MAT Governance: What Multi-Academy Trusts Need to Get Right

MAT governance works best when every person understands both the trust-wide purpose and the local academy context. Trustees retain key legal and strategic responsibilities, while local governing bodies or committees may carry clearly delegated roles. A written structure, reliable reporting and a tested scheme of delegation help avoid duplicated effort and unclear decisions.

This guide introduces the main building blocks for academy trust governance. It is a governance-readiness resource, not a substitute for professional guidance. Trust leaders and governors should use their funding agreement, articles of association, the Academies Financial Handbook and current DfE guidance to confirm the duties that apply.

Understand the trust board and local role distinction

The trust board is the accountable body for the academies in the trust. It sets the overall direction, holds executive leaders to account and maintains oversight of educational performance, safeguarding, risk and finances. The board cannot transfer its ultimate accountability, even where it delegates functions.

A local governing body, local committee or academy council can provide local knowledge, challenge and assurance. Its role should support the trust's model rather than mirror the trust board by default. Clear local reporting gives trustees sight of academy-level performance, safeguarding oversight, community context and emerging risks.

Avoid relying on job titles alone. The scheme of delegation should describe the decision, the person or body responsible, any approval threshold, reporting route and review point. When a school joins the trust or leadership changes, revisit the document and explain the model to everyone who needs to use it.

Make the scheme of delegation work in practice

A scheme of delegation is not simply an organisation chart. It is the operating map for governance: what trustees retain, what the CEO or executive team can decide, and what is delegated to local governing bodies or academy leaders. It should align with the articles, committee terms of reference and financial delegation framework.

Trustees commonly retain matters such as strategic direction, trust-wide policy, executive appointment and performance oversight, major financial decisions, risk framework and decisions reserved by law or the trust's governance documents. Local bodies may be delegated monitoring, local stakeholder engagement, academy-level challenge and other responsibilities that the trust defines.

Test the scheme with real decisions. Ask who approves a policy, who reviews a safeguarding concern trend, who holds the headteacher to account and who signs off a budget variation. If the answer differs between people, the trust has a possible governance gap that needs clarification and a recorded decision.

Meet ESFA and DfE accountability expectations

Academy trusts receive public funding through their funding agreements and work within the Academy Trust Handbook framework. Trustees should ensure that governance information, financial controls and reporting arrangements are current and understood. The trust's published governance arrangements should match the way decisions are actually made.

The accounting officer has an important personal role in ensuring that the trust meets its obligations and uses resources appropriately. That role works alongside, not instead of, trustee oversight. Strong governance gives the accounting officer access to challenge, clear escalation routes and a reliable audit trail for significant decisions.

Use a board calendar to map recurring reports, policy reviews, declarations of interests, accounts, budget oversight and committee business. Record when evidence was received, what challenge was raised and what action followed. A consistent record helps trustees see whether assurance is timely, rather than merely presented at the end of the year.

Separate trust-level financial oversight from local visibility

Financial oversight is a trust-board responsibility, even where an academy has a local budget holder or a finance-focused local committee. Trustees need a clear view of financial position, controls, reserves, related-party matters, procurement risks and the performance of each academy. Trust-wide reporting should make material variance and intervention needs visible.

Local governing bodies can add valuable context. They may review how a school's plan, staffing choices or premises needs affect pupils and delivery, within their delegated remit. They should know what information they receive, what they challenge and when an issue must be escalated to the trust board or executive team.

SFVS applies only to maintained schools. It does not apply to academy trusts. Academy trusts are subject to the Academies Financial Handbook instead, so their finance assurance should follow the trust's financial delegation, control framework, accounts timetable and ESFA requirements.

Keep safeguarding and performance oversight connected

Safeguarding remains a core governance responsibility across the trust and at each academy. The trust board needs a consistent view of safeguarding oversight, material risks, learning from concerns and assurance that local arrangements are working. A local safeguarding link governor or equivalent local role can provide focused scrutiny within the delegated model.

Performance reporting should be concise enough to support challenge, but detailed enough to show differences between academies. Combine trust-wide trends with academy-level context. This prevents a strong overall picture from masking a local issue that needs support, intervention or a revised plan.

Use consistent reporting definitions, dates and escalation thresholds. When the trust accepts a risk or delays an action, minute the rationale and next review date. The result is a stronger scrutiny trail for trustees, local governors and executive leaders.

Prepare for inspection conversations at trust and academy level

Ofsted inspects individual schools, not the trust itself. However, inspectors may need to understand how the trust is governed when they inspect an academy. They may consider the trust board's strategic role, the way leaders are held to account and how governance arrangements support the academy's improvement.

Keep a short, current governance pack for each academy. It can include the scheme of delegation, local terms of reference, membership, meeting cycle, reporting routes, key decisions and relevant trust contacts. The pack should explain the structure clearly without creating a separate, conflicting version of trust policy.

Inspectors may ask how governance operates in practice at both trust and academy level. The strongest answer is evidence: current documents, clear meeting records, challenge in minutes, follow-up actions and a shared view of accountability. Use a governance calendar, a governor development plan and a school governance risk register to maintain that discipline.

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