A Catholic diocese plans to move all its schools into new mega MATs after tearing up its earlier academisation vision over fears the proposed trusts would be too small.
The Diocese of Westminster planned to put its 187 schools into trusts ranging from 15 to 32 schools, meaning they would all educate about 6,000 pupils.
However leaked correspondence shows the diocese now wants to launch “four equally proportioned” academy chains instead.
This is because “shifting demographics” and financial pressures have left trusts needing to “serve more than 10,000” children to be sustainable.
One headteacher in the area has branded the proposals “dystopian”, with one union boss “anxious” about the approach some dioceses are taking to the formation of mega MATS.
‘Deeply concerned’
Rob Kelsall, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), said the union is “deeply concerned by the diocese’s unsolicited announcement of a new programme of large-scale structural reorganisation across Catholic schools.
“Our members are fully committed to the flourishing of Catholic education, but they cannot be expected to accept centrally imposed models that disregard local judgement and experience.”
The Diocese of Westminster unveiled its original academy plans in 2018. However, Cardinal Vincent Nichols wrote to leaders this month to tell them the landscape has “changed considerably since those early steps”.
Back then, the “benchmark for trust sustainability in terms of pupil numbers was 5000+”.
However, “shifting demographics and a range of internal and external pressures” mean they “should serve more than 10,000” children. None of the diocese’s 10 MATs “meet this threshold”.
The diocese will “pursue closer partnerships among our existing trusts” moving towards “a consolidated network of four equally proportioned” chains.
A diocese spokesperson said it was “acting to secure the future of Catholic education” in the area “by setting out proposals now”. It also “marks the beginning of a wider process in which governing bodies will, as always, retain their statutory responsibilities for determining the direction of their own schools”.
‘Swallowed up’
The Catholic Education Service’s 2024 census found 187 schools operating in the diocese, 54 of which were academies. If they were to be shared between four trusts, each would have about 47 schools.
Nichols stated the new vision should “be accomplished over the next few years”, as he cited a recent letter sent by Pope Leo XIV instructing Catholic schools “to converge”.
The diocese spokesperson stressed “the proposals will be phased carefully to align growth with capacity, stability and clear governance”.
However, Kelsall said such a “top-down restructuring process undermines both the professionalism of school leaders and the principles of subsidiarity that sit at the heart of Catholic social teaching”.
“School structures are not, and must never be, determined by central diktat,” he said. “We urge the diocese to pause this process, and commit to an open, transparent and genuinely collaborative approach”, he added.
Calling the plans “dystopian”, a leader at one of the diocese’s schools voiced concerns their school would “be swallowed up, lose our distinctiveness and managed from afar. It’s impersonal.”
Delays and pauses
Analysis conducted by Schools Week last year suggested all but one of the 19 English Catholic dioceses are pursuing trust growth plans.
In Salford, church leaders want to split their schools between three trusts with at least 50 primaries and 10 secondaries by 2030. The largest is expected to take on 71. But it is now “assessing the impact” Labour’s decision to axe “the [academy] conversion grant will have”.
The Archdiocese of Liverpool paused its proposals for 12 MATs with between six and 28 schools following the government’s “sudden” axing of funds. It will unveil a revised strategy “in the new year”.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Birmingham was given the go-ahead by government in May to merge six trusts to create a 63-school MAT, called St Gabriel the Archangel. It launched two months ago.
‘Other dioceses will do different’
St Gabriel will act as a pilot, with up to five more trusts – each consisting of more than 40 academies – established once “the lessons of implementation” are learned.
Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Pepe Di’Iasio said the union is “anxious about the approach being taken in some Catholic dioceses to the formation of large” trusts.
This is “a particularly challenging enterprise” with big MATs “generally formed over a number of years” with bosses ensuring “they have sufficient capacity and structures in place before taking the next step”.
“We fully understand the argument for the formation of large MATs in a time of sparse education funding, but these have to be built on solid foundations,” Di’Iasio added.
However, Catholic Education Service director Paul Barber said it was “only right for dioceses, in collaboration with their schools, to decide on how best to respond to the needs of … families and those in the wider community”.
“A consolidation of Catholic academy trusts, such as in Birmingham and Westminster, will be appropriate for those particular areas, while other dioceses may take different approaches.”
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