Two multi-academy trusts in the East Midlands have received Department for Education approval to merge into a new 15-school trust.

Djanogly Learning Trust, which has 10 schools, and QEGSMAT, which currently has seven schools, got approval to merge at a recent meeting of the East Midlands regional advisory board.

They will form a new trust called Tapestry Learning Partnership.

The minutes of the meeting state: “Both trusts view this as the joint creation of a new trust and have worked together to draw out and learn from each other’s strengths for a mutually beneficial future.”

MAT merger ‘will improve teacher CPD’

Mark Mallender, CEO of both Djanogly and QEGSMAT, said the merger will allow them to provide more professional development opportunities to support teacher recruitment and retention, and more chances for staff to gain experience in different settings, as well as the opportunity to better use resources to benefit from cost savings.

The trusts hope that Tapestry Learning Partnership will launch next year, subject to completing legal and administrative processes.

In April the West Midlands regional director approved the transfer of two Church of England primaries in Staffordshire out of QEGSMAT to The Moorlands Primary Federation.

QEGSMAT’s five remaining non-faith schools, in Derbyshire, will merge with Djanogly, which has schools in Derbyshire and Nottingham.

Once the transfer is complete, the new trust will consist of four secondaries and 11 primaries.

CEO has been running both trusts

The two trusts have been working towards merger since 2023, the advisory board minutes state.

Previous QEGSMAT CEO Anne Martin announced she was retiring in December, and Mr Mallender, who has led Djanogly since September 2023, has also been acting CEO of QEGSMAT under a service-level agreement.

Concerns have been raised previously about CEOs running two trusts, particularly when a merger is under discussion.

Mr Mallender said QEGSMAT and Djanogly had been planning to merge before he became CEO of both trusts. He told Tes that the time since he became CEO of both has been spent planning for how the new trust would operate. The trusts said having one CEO across both can aid the transition to the merged trust.

Former Delta Academies Trust CEO Paul Tarn was appointed chief executive of Coast and Vale Learning Trust last April, running both trusts at the same time, ahead of a merger that was approved earlier this year. Although he has since stepped down.

Mr Mallender will continue as CEO of the new trust, and no job losses are anticipated as part of the merger, Tes understands. Both staff and governors have been consulted on the proposals.

“We are ambitious for our pupils and staff, and committed to creating opportunities that support them to flourish,” he said.

Pooled resources and shared expertise

“There are significant benefits from merging, which include the sharing of knowledge, best practice, resources and expertise leading, to enhance teaching and learning outcomes,” Mr Mallender added.

“Our trusts have a similar philosophy, and staff understand both the demands and tremendous rewards working for schools in challenging areas.

“A merger would mean we could better utilise resources. By pooling our resources, we would also benefit from cost savings that would be reinvested in pupils and staff.”

Other MAT mergers

The news follows a spate of recent merger proposals.

Ebor Academy Trust and Nexus Multi Academy Trust, both in Yorkshire, are currently consulting on a plan to merge into a 47-school trust. Similarly, the Compass Partnership of Schools and Eko Trust, with schools across London and the South East, are proposing a merger to create a 25-school trust.

Meanwhile, Olympus Academy Trust and Futura Learning Partnership, both in the South West, have received DfE approval for a merger to create a 36-school MAT called Halcyon.

Speaking in May before the government’s Spending Review, Sam Freedman, a former DfE adviser, said a difficult funding landscape for schools could lead to “rapid consolidation of academy trusts in order to make efficiencies through scale”.

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