An aspirational, yet sustainable Trust

We believe our high aspirations must be supported by a sustainable approach to education, finances and the environment.

Why is this important?

As a Trust, we strive for educational excellence and for our pupils to learn the life skills they need to flourish.


Despite facing uncertainty in the wider education system which presents risk, we will not compromise our high aspirations. We have developed approaches to education, finance and the environment to mitigate any risks.


Our family of schools have different needs to one another.

We must protect each school’s interests and ultimately those of the children in their care.


Through this, we can provide a high-quality education well into the future.


We have limited influence on the level of school funding therefore must ensure it is being spent to maximise the quality of education.

However, we do have a greater level of control over our impact on the environment and work across our schools to raise awareness of this.


How will we achieve this?

4.1 Financial health

4.2 Our environment

4.3 Operating approach

4.4 Compliance




  • 4.1 Financial Health

    The financial climate we operate in has become significantly tighter in recent times.

    Maintaining our model so that it remains fit for purpose will always be at the core of our planning.

    We will endeavour to remain financially fit by developing forecasts and budgets, balancing the needs of schools at an individual level.

    DEMAT will ensure education and operations remain aligned with our financial performance through regular stakeholder reviews and concise financial reports.

    We review our performance frequently and seek to be as productive as possible.

    We will develop our procurement services to ensure we direct as much of our revenue as possible to high quality frontline services.

  • 4.2 Our environment

    We shall work with schools to promote awareness of our impact on the environment and support ideas to minimise this.

    We shall support the use of sustainable resources from our suppliers and include the environmental impact on our tender documentation.

    It is the right of every child within DEMAT to learn in a healthy, compliant and ultimately fit for purpose environment.

    We shall use the expertise within our Trust to utilise, and where necessary create a framework to access the marketplace.

    This will make sure our capital expenditure meet the needs of as many schools as possible.

  • 4.3 Operating Approach

    We must prepare to evolve our operating models to ensure we meet the needs of our Headteachers and their schools.

    Therefore, we shall develop a scalable, efficient model providing high quality support to our schools.

    This will be developed in combination with clear, precise management information.

    We shall identify and realise the synergies across our schools in all deliverable functions, including education, finance, HR and estates.

    We shall invest in our IT infrastructure to minimise administrative burden on our staff and maximise our children’s learning potential.


    We shall ensure these values and principles are demonstrated across our schools, not as replacements for each school’s own values, but as an overarching guide for our whole family.


    Our curriculum will echo these values and support the continued alignment of schools within the DEMAT family. Shared training days and Trust conferences provide opportunities for staff to work as part of a larger family.

  • 4.4 Compliance

    Being compliant with statutory guidance is obviously critical to our success.

    Therefore, we shall seek to ensure that we obtain the best value for money in all of our projects.

    DEMAT will not allow bureaucratic processes to obstruct our commitment to giving our children the very best education.

    We seek to ensure compliance in all internal, as well as external, policies.

    To do this, we shall further develop our compliance function, providing compliance checkers with dashboards to measure the impact of our work.

    We develop our risk register as an iterative process.

    Working under our Articles of Association we aim to support as many children as possible while never placing existing academies at risk.

    Our live risk register links to key performance measures which are available to our responsible committees.