Leading governance: development for MAT trustees

This new programme of workshops for multi academy trust trustees offers a practical grounding in how effective governance can work in MATs and how to fulfil your role to make a positive impact.

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At a glance

This new programme of workshops for multi academy trust trustees offers a practical grounding in how effective governance can work in MATs and how to fulfil your role to make a positive impact.

Eight workshops

Two hours each

Flexible delivery

All workshops take place online and in the evening

Tailored learning

Complete the whole programme or select individual workshops

Subject-specific sessions

Select individual workshops to fill any gaps in expertise

Costs

NGA membership offers you substantial savings and access to much more, whether you purchase a full programme or individual workshops.

Please note: prices may be subject to change

Full Programme

£ 515

For members

Browse upcoming cohorts

Individual workshops

for members

£ 125

Browse upcoming sessions

Full Programme

£ 780

for non-members

Browse upcoming cohorts

Individual workshops

for non-members

£ 150

Browse upcoming sessions

About the programme

Who is the programme for?

Existing MAT trustees seeking to refresh their knowledge
New or soon-to-be appointed trustees wanting to build their understanding
MAT CEOs and other trust leaders seeking insights into good MAT governance

What are the benefits?

This is a MAT-specific programme which draws on NGA’s extensive knowledge and experience of MAT governance. It explores the expectations of trustees, CEOs and other trust leaders to help your board improve governance in tandem with the members of the wider team.

Practical and interactive sessions highlight current challenges faced by MATs and deal with important themes such as staying strategic, ethical governance, stakeholder engagement, and organisational growth.

From specific governance tips relevant to your MAT to improving the quality of education in your schools, the programme will help you to enhance your practice and build upon your board’s ongoing professional development.

By the end of the programme, you will be able to make confident contributions to your MAT and will have a thorough understanding of what good MAT governance looks like in essential areas of regulation and practice.

How will you learn? 

The Development for MAT Trustees programme is led by experienced facilitators with expertise in MAT governance.
Small group workshops allow you to work with other MAT trustees.
Workshops refer to key legal and guidance sources and provide useful templates to promote good governance practice.
You can choose to complete the whole programme or select individual workshops to fill any gaps in expertise.
For the convenience of participants, all workshops are delivered online and in the evening.
A bespoke programme can be commissioned by a MAT for its own trustees.

Choose your learning option

Development for MAT trustees programme

take the full Development for MAT trustees programme
book the whole programme and assign different members of your trust board to the most appropriate workshop for their governance role
choose your cohort and book

Individual workshops

select individual workshops to fill gaps in knowledge
choose your session(s) and book

Upcoming sessions

You can choose to take the entire programme or select individual workshops to book. Undertaking the whole programme will give you a comprehensive insight into what constitutes good trust governance.

Book your place

Autumn 2024

Workshop	Date
1. Good MAT governance: an introduction	This cohort is now closed.
2. Local governance: setting the expectations. Why the local tier is important	Tuesday 3 December 2024, 18:00-20:00
3. Improving the quality of education in your schools: pupil groups, outcomes and performance measures	Tuesday 14 January 2025, 18:00-20:00
4. How trust boards work: meetings, challenge, relationships and decision making	Tuesday 11 February 2025, 18:00-20:00
5. The board in action: establishing the trust vision, culture and strategy	Tuesday 11 March 2025, 18:00-20:00
6. The board in action: financial governance and risk management	Tuesday 25 March 2025, 18:00-20:00
7. The board in action: meeting compliance obligations and moving beyond	Tuesday 20 May 2025, 18:00-20:00
8. The trust as a good employer	Tuesday 10 June 2025, 18:00-20:00

Spring 2025

Workshop	Date
1. Good MAT governance: an introduction	Wednesday 12 February 2025, 18:00-20:00
2. Local governance: setting the expectations. Why the local tier is important	Wednesday 5 March 2025, 18:00-20:00
3. Improving the quality of education in your schools: pupil groups, outcomes and performance measures	Wednesday 26 March 2025, 18:00-20:00
4. How trust boards work: meetings, challenge, relationships and decision making	Wednesday 30 April 2025, 18:00-20:00
5. The board in action: establishing the trust vision, culture and strategy	Wednesday 21 May 2025, 18:00-20:00
6. The board in action: financial governance and risk management	Wednesday 11 June 2025, 18:00-20:00
7. The board in action: meeting compliance obligations and moving beyond	Wednesday 2 July 2025, 18:00-20:00
8. The trust as a good employer	Wednesday 16 July 2025, 18:00-20:00

Book your place

I found the programme to be excellent. Knowledge I had was reinforced and new learning and insights gained. Having been a governor in maintained schools (both primary and secondary) I felt training with a MAT basis would help me in my Trust role – and it did give me that different perspective.

Programme attendee
Despite being an experienced governor, this was a really useful session and introduction to MAT governance.

Chasca Twyman, National Leader of Governance, NGA
The content and presentation was warm, friendly and extremely professional.

Edwin William Forshaw, The Cornovii Trust
I would recommend NGA because it is an organisation that understands the trials and problems facing modern governance and how daunting this can be.

Edwin William Forshaw, The Cornovii Trust

of respondents said they were more confident about being effective in governance or supporting effective governance after the sessions.

of respondents indicated that they would recommend the sessions to others.

Meet the trainers

Janet Myers

NGA Consultant

Janet is currently chair of a growing ten school multi academy trust. She undertakes external reviews of governance and delivers training and development programmes for trustees, governors chairs, clerks and boards. Janet has 12 years of managerial and leadership experience within a blue-chip corporation, encompassing international customer service operations, people management and development, management of £100m+ projects, training and change management. Since 2009 Janet has governed and chaired both maintained schools and academies. She has first-hand experience of transforming boards to adopt effective structures and routines, meet statutory obligations and refocus on school improvement. Janet was appointed as a National Leader of Governance in 2021.

Judith Rutherford

NGA Consultant

Judith has a track record of supporting boards and chairs to deliver tangible improvements in governance across multi academy trusts and other settings. She undertakes external reviews of governance, delivers training and provides bespoke consultancy services to boards and individuals. Judith is a qualified chartered accountant with a successful career in audit and risk management. Judith has fourteen years’ experience as a trustee and governor and nine as a chair across primary and secondary settings. Currently a trustee within a medium sized multi academy trust, Judith was appointed as a National Leader of Governance in 2017.