Recommendation 10

We asked the Department about the rise in primary schools converting to academies and whether existing secondary trusts have sufficient experience and skills to take on primary schools. The Department responded that it did not have a set view on the make- up of a MAT, but that in such a scenario the secondary trust would need to demonstrate that it understood the effective running of primary schools. The Department told us that it had seen a variety of successful MAT models, with some linking together primary and secondary schools, and others choosing to specialise. The Department attributed the success of these trusts on the clear vision of the MAT.21 As such, there was no one-size- fits-all approach to the structure of a MAT, or to a make-up of a strong family of schools. It explained that further details on the next steps to achieving full academisation were expected in the Schools White Paper.22 17 Qq 31, 33 18 Q 31 19 Department for Education Schools financial benchmarking service, United Learning Trust [accessed 14 February 2022] 20 Qq 15–16 21 Q 20 22 Q 117 12 Academies Sector Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20 2 Financial performance and management of the academy estate Financial health of the academy school sector