Here are the key Regions Group decisions affecting multi-academy trusts across England in the pre- and post-general election period. For more updates, visit our regional advisory boards hub.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak announced a snap general election in May, triggering purdah - the period ahead of an election when officials are supposed to observe discretion over making new announcements or decisions that could influence voters.

Advisory board meetings were not held in this period, but the Regions Group continued to make decisions on aspects of the MAT system that were described by the Department for Education as “essential business”.

Meetings were also not held in the post-election period of July and August, when again the Regions Group made decisions outside of advisory board meetings.

Concern had been raised that the lack of meetings would leave trusts and schools “in limbo”, and would reduce transparency regarding matters of “great importance and public interest”.

Summaries of the decisions made during these periods are below.

PRE-ELECTION

London

• De Bohun Primary School in Enfield was given approval to convert to academy status and join the Ivy Learning Trust, which has 16 primaries across London and the East of England.
   
• Notre Dame Catholic Primary School in Greenwich was approved to join the South East London Catholic Academy Trust (SELCAT) - a MAT with six primaries and four secondaries.
   
• The Regions Group also gave approval for the transfer of the Queensmill Trust’s schools to Ormiston Academies Trust - a nationwide MAT with 42 schools. The Queensmill Trust currently includes two special schools (Queensmill School and Kensington Queensmill School) in London.
   
• Approval was also given for 10 significant changes in the period, including a change to lower-age limits, the addition of a special educational needs unit and the expansion of nursery provision.
   

North East

• Two primary schools in County Durham - Hunwick Primary School and Woodhouse Community Primary School - were given the green light to join Advance Learning Partnership, which has nine secondaries and 10 primaries in the North East.
   
• Prince Bishop Community Primary School, also in County Durham, was given approval to join Lingfield Education Trust, which has 19 primaries in the North East.
   
• Beech Grove Primary School in Middlesbrough was approved to join The Legacy Learning Trust - a MAT with five primaries and one secondary in the North East - on the condition that an SRMA deployment is undertaken and the trust provides monthly management accounts to the Education and Skills Funding Agency for six months.
   
• Clavering Primary School in Hartlepool has joined EXTOL Academy Trust, which now has six primaries and one special school across the region.
   
• Three schools within The Enquire Learning Trust were given approval to add a two-year-old provision, lowering the age range from 3-11 to 2-11.
   

South East

• Three primaries - St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School and St Thomas A Becket Catholic Primary School in East Sussex, and St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School in Littlehampton - were approved to join Bosco Catholic Education Trust, which has eight primaries and two secondaries across the region.
   
• Two primaries from the Merevalley Federation, the Merebrook Infant School and Emerson Valley Junior School in Milton Keynes, were approved to join 5 Dimensions Trust - a MAT with two secondaries and a primary in Milton Keynes.
   
• No decision was made on a proposed merger between Bishop Otter Academy Trust, a MAT with one school in West Sussex, and the Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust, which has 16 schools. Minutes note that no decision was made “due to pre-election guidance”.
   

North West

• The regional director gave approval for 10 primary schools to convert and join Emmaus Catholic Academy Trust before the election. The trust currently has 12 schools across secondary and primary phases in the North West. The schools were:
  
  •  Ravensfield Primary School
  •  St Patrick’s RC Primary School
  •  St Christopher’s RC Primary School
  •  St Anne’s RC Primary School
  •  St Dunstan’s RC Primary School
  •  St Margaret Mary’s RC Primary School
  •  St Patrick’s RC Primary School
  •  St Edmund’s RC Primary School
  •  St Mary’s RC Primary School
  •  St Winifred’s Roman Catholic Primary School
  •  Our Lady of the Rosary RC Primary School
   
• Meanwhile, four schools were approved with one condition to convert and join the People’s Learning Trust, which currently has one alternative provision setting in Liverpool. The schools converting included primaries Oldfield Primary School, Bidston Avenue Primary School and Meadow Community Primary School, and pupil referral unit The Bridge Short Stay School. The decision was made on the condition the trust provides monthly management accounts until further notice.
   
• Three academies received approval to change trust. Secondary Waterhead Academy in Oldham will move from South Pennine Academies to E-Act; primary Platt Bridge Community School in Wigan from Community First Academy Trust to Achievement Through Collaboration; and Hermitage Primary School in Cheshire East from the Hermitage Trust to Focus Academy Trust.
   

West Midlands

• The pre-election period saw five Staffordshire schools approved to convert and join Codsall Multi-Academy Trust, which currently has two primaries and a middle school in Staffordshire. The schools were: Bilbrook CofE Middle School, Codsall Community High School, Lane Green First School, Perton Middle School, and St Chad’s CofE First School.
   
• Meanwhile, Staffordshire primaries Tower View Primary School, River View Primary and Nursery School and Christ Church Primary School were approved to convert and join Endeavour Multi-Academy Trust. These will be the trust’s first primaries - it currently has four special schools in Staffordshire.
   
• Wigmore School Academy Trust’s two schools in Herefordshire - Wigmore Primary School and secondary Wigmore School - received approval to move to Heart of Mercia Multi-Academy Trust. This will be the trust’s first primary - it currently has two secondaries and three 16-19 schools across the West Midlands.
   

Yorkshire and the Humber

• Trusts in the region have been given the approval to open eight new specialist provision bases or units in mainstreams.
   
• In Hull, Victoria Dock Primary School, Sirius Academy North, The Boulevard Academy, Thorpepark Academy and Dorchester Primary School have all had significant decisions to establish special educational needs units. And Biggin Hill is to establish a resourced provision.
   
• In the East Riding, Howden School and Croxby Primary School, both run by The Consortium Academy Trust, have been approved to create new special educational needs provision, creating 12 places across the two schools.
   
