The growth of a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) is an exciting yet challenging journey. As more schools join the trust, the complexity of operations increases, presenting new risks and challenges.  Risks, Rewards & Realism Adding more schools to a trust brings practical and cultural challenges. The volume of routine 'day to day' activities goes ...

Introduction: Selecting the appropriate internal scrutiny partner is the crucial first step in ensuring that your school or trust maximizes the benefits of internal scrutiny. In accordance with the guidelines set out in the Academy Trust Handbook, your internal scrutiny process should encompass a wide range of financial and non-financial controls, ...

 Internal scrutiny is a powerful tool for trust improvement, but only if you read the reports and act on the recommendations made. Once you've had your report from your internal scrutiny partner, it's time to take a look at what they found. It might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised how often this step gets skipped! According to the Academ...

Checking social media and online presence as part of safer recruitment practices was introduced as a 'should' in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022, and as we all know, with KCSIE, a 'should' is really an instruction to 'go and do'. The process itself is quite simple, but it can be difficult to know where to start when 'online' is such a broad...

The role of HR in the expansion of MATs is multifaceted and central to long-term success. As MATs look to expand, strategic and operational HR practices can help or hinder both the attraction of schools to the trust and the ease with which they convert and are assimilated into trust practices. What is strategic HR, and why should expanding MATs car...

With today's ever-tightening budgets, schools face the challenging task of delivering exceptional education without stretching resources too thin. HR isn't something that automatically springs to mind when looking for cost savings, but effective practices can save both time and money. Let's explore how strategic HR practices can help save costs. Re...

The latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) has been published and comes into force on 1 September 2023. The changes made in KCSIE 2023 are mainly clarifications on existing guidance – the key change that jumps out is around the implementation of the DfE's 'Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges' (the ...

So, the long-awaited announcement is finally here! After painful strikes and heated debates, the government has given its full consent to the STRB's recommendations. What's in it for the teachers? A solid 6.5% pay hike. And the best part? It's not just a reshuffling of old funds but an infusion of fresh money that's fully backed. This is defin...

The Academy Trust Handbook requires all trusts to have a programme of internal scrutiny to provide independent assurance to the board that its financial and non-financial controls and risk management procedures are operating effectively. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that internal assurance in a trust needs to focus mainly on expendit...

"If you're don't like change, you'll like irrelevance even less." So goes a quote I read several years ago and became one of those screenshots that I keep on my phone. Brutal, but true. And as school business management continues on its inexorable curve of seemingly getting harder, it's ever more important that we can find creative ways of approach...

 As part of the Schools White Paper published nearly 12 months ago, the Government set out it's plan to have to have all schools "in a strong multi-academy trust or with plans to join or form one" within the next eight years. Whilst recent news has talked about this target likely to be missed, the move to greater academisation appears one way....

Keystone Knowledge recently partnered with OWLS Multi-Academy Trust to conduct due diligence on a new school joining the MAT.  Read about it here. Download PDF File Here

With the recent December 31st deadline to submit details of your internal scrutiny to the DfE (Department for Education), you may feel that internal scrutiny is not your favourite subject amongst the myriad of daily and monthly things to consider when running a school or trust. But what if you could change the narrative around internal scrutiny and...

The new Keeping Children Safe In Education report was released earlier this year. Although there weren't any major changes to the report, there were some important additions. Our experts have gone through the updates to bring you this digest. Child-on-child sexual violence Sadly, child-on-child sexual violence and harassment are stil...

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 having books that balance, having wonderful staff who facilitate great teaching or having clean buildin...

Nobody wants to fall prey to a phishing scam, let alone the disruption and issues they can cause to your school or trust. There's a good reason that such scams will continue, though: They are successful enough for cybercriminals to make massive profits. Phishing scams have been around practically since the inception of the Internet, and they will n...

Schools consider how budgets will stretch budgets this year In August, schools considered three or four-day weeks as a way to stay within budget in the face of massive pressures in the wake of unfunded staff pay increases and rising energy costs. Schools also considered shortening the school day and reducing the number of clubs and enrichment oppor...

Social media is something we can't live without, but it's important to sure that our staff and students use it responsibly. Our free social media template will set out how everyone can use social media safely.  Click below to download your free copy.   Keystone-Free-Social-Media-Policy 49 kb Download Files

Retainers can be a fantastic way to get support and advice from professional experts – without the cost of their salaries. Here are four reasons you should consider a retainer this coming school year. The best (and sometimes not so best!) thing about working in education is that no two days are the same. There is always a new project to oversee or ...

 In paragraph 215 of the new KCSIE guidelines, which came into effect on 1st September, schools and trusts carry out an "online search (including social media) as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates." Conducting in conjunction with adequate DBS checks, a search should only be used to find any "incidents or issues" involvi...