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The 2024-25 academic year brings unique challenges for schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) as they adapt to uncertainty around future growth plans. For trust leaders, questions surrounding how achievable sustainable trust growth is have dominated conversations, particularly as the emphasis on trust growth slows.
We explore the key issues that our customers raise when looking to create and implement effective growth strategies.
Why strategic planning contributes to sustainable growth
Sustainable growth isn’t just about expanding your Trust by adding schools to your existing structure. Each new conversion or merger brings challenges, from maintaining educational standards to managing financial and operational strain.
Strategic planning allows trusts to assess their readiness for growth, ensuring resources are aligned with educational objectives. With a clear strategy, MATs can minimise operational disruption, safeguard teaching quality, and build resilience.
Growth planning and management
Effective growth requires a delicate balance between scale and local relevance, with careful consideration given to geographical reach and resource allocation. By thoroughly analysing your potential growth areas, you’ll be well-informed about the risks and opportunities you need to consider in your strategic planning.
Internally, we know that many MATs face significant 'breakpoints' during rapid growth periods, often facing the dilemma of needing to grow their central trust structure without having the necessary resources in place. This risks losing momentum and growth opportunities due to limited resources and capacity.
We suggest you start with some quick wins. Here are our top tips for considering and preparing for growth:
Integrate processes and policies
Standardised practices across trust schools have been proven to increase efficiency, leading to improved educational standards during times of growth. Start with a review of those areas that affect all schools to introduce a unified approach, improving current practices within your schools and setting clear expectations for those looking to join.
Focus on trust-wide resource allocation
Seek opportunities to maximise the impact of available resource across your Trust by combining non-teaching functions or realigning areas of non-staff spend, for example by centralising estate management policies, plans and services, or collating and improving benchmarking data usage for informed decision-making and reporting. Collating trust data in one place can identify efficiencies and quickly highlight improved practices.
Develop clear financial management processes
How trusts manage funding and budgeting processes across their schools can be a bone of contention for some schools looking to join a MAT. Developing the right budgeting and financial planning frameworks for needs-based resource allocation will ensure transparency and fair distribution of resources across the trust, while maintaining focus on the trust's core mission of improving educational outcomes.
Building meaningful relationships
Often the most undervalued but most important aspect of a growth strategy is the time and effort needed to build trusted relationships during any period of change. Not only does this apply to relationships with senior leaders and governors of potential new schools or trusts, but also with parents, communities and staff. Having a structured approach to engagement is likely to ensure strategic conversations are strongly embedded and future partnerships develop organically.
Do your due diligence
Strategic due diligence forms the foundation of successful academy trust growth. Many schools now consider themselves financially vulnerable, with 3 in 4 schools admitting to having used reserves to cover costs in the past year. Ensure these types of risk are discussed and evaluated at the earliest opportunity to avoid difficult conversations and a breakdown in relationships at a later stage. Your checklist for due diligence should include:
- A comprehensive financial health assessment
- An in-depth review of HR policies, procedures, staffing details and agreements
- Review of externally procured services and contracts
- Evidence of proactive estates management and condition identification.
Growth that lasts
The coming academic year presents significant opportunities alongside its challenges.
Success often depends on carefully balancing ambitious expansion goals with practical operational capabilities. By focusing on resource allocation, streamlined processes, transparent communication, and strong partnerships, MATs can achieve sustainable expansion without compromising their core mission.
Sustainable growth takes time and planning with innovative approaches, cross-sector collaboration, and a strategic balance between immediate needs and long-term objectives. Proactive engagement with these challenges and focused strategic planning will stand as the bedrock of sustainable growth for academy trusts.
Remember that sustainable growth comes from methodical planning rather than rapid expansion. Academy trusts that invest time in developing comprehensive strategies position themselves for long-term success and positive impact that benefits pupils, staff, and communities alike.
