School collaboration – are mega MATs the future?

Jen Marley and Liz Brownsell look at the potential creation of “mega multi-academy trusts”.

It was reported recently that the charity Catch22 has decided to transfer all seven of its schools to other organisations and wind up its multi-academy trust (MAT). Catch22 was approved by the Department for Education (the Department) as an Academy Sponsor back in 2014. It has seven academies in its MAT and worked with academies that targeted high-risk children, including those who were at risk of being excluded from mainstream schools, had special educational needs, or social emotional and/or mental health needs. However, following a string of ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ ratings for its schools from Ofsted, the charity has decided to re-broker all of its schools and wind up the MAT.

Whilst the demise of the Catch22 MAT is no doubt disappointing for the charity, it is not alone in deciding that the best way forward is to transfer its schools to other MATs. In our practice here at Birketts we advise a large number of MATs both in relation to the transfer of individual schools between MATs and the re-brokering of all schools in a MAT.

Transfers to and between MATs

One of the targets included in the Government’s March 2022 schools white paper, Opportunity for All, was that by 2030 all schools will be in a strong multi-academy trust (MAT). The paper also included an expectation that most MATs would work towards having at least 10 schools or 7,500 pupils, and a proposal that would allow local authorities to establish MATs. The Government later quietly dropped the target to have all schools in a MAT by 2030 and the proposal to allow local authorities to establish MATs. There continues to be a large number of small MATs and single academy trusts operating, as well as a large number of (particularly primary) schools that have not yet converted to an Academy.

Department for Education figures published in summer 2022 reported that academy school transfers between MATs were at a six-year low. However, in September 2022, a new definition of “coasting schools” was introduced to include any maintained or academy school that has received two or more below Good Ofsted reports. Where a school is found to be coasting, Regional Directors are able to take steps to require the school to either convert to become an academy (if they are currently a maintained school) or to transfer to another MAT (if they are currently an academy). It remains to be seen whether official figures will show the pace of academy school transfers increasing but anecdotally, in our practice, we have seen a significant increase in academy school transfers in the past year, both in terms of single school transfers between MATs, and in terms of transferring the entire undertaking of a MAT.

There are a myriad of reasons why a MAT may be transferring one or more of its schools to another MAT. The decision to transfer a school can be complex and multi-faceted and is not taken lightly by anyone involved.

Speaking to some of our academy clients, there is a feeling that naturally, COVID-19 will have significantly impacted on the figures published in 2022. However, it is also possible that a number of MATs grew quickly prior to the pandemic and needed time to re-evaluate their internal structure, people and policies before being ready to move forward with further growth and expansion. There is also the need for MATs to be confident that the right level of funding is available to support them in their growth plans before they push forward with moving more schools into the MAT.

In relation to MAT growth by way of conversion of maintained schools, it was reported recently that for schools that have not yet converted to an academy, obtaining information on MATs is a significant barrier to the process. The Centre for Policy Studies published a report that suggests greater transparency around how MATs operate, particularly in relation to how much is spent on central teams and how much autonomy each school has, could help Headteachers to identify which MAT(s) they want to discuss potentially joining. This in turn may help to further support MAT growth in the future.

Other options for collaboration?

Umbrella trusts

Umbrella trusts are a charitable vehicle established to provide support and services to schools (both academies and non-academies).

We recently wrote to the Regional Director for the East of England to ask for clarification on the Department for Education’s position in relation to umbrella trusts, and in particular whether the Department supports schools (academies or maintained schools) in becoming members of umbrella trusts as a vehicle for collaboration. Whilst the response we received did not say that new umbrella trusts cannot be formed or that schools would not be able to join an umbrella trust, it was clear that the Department’s strong preference is for school collaboration to take place within the governance structure of a MAT.

Federation

Federation is a mechanism by which schools can federate under one governing body. Whilst this is an option for all categories of maintained schools (excluding pupil referral units), academies are not allowed to federate. Whilst the Department’s guidance on this topic acknowledges that maintained schools can federate, it immediately goes on to say that any schools thinking of federating will be encouraged by the Department to explore joining a MAT as the vehicle for collaboration.

Going forward

Whilst the Department for Education has dropped the target to have all maintained schools in a MAT by 2030, the direction of travel is still very much towards moving schools into MATs and for transfers between MATs to allow existing strong MATs to continue to consolidate and grow. This may very well ultimately lead to the creation of a class of mega MATs who are responsible for a large number of schools. Whether a school transfer is initiated by the MAT, the school or the Department for Education, all of the parties involved need to carefully consider where the school is moving to and whether the new MAT will be a good fit that will lead to a long-term stable future for the school.

Jen Marley is a senior associate and Liz Brownsell is a partner at Birketts.