Education is the cornerstone of any society, and one of its key stakeholders, especially within the UK education system, is MATs, or Multi Academy Trusts.
However, running an educational institution takes a lot of work, financial management and operational expertise. To successfully navigate the challenges and operational requirements of running a MAT, it's best to work with an experienced MAT consultancy.
What are Multi Academy Trusts?
MATs are a group of similar educational institutions that collaborate to form a trust. Many academies and institutions rely on direct state funding from the Department of Education (DfE). When an academy joins a MAT, the DfE funding is shared between all the member academies under the clause of the Academy Funding Agreement.
The MATs and its members act like a charitable organisation with a single trustee board that oversees all decision-making. The MAT board is independent of the local authority, and all the staff within the MAT institutions are employed as part of the “company”, acting in a conglomerate-type arrangement.
Individual academies have their autonomy when it comes to receiving their individual Ofsted assessment. The trustees assess the performance of each academy and uphold the overall values, and directly report to the Secretary of the State.
A MAT can have as many as 30 to 40 different academies under its umbrella.
Advantages of Joining a MAT
There are several benefits for academies who become part of a multi-academy trust. This includes:
- A larger and more experienced body of administrators (governors and trustees) work together to form strategies and common governance policies.
- Educational institutions which are part of a MAT can take advantage of the economies of scale through the DfE funding.
- Teachers as part of MAT may often get more opportunities for professional development and growth. The staff can also easily switch between academies.
- MATs greatly benefit the students overall as a group of teachers and academics work together to formulate a solution, and curriculum.
Why do Multi Academy Trusts Matter in the Education Landscape?
To understand the many benefits of MATs, let us take a look at the distinction between schools and academies.
Schools in our country receive funding and are maintained by the local authorities. Academies have no link to local authorities, receive government funding, and are run by a trust. They can also create their own curriculum and have their own term dates.
The government through collective effort since the 90s have been working towards improving the quality of education, and urging schools to become academies, and join the not-for-profit MATs.
The government has also stated that schools which are part of a strong MAT have shown constant and consistent improvement, even in schools which were once labelled as “underperforming”. A non-governmental study has shown that many of the high-performing schools in the secondary and primary levels were part of strong MATs.
Conclusion
Like everything else, MATs have their set of advantages and disadvantages, but the benefits slowly outweigh the cons. Authorities are urging more schools to be part of stronger MATs, as they often have better administration, policies, and staff. This will directly impact the performance of the student and the future of the country.
