Here are the key regional board decisions affecting multi-academy trusts in each region in England in February 2024. For more updates, visit our regional advisory boards hub.

In total, approval was given for 12 academy orders and 48 academy conversions. Three academy moves between trusts were approved.

From this month, as set out by the Department for Education last year, regional advisory boards are applying the Trust Quality Descriptions to their decision-making process.

These descriptions set out the criteria that the DfE’s Regions Group can consider when taking decisions about the creation, consolidation and growth of academy trusts.

Scroll down or click the links below to jump straight to your region.

• London
• North East
• North West
• West Midlands
• South West
• Yorkshire and the Humber
• East Midlands
• South East
• East of England
   

London

• In February the board escalated to the minister a decision over the conversion of Blessed Sacrament RC Primary School in Islington to The Cardinal Hume Academies Trust, a MAT with three secondary schools across London. Minutes show that the board discussed the financial challenges and academic outcomes of the school, as well as its low pupil numbers. The Archdiocese of Westminster’s desire to keep the primary school open, and concern about a lack of faith-based provision in the area, was also noted. Board minutes show that an escalation to the minister was instructed “given the contentious nature of the issues around the school’s future”.

North East

• The board gave its approval, with conditions, for the sponsoring of Harrowgate Hill Primary School in Darlington by Dales Academies Trust, a 15-school MAT based in the North East. The school received its second consecutive “requires Improvement” judgement from Ofsted last September. Board minutes show that several trusts were considered as potential sponsors using the High Quality Trust Framework. Mentoring and peer support for the chief financial officer was recommended by the regional director, and the order was approved with the conditions that a school resource management adviser (SRMA) is deployed and the consolidated accounts of the trust and school are provided.

North West

• The Great Schools Trust, a MAT with five schools across the North West, and Lydiate Learning Trust, which has two schools in Liverpool, received approval to take on two primary schools each - the first primaries for both trusts. Board members approved Knotty Ash Primary School in Liverpool and The Grange Primary School in Sefton to join Lydiate on the condition that the trust reviews its governance and board membership to ensure a balanced skill set that includes primary expertise. The Great Schools Trust will take on St Matthew’s CofE Primary School in Oldham and The Radclyffe School in Oldham.
• Cardishead Primary School in Salford received approval to join United Learning, the biggest MAT with 90 schools across the country. The school was placed in special measures after an Ofsted inspection in November. Board members reflected on the need for the trust to continue to demonstrate its impact.
• The board approved Benjamin Hargreaves Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School in Lancashire to be sponsored by The Learning Together Trust, which has five schools in Lancashire and Wigan, on the condition that the trust provides further details on its improvement plan for the school. The board was informed that the school, graded “inadequate” by Ofsted in May 2023, has shown “good signs of progress” following work carried out with the trust and local authority.
• Washacre Primary School in Bolton received approval to convert and join The Quill C of E Trust, which currently has two primaries in Bolton. The board discussed the trust’s plans to address low pupil numbers - Washacre currently has 159 pupils against a capacity of 210.

West Midlands

• At the February board meeting, two schools currently in single-academy trusts (SATs) were approved to join the Black Pear Trust, a six-school MAT in Worcestershire: Woodrush High School in Worcestershire and Brockhampton Primary School in Herefordshire. Woodrush will be the MAT’s first secondary. Both SATs had already been collaborating with the Black Pear Trust on projects such as developing their workforce.
• Valley Primary School in Solihull was approved to convert and join The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust, which has 33 primary academies across London, the Midlands and the East of England. Board members discussed the trust’s strong experience with primaries, and sought assurances around performance, finances and staffing.
• Community Academies Trust, which has 16 schools across Telford and Wrekin, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, will take on Millfield Primary School in Staffordshire. The board discussed how this will work with the trust’s growth plan to take on more primaries and the recommendation of an external review of governance.
• The board also approved the sponsoring of The Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School in Birmingham by St John Paul II Multi Academy trust, which has nine schools across Birmingham. A monitoring inspection of the primary in October 2023 determined that it remained “inadequate” after a full inspection in 2022. The board discussed the Archdiocese’s plans for Catholic primary schools in the area to convert and join St John Paul II.

South West

• Approval was given for six primary schools in Wiltshire - North Bradley CofE Primary School, Southwick CofE Primary School, Bellefield CofE Primary and Nursery School, St Barnabas CofE Primary School, Studley Green Primary School and The Grove Primary School - to join Equa Multi Academy Trust, a Wiltshire-based trust with two secondary schools and seven primaries.
• The regional director also gave approval, with a number of conditions, for three-school The Mead Academy Trust to merge with nine-school Equa, which will see the trust grow to 15 schools. The proposed new trust name is EquaMead Academy Trust (EMAT). Minutes show that the newly merged trust should provide termly updates, detailing how it plans to build “a shared vision and culture which is inclusive of all phases”. There is also the condition that “there needs to be at least one trustee on the board with substantial experience and expertise in SEND, disadvantage and inclusion”. The board recommended that EMAT ensures that a planned external review of governance takes place within 18 months from the date of the merger.
• Approval was given, with conditions, for Poole High School in Dorset to convert to academy status and join Twynham Learning, which has four primaries and two secondaries across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority. The school will be the trust’s first in Poole. Approval was given on the condition that the trust provides an additional two- to three-year financial plan setting out how it will manage reserves and Poole High School. The trust must also agree to a SRMA deployment “to identify any financial efficiencies”, and “recruit an additional trustee with MAT financial oversight expertise”.
• Tarka Learning Partnership will also be adding three more primary schools - West Down School, Berrynarbor CofE Primary School and South Molton Community Primary School, all located in Devon. Tarka currently has seven primary schools and one secondary school in the county.
• Approval was given for two primaries - Stoke St Michael Primary School and Croscombe CofE Primary School - to be sponsored by Wessex Learning Trust, which is a 17-school trust with 12 primaries and five secondaries across Somerset.

