Keystone Insights Blog
Expert advice and strategies for academic success and personal growth.
How falling birth rates are changing more than admissions numbers
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 l...
The Payroll Problems Schools Don't Talk About
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...
Should you engage a school consultant?
From caretakers to CEOs, schools are full of incredible people who feel a commitment to help educate the minds of the future. One of the common themes of people who work in schools is that we all want to be the best that we can be. Whether that's hav...
Acronyms in School Business Management
Keystone has recently taken on a new marketing executive who has come from outside of education. The first thing she said was, "It's amazing how many acronyms there are. It's like you're talking another language made entirely out of letters!" Schools...
Procurement in schools and trusts: how to buy well without getting into trouble
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...
Scaling a MAT becomes much harder when payroll and HR are fragmented
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...
Featured
How falling birth rates are changing more than admissions numbers
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...
Could your school be missing out on funding? Grants and opportunities available in 2026
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...
Processes that worked at 3 schools don’t always work at 15
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...
Featured
The Payroll Problems Schools Don't Talk About
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 ...
The Pros and Cons of GAG Pooling
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...
6 Benefits of Outsourcing Your School and MAT Finance Team
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...
What Great MAT Governance Looks Like in 2025 - A Practical Guide for Trustees
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 ...
How to Navigate Formal Disciplinary Processes in Your School or Trust
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...
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025: What’s New and What You Need to Do
The Department for Education (DfE) has released the 2025 draft of the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance, which comes into effect on 1 September 2025. This statutory document is essential reading for all schools, colleges, and education providers in England. While this year's update is described as containing only te...
MAT Finance Benchmarking: What the Top 10% of Trusts Are Doing Differently
We all recognise that benchmarking matters, but without action, it's just numbers on a page. The top-performing MATs—the ones consistently in that top 10%—don't treat benchmarking as a tick-box exercise. They use it to shape strategic decisions and drive meaningful change. In our recent blog, Benchmarking Financial Health: A Key Tool in Due Diligen...
Academy Trust Handbook 2025 — What You Need to Know
The Academy Trust Handbook 2025 has now been published. While there are no major policy overhauls, several key updates provide important clarity for trust leaders. This summary sets out what has changed and what school trusts need to be aware of from 1 September 2025. Summary of Changes to the 2025 Academy Trust Handbook No significant policy shift...
Is Internal Scrutiny Adding Real Value to Your Academy Trust?
Internal scrutiny is usually seen as a mere compliance exercise, but it's more than a regulatory obligation. These education audits have a strategic intent, with the ability to drive improvement, accountability, and value for money across your academy trust's operations. Ideally, when done right, internal scrutiny should improve the governance, ope...
Benchmarking Financial Health: A Key Tool in Due Diligence for Schools and Trusts
As schools and trusts grow and undergo changes, financial due diligence has become an invaluable exercise. Especially when budgets are tight, knowing how your school or trust stacks up financially is essential. Benchmarking is an impactful tool, providing leaders and governors with a clearer picture of how money is being spent, what is working, and...
