the Trust's long-term ambitions.The organisation's specialist expertise offered t...

The Department for Education has published the Academy Trust Handbook 2026, which comes into effect on 1 October 2026. This year's changes cover inclusion, financial competence, digital standards, procurement, workforce decisions and public transparency. Some will affect decisions trusts are already making, including senior appointments, contract r...

GAG pooling is a spreadsheet conversation right up until the point it is not. Then it becomes a conversation about fairness, identity, trust, control and whether the phrase 'one trust' actually means anything when money starts moving away from the school gate. That is why it can make sensible people behave defensively. It is not because school lead...

Ensure a smooth transition and maintain accurate HMRC records Most payroll migrations go smoothly. The problems often don't appear until weeks later, when HMRC starts treating an employee as though they've started a completely new employment. One of the most common causes is a change in payroll number that hasn't been reported correctly. Because pa...

Most trust boards would say they take cyber security seriously. They will probably have policies in place, staff will have completed phishing training, and somebody will be responsible for software updates and backups. But could the trust continue operating safely after a serious cyber incident? That is a harder question to answer. The Government's...

A contract rolls over because everyone is busy. A trusted supplier gets another year because changing feels risky. A purchase sits below a threshold, so nobody thinks much process is needed. In schools and trusts, procurement problems are rarely caused by one major decision. More often, they come from small assumptions that build up over time. Peop...

As multi-academy trusts grow, payroll and HR processes often come under pressure very quickly. What works in a smaller trust can become much harder to manage once more schools, more staff and more local variation are added into the mix. In many cases, the issue is not that payroll stops running or HR stops functioning. The challenge is that the cen...

School leaders are entering a new era where reputation, retention, and long-term planning matter more than ever. For decades, many schools planned around growth. Rising pupil numbers supported expansion, increasing budgets, recruitment activity and long-term development planning. But across England, that environment is beginning to shift. Falling b...

With schools continuing to face rising costs, increasing SEND demand and growing pressure on budgets, many leaders are looking beyond traditional funding streams to support their pupils, staff and facilities. Grants can provide valuable financial support for everything from technology upgrades and wellbeing initiatives to SEND provision and major c...

Why growth changes the operational demands behind multi-academy trusts Growth does not just increase the number of schools within a trust. It changes the operational demands behind how those schools work together day to day.What once worked effectively across a small number of schools can quickly become harder to manage consistently at scale. Proce...

Payroll in schools is expected to be straightforward: staff are paid correctly, on time, every time. But in reality, it's one of the most complex and high-risk administrative functions in education - and one many schools quietly struggle to manage. Not because teams aren't capable, but because the demands have outgrown the way payroll is ...

In academy finance, GAG pooling is now an important topic of discussion for multi-academy trusts (MATs). Pooling was once seen as a niche or controversial practice. Now, it is a key way strong trusts manage their resources and plan for growth. What is GAG pooling? Why is it becoming popular? What should trust leaders think about as they deal with t...

 Managing school and academy finance isn't a small feat; it's a constant juggle between limiting budgets and meeting deadlines and stringent compliance needs. It's hard to stay on track when dealing with the day-to-day pressures of running an organisation that puts children and their futures first. That's why a growing number of schools, acade...

In the past few years, we've seen a shift in the way schools operate, with more schools evolving and transitioning into academies and trusts. The onus of effective governance throughout this transition is on the directors and board of trustees, whose responsibilities go beyond meeting organisational and education laws. MAT trustees are expected to ...

Managing people is one of the most sensitive and challenging responsibilities in school leadership. Whether you're addressing staff misconduct, safeguarding concerns, or persistent underperformance, complex HR cases in education can quickly escalate and increase legal, reputational, and operational risks to your school or trust. Disciplinary action...