Yorkshire and the Humber

• Two primary schools in North and West Yorkshire have been approved to join the 12-school Leeds Diocesan Learning Trust. Sutton in Craven CofE Primary School in North Yorkshire and St Peter’s CofE Primary in Leeds have both been approved to join the trust. The board minutes say these are the final schools to join the trust before a period of consolidation.
• Anston Park Junior School in Rotherham will become an academy as part of White Woods Primary Academy Trust. The advisory board minutes say the trust has capacity to provide immediate support to the junior school, which is rated as “requires improvement” by Ofsted.
• A SAT in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is moving its school into a MAT. South Ossett Infants Academy is joining Accord Multi Academy Trust from South Ossett Infants Academy Trust.
• Special school Heritage Park School, in Sheffield, is joining TEAM Education Trust. The special school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. The DfE’s regional advisory board has recommended that a SRMA works with the trust to support the school.

East Midlands

• Approval was given for two primary schools in Nottinghamshire - Kinoulton Primary School and Wadsworth Fields Primary School - to join Equals Trust. The MAT is currently a 13-school trust with primaries across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Minutes show that the proposed conversions of the two maintained schools were “aligned with the department’s published Trust Development Statement for the area...growing high-quality trusts already operating in the area and across the East Midlands region, and creating two or three new high-quality primary trusts’’.
• The regional director also approved the rebrokering of secondary school Montsaye Academy from 10-school trust Pathfinder Schools to 90-school trust United Learning, which has schools across eight regions. Montsaye Academy was Pathfinder Schools’ only secondary, alongside nine primaries. In an Ofsted inspection in November 2023 the school was judged to be “inadequate” across all categories. A spokesperson for Pathfinder said it had invited United Learning to support Montsaye last autumn, and the school had improved. As a result, Pathfinder proposed to the DfE that a permanent switch to United Learning would enable the school to continue its trajectory towards its “full potential”. 

South East

• Approval in principle was given, with conditions, for Kings International College, a secondary school in Surrey, to join Bourne Education Trust, a 22-school trust with 13 primaries, eight secondaries and one special school across Surrey, Richmond upon Thames and Hampshire. The board noted that there is currently no primary expertise on the trust board, but the trust indicated that it will be appointing someone to the board with this educational expertise. Regional director Dame Kate Dethridge was “concerned” that no consultation had taken place and asked for this to be completed before confirming final approval.
• The regional director gave approval for secondary SAT Ousedale School in Milton Keynes to join the E-ACT trust, which has 12 secondaries, 16 primaries and one all-through school. Board members discussed E-ACT’s capacity due to the trust having nine other schools in the pipeline, and it was confirmed that the “trust is looking at adapting their central systems to aid the transfers”. Minutes also note that the board was “cautious of the transfer because this would be the trust’s first school in Milton Keynes. However, the members reflected it would be positive to develop in the area and the school would be a capacity-giver”. E-ACT CEO Tom Campbell said: “We already have three schools in Bucks and four in nearby Northants so it made sense to us. It’s a strong school with good outcomes and wanted to join E-ACT to engage with our strategy and so we could support them on their journey to outstanding.”
• Hangleton Primary School and Benfield Primary School, both in Brighton and Hove, were approved to convert to academy status and join Eko Trust, which has five primaries and two special schools across London and Suffolk. Hangleton and Benfield currently form the Orchard Partnership federation. The proposed academisations had attracted strong opposition from Brighton and Hove’s Labour-run council.
• Approval was given for AP setting College Central in Hastings to transfer from The Sabden Multi-Academy Trust in East Sussex to London South East Academy Trust, a MAT with six special schools, two APs and two primaries.

East of England

• Two MATs in St Albans, Hertfordshire, were approved to merge under the new name of Ambition Education Trust, from September. Alban Academies Trust, which consists of three secondaries and four primaries, is set to join with Atlas Multi-Academy Trust, which consists of two secondaries and a primary. A SRMA will be deployed.
• Advisers agreed that SAT Windhill Academy Trust, in Hertfordshire, should transfer to the 14-school Ivy Learning Trust, which has been asked to clarify its governance structure.
• The Sixth Form College in Colchester, Essex, and Long Road Sixth Form College, Cambridgeshire, were approved to convert and form The Sixth Form Colleges Trust.
• The only primary autism base in east Norfolk, at Edward Worlledge Ormiston Academy, will be allowed to expand to 16 places.
• Elveden Schools Trust was approved to sponsor St Edmundsbury CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School in Suffolk.
• The sixth form at Bury St Edmunds County High School, in Suffolk, will close due to declining admissions. The school is run by 35-academy Unity Schools Partnership. The board discussed uses for the empty site.
• Exning Primary School in Suffolk was approved to convert and join Suffolk Academies Trust, which runs two sixth-form colleges. And the trust was approved to merge with SENDAT, which runs five SEND and AP schools in East Anglia, to form The Eastern Education Trust. The board hopes the new trust will expand into secondary.
• A decision to merge two small rural schools in Norfolk was escalated for final ministerial approval. Both Ten Mile Bank Riverside Academy and Hilgay Riverside Academy are run by The Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust, an all-primary trust of 40 schools. Ten Mile would close, with Hilgay growing to a three-form structure.

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

  Written and compiled by Matilda Martin, Jasmine Norden, 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