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 play a key role in maintaining high standards of education in all schools. This makes good MAT governance more important than ever, especially if you're keen to keep up with the rapid changes that the education sector developments bring.

But effective governance in schools isn't as straightforward as it seems. When multiple entities, layers of accountability, and varying performance levels are involved, good governance in education can be a complex and fragmented process.

What your MAT needs are clear governance structures, open communication, and strong relationships between departments to set the benchmark for MAT governance in 2025. With our consultancy support, you can achieve just that.

In this guide, we're sharing how you can develop great governance for your MAT. 

Setting a Clear Strategic Direction

Good governance in education transforms into great governance when you have a clear purpose and a strategic plan to achieve it.

Aligning Governance with Educational Outcomes

Your school's trustees and directors need to see beyond the numbers in the performance dashboards. A big part of their focus should be on checking whether or not the actions being taken are making a real difference. They should also be making decisions with intention, taking into account the long-term effects that these can have on pupils.

Every decision made by your team should reflect on one question: Does this decision help us deliver better education?

Strategic Plans vs Operational Delivery

Good governance is more than just good management. While trustees are there to define the strategy, it's up to the executive management to deliver. This distinction needs to be clear.

For example, your board needs to agree on the desirable outcomes for curriculum strategy, but your executives need to write the curriculum.

A strategic plan focuses on:

• Aligning vision across schools in your trust
• Setting measurable standards for success
• Delegating responsibilities and defining deliverable timelines

Key Financial Questions Trustees Should Ask

Great governance is also about having sound judgement when it comes to creating budgets, making strategic financial decisions, and reviewing financial reports.

What Financial Information Should Trustees Receive Regularly?

Your school's trustees should receive the following financial information:

• In-year revenue and expenditure
• Forecasted year-end positions
• Variance analysis against the budget
• Capital spending updates
• Reserves and cash flow status

We recommend reviewing this information monthly for Finance Committees, and termly for full board meetings. Make sure these reports summarise key points in plain language and highlight core financial risks.

How Can Trustees Challenge Financial Decisions Effectively?

Good MAT governance is also about asking the right questions, without being confrontational. Your trustees should ask a few key questions to their CFOs and senior leaders:

• What assumptions support this forecast?
• How will X amount of spending line up with our trust's goals?
• What are the opportunity costs of this decision?

The aim here is to allow CFOs and senior MAT leaders to justify their decisions early on and build an environment of accountability and transparency.

What Role Do Trustees Play in Budget Setting and Monitoring?

Your school or academy's trustees also need to make sure the MAT budget takes the MAT's priorities into account, including investments in curriculum, developing staff, and initiatives for pupil well-being and inclusion.

Key actions to take include:

• Reviewing draft budgets early (ideally March–April)
• Approving final budgets before the end of the academic year
• Tracking variances and scrutinising overspends or surpluses
• Assessing whether financial decisions support the wider trust strategy

Managing Risk Proactively

Managing risk proactively involves anticipating rather than reacting to risks, which can help support effective governance in schools or trusts.

Identify Emerging Risks Before They Escalate

The earlier your trustees identify a risk, the quicker it can be resolved. Some measures to take include:

• Observing trends in staff absence, pupil behaviour, or parental complaints
• Regularly reviewing safeguarding logs and health and safety reports
• Keeping up with industry policy changes and funding shifts

Key MAT Processes to Monitor Ongoing Risks

Having a risk register is essential when you're looking to identify and monitor ongoing risks. This register needs to be updated at least termly, with clear escalation processes and an outline of how to escalate matters to the local academy boards and the central board.Internal audits and assurance reports are a must-have for any school or academy to understand the impact and effect of its risk management measures.

Using Risk Registers Effectively in Board Meetings

You'll obviously get the biggest benefit from the risk register when you use it, not just create it.

That means your team should be taking action as necessary, whether that's discussing red or amber risks, tracking progress on mitigation actions, or holding team members accountable for unresolved or recurring issues. 

Moving from Reactive to Proactive Risk Management

Having good foresight is the foundation of good governance in education. Your trustees need to invest time and effort in scenario planning and annual risk workshops. Any decisions they make should only be finalised after taking risks into account.

Take Your MAT Governance Efforts Up a Notch

In 2025, great MAT governance is all about being strategic, informed, and committed to the overall success of your MAT and your pupils. Only when your directors and board of trustees fulfil responsibilities and take initiative can they continually contribute towards your MAT's positive future.

At Keystone Knowledge, we understand what's involved in making your existing good governance efforts into something highly effective and long-lasting. We're here to guide your trustees and directors in gaining clarity on compliance, performance, and the effectiveness of their involvement in trust governance.

Our education experts have all held leadership positions and can proactively support your MAT with all that it needs for continued success and good governance in education.

Contact us today to book a consultation with our MAT governance experts.