• Wansbeck Primary School in Hull, run by the Collaborative Academy Trust has had the redesignation of resourced provision into a SEND unit and an increase in overall numbers (from 10 to 20) approved.
   
• During the pre-election period, Batley Academy Trust was approved to take on two schools: Hyrstmount Juniors in Kirklees and Purlwell Infants and Nursery.
   
• Peak Edge Academy Trust was given approval to take on two schools in Sheffield that have converted to academy status: Abbey Lane Primary School and Dobcroft Infant School.
   

East of England

• Saint Vincent De Paul Catholic Primary School, in Hertfordshire, was approved to convert and join the 11-school Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust.
   
• Ickworth Park Primary School in Suffolk will convert and join All Saints School’s Trust, which runs 14 primaries in the county, on condition of a school resource management adviser (SRMA) deployment.
   
• Kinsale Infant School in Norfolk will convert and join 11-school The Wensum Trust.
   
• St John Fisher Catholic High School in Peterborough is to convert and join St John the Baptist Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 11 academies in East Anglia and Peterborough.
   
• Great Barford CofE Primary Academy in Bedfordshire, the only school run by Unity Church of England Multi Academy Trust, is moving to Diocese of St Albans Multi-Academy Trust, which now runs 14 academies across Bedfordshire.
   
• Three primaries from different trusts will lower their age ranges to two, three and four years old.
   
• Parkside Community College in Cambridgeshire, part of United Learning Trust, and Thurstable School Sports College and Sixth Form Centre, a single-academy trust in Essex, will close their sixth forms.
   
• Three schools will open SEND units or satellite AP provision.
   

POST-ELECTION

South East

• Approval was given for 18 significant changes in the region in July and August - 11 of which were age-range changes. Four involved adding a SEND unit or resourced provision.
   

North East

• Approval was given for 16 significant changes in the region, including adding a nursery provision, lowering the age range to add two-year-old provision, adding a SEND unit and increasing the number of pupil places within an existing SEND unit or resourced provision.
   
• Approval was given for St Joseph’s Catholic Junior School Birtley and St Joseph’s Catholic Infant School Birtley - both in the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust - to amalgamate.
   

West Midlands

• All 14 decisions approved post-election were significant changes. These included single-academy trust King Edward VI School in Warwickshire retrospectively increasing capacity from 567 to 850 places, and Oak Wood Secondary School in Warwickshire acquiring a satellite site.
   
• Two significant change decisions were approved for all-through academy King Solomon International Business School: to remove its sixth-form provision and to change the religious authority of the school to a “newly formed religious order”. The religious ethos of the school will not change.
   

Yorkshire and the Humber

• Brigantia Learning Trust has had approval to operate three new sites to run alternative provision for pupils at Hinde House 2-16 Academy in Sheffield. This will increase the number of pupils accessing the off-site provision to 36.
   
• Fulford School, a secondary in the South York Multi Academy Trust, has been approved to extend its provision from 1,649 pupil places to 1,899.
   
• Humberston Park Special School in Lincolnshire has had approval to extend its pupil roll by 35 places - increasing capacity from 105 to 140.
   

South West

• Ten academies from The Blue Kite Academy Trust (which had 14 schools across Wiltshire) are transferring to the Diocese of Bristol Academies Trust (13 schools in Bristol).
   
• Acorn Education Trust (19 schools in Wiltshire) is gaining three new schools: Matravers School, Chapmanslade CofE Primary School and Pewsey Vale School (previously a single-academy trust of the same name). The board approved it on the condition that there be a minimum of one trustee on the board with experience and expertise in SEND, inclusion and disadvantage.
   
• Down Ampney CofE Primary School and Sherborne CofE Primary School will both be voluntarily converting to join Corinium Education Trust (four schools in Cirencester and South Cotswolds).
   
• There were several significant changes approved. Exeter House Special School (part of Brunel Academies Trust, which has eight academies in Swindon) will be adding a 24-place early years satellite site for children with complex needs at Pembroke Park School on a temporary basis.
   
• Many of the pre-election changes also included expansions into pre-school provision. For example, Mevagissey Community Primary School (Cornwall Education Learning Trust, 16 schools) will be changing its age range from 4-11 to 2-11.
   

East Midlands

• Redhill Academy Trust (16 schools in and around Nottingham) is gaining three new primary schools that have voluntarily converted to join the trust.
   
• Higham Ferrers Junior School and Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School in North Northamptonshire are voluntarily converting to join Learning for Life Education Trust (three schools in Cumbria).
   
• Many of the pre-election changes were significant changes. These included Oadby, Wigston and Leicestershire Schools Academy Trust (nine schools in Leicester) ceasing to run a 10-place SEND unit at Hinckley Parks Primary School from January next year.
   
• Many of the pre-election changes also included expansion of nursery provision. For instance, Kirkby la Thorpe Church of England Primary Academy (a single-academy trust in Lincolnshire) will be increasing its age range from 4-11 to 3-11, which will allow the school to open an eight-place pre-school.
   

East of England

• All 17 decisions related to significant changes.
   
• Six decisions involved primaries changing their age ranges - mainly to below age 4. In one case, the age range would be raised from 2-11 to 3-11. In another example at Gateway Primary Free School in Grays, Essex, the academy was approved to drop the youngest age from 3 years to 9 months.
   
• Five schools are to add a SEND unit, alternative resource provision or a satellite site to their alternative resource provision.
   

Note: Published regional advisory board minutes do not contain full details of the school context.

Written and compiled by Matilda Martin, Jasmine Norden, Cerys Turner, John Roberts and Charlotte Santry

Find our interactive map of England’s multi-academy trusts by clicking here, where you will also find links to all of our MAT Tracker content