Two multi-academy trusts are proposing to merge to create the largest primary and special school trust in England, made up of 47 academies.
If approved, the plan would see Ebor Academy Trust and Nexus Multi Academy Trust come together, with a new MAT formed by September 2026.
From autumn, Ebor is set to have 25 schools and one special school across York, North Yorkshire, Hull and East Riding, while Nexus will have 20 special schools and one primary across South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
The merger proposal is subject to a consultation with families, employees, governors and trade unions, and would need to be signed off by the regional director.
‘Not just about influence and control’
Debbie Clinton, chair of trustees at Ebor, told Tes: “The biggest driver for us is the inclusion agenda and the fact that we’ve been doing it so badly as a country for quite some time now.
“We want to join Nexus in parading that badge, which should be worn much more loudly and proudly across the country.”
She said she is most excited about the opportunity to look at professional development across a larger trust.
“There’s some fantastic teaching going on in special schools that is just not known about enough or given enough recognition. It can teach us so much about effective inclusion and adaptive teaching,” she said.
Trustees have been exploring the potential of a merger since last summer. The consultation will run from today until 18 July.
Ms Clinton said the trusts are keen to be used as a “bit of a case study” for the sector. Values-driven mergers were “the future”, she said.
Rachel Potts, chair of trustees at Nexus, added: “It’s about merging for the right reasons, and not just merging for size and influence and control. There is that uniqueness of special and primary coming together.”
Dual CEO role
Current discussions would see CEOs Gail Brown (Ebor) and Warren Carratt (Nexus) become co-CEOs of the new trust.
“They are both really skilled and experienced,” said Ms Potts. “They’ve done fantastic jobs within both organisations and we wouldn’t want to lose either of them.”
The only statutory role that must be done by one person is the accounting officer, and the trusts are still discussing the division of responsibilities, Ms Clinton added.
Asked whether both CEOs would be on the same salary, Ms Clinton said discussions about remuneration have not started yet.
According to trust accounts, the highest earner at Ebor was paid £140,001-150,000 in 2023-24. At Nexus, the highest earner in 2023-24 was paid £130,001-140,000.
Once the dual CEO role has been finalised, the chairs said it will be up to Ms Brown and Mr Carratt to develop a proposal for their executive team.
Financial challenges
While Ms Clinton said “it would be naive” for any board not to be taxed by financial challenges at the moment, this was “categorically not” a driver for the merger.
“It’s a really fortunate half-intended consequence. There’s no doubt that we’re going to be better, stronger, bigger,” she added.
Asked if there would be any restructuring as part of the merger, they added that they do not see significant staff changes below the executive level as necessary. No changes are proposed to how schools in both trusts function day to day.
Nexus has worked with its local authorities to ensure there is sufficient specialist provision to meet increasing demand, Ms Potts added.
Shared location
Ms Potts said that Nexus hopes to bring “our expertise across into the other side of Yorkshire” and that “where primary roll numbers might be reducing and causing budgetary pressures, looking at options, particularly around inclusion, where we can work with other local authorities in meeting demand, and hopefully then bringing some income in to help our financial situation”.
Ms Clinton said: “Ebor’s mission has always been to protect the schools that were so vulnerable to closure before and to make them sustainable through a different approach to management, leadership and financial security.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done in that regard and Nexus’ record is even more powerful than ours is.”
Ms Clinton and Ms Potts said that while both trusts being mostly located in Yorkshire was helpful practically, geography was not a key consideration for the merger.
“Our priority was what Nexus actually is,” said Ms Clinton. “So even if they were in Cornwall, I think we still might have entertained the thought.”
Adding secondaries ‘not an absolute no’
Both trusts have been growing steadily in recent years, taking on two new schools in 2024 and sponsoring schools in need of improvement.
The chairs did not rule out growing further in the future but said their first focus would be the merger.
It is widely acknowledged in the sector that there can be financial incentives for trusts to take on secondaries, and both chairs said adding secondaries would not be “an absolute no” for them. However, any school would have to fit with the trust’s values, they said.
Merger ‘aligns with government ambition’
Ms Brown said the trustees have used the past 12 months to do due diligence, and are excited to have now reached the consultation point.
“We also believe this merger aligns with the government’s ambition for more inclusive state education and for children to have the very best start in life,” she added.
Ormiston Academies Trust CEO Tom Rees is leading a government advisory group on inclusion, which launched a call for evidence earlier this year to find good examples of inclusive practice in schools.
Meanwhile the government is set to outline its approach to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform in an autumn White Paper.
Mr Carratt added: “What’s now really important is that we hear from our communities to understand how they feel about this proposal. Our hope and aspiration is that we can ultimately do more for more children and families.”
Once the consultation period has concluded, the trust boards will review responses and, depending on that, will make an application to the regional advisory board.
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