Back in March we partnered with Browne Jacobson LLP to bring you The MAT Development Series in Birmingham, Exeter, Manchester, Nottingham, and London.
Following the popularity of those events, we held the Virtual MAT Development event in which our co-founder Will Jordan and Browne Jacobson Partner Nick MacKenzie discuss their thoughts on the recent DfE whitepaper as well as the present and future of the multi-academy trust landscape.
In this article you’ll find a short summary of the event to accompany the recording above.
Assessing your trust’s readiness for growth with Nick MacKenzie (Browne Jacobson LLP)
In this section, Nick covers these topics:
- An overview of points from the Schools White Paper and new Schools Bill, as well as a discussion between our two speakers about what this will mean for growing trusts.
- Nick then discusses the ins and outs of MAT growth, takeovers, and mergers.
- This includes an in-depth explanation of the legal transfer process, in addition to the cultural aspects of these transitions.
- Finally, Nick shares his top tips for mergers
- This includes an explanation of his “5 W’s of due diligence”:
- And tips for making post-merger integration work for your trust.
Working with schools to achieve sustainable growth with Will Jordan (IMP Software)
In the IMP Software section, Will discusses the following:
- A summary of findings from our 2022 MAT Growth Survey:
- 94% of trusts said they could be more effective if they centralised more.
- Will then discusses whether centralisation and GAG pooling limit growth, in addition to exploring some of the misconceptions around these practices.
- Then, Will talks about the importance of a clearly defined mission, vision, and values as a trust.
- What value do you bring to schools that join your trust?
- What is your ‘why’?
- What problems can you solve?
- How are you different?
- Will then outlines how to carry out a ‘values health check’:
- Are your values lived and breathed by your organisation?
- Does your operating model fit with your vision?
- If misalignment exists, why? Aim to understand and revisit your vision and values or develop a plan to realign them.
- Practical takeaways for trust growth:
- Define your customer
- Define your messaging
- Execute – plan / manage, pitch, and close.
Whether you made it to the events in March or are just catching up on the virtual event, we hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the MAT sector. Find us on LinkedIn or Twitter and check out the rest of our blog for more insights.
