What High-Performing MATs Do Differently With Data

Multi-Academy Trusts don’t struggle because they lack data.

They struggle because every school collects, defines, and presents it differently — creating noise, delays, and misaligned decisions.

Yet some MATs consistently rise above this.

They spot risks earlier.
They support schools more effectively.
And they make decisions with clarity instead of confusion.

Here’s what those high-performing trusts do differently.

1. They eliminate manual collation — completely

Most trusts spend weeks requesting spreadsheets from schools. Even when files arrive, central teams still need to clean, merge and reformat everything before it can be used.

High-performing MATs take a different path:

They centralise the pipeline once — and never touch spreadsheets again.

This means:

• no chasing
• no version conflicts
• no clashing templates
• no dependence on a single “Excel expert”
• no wasted time reworking inconsistent files

The result is consistency and time back for both schools and the MAT.

2. They standardise outputs — not school workflows

Many trusts try to mandate uniform processes:

• “Use this attendance template.”
• “Submit assessment in this format.”
• “Calculate gaps this way.”

But forcing uniformity increases school workload and rarely leads to reliable trust-wide reporting.

High-performing MATs flip the model:

They standardise reporting, not practice.

• Schools use their MIS of choice
• Local processes remain local
• Data is aligned after extraction
• Dashboards look and behave consistently across the trust

You get comparable reporting without forcing schools into identical systems.

3. They build role-specific dashboards

Low-performing trusts often share the same “data pack” with everyone — CEOs, principals, governors, middle leaders.

This leads to overload for some, irrelevance for others.

High-performing MATs build dashboards around strategic questions, not around datasets.

Examples:

• For CEOs: “Which schools need targeted support this term?”
• For Directors: “Which year groups show early signs of risk?”
• For Principals: “What’s driving underperformance?”
• For Governors: “Is the school improving over time?”

Relevance = clarity = action.

4. They connect data instead of analysing each silo separately

Most trusts analyse datasets in isolation:

• attendance
• behaviour
• exclusions
• attainment

But performance rarely lives in one silo.

High-performing MATs connect their systems so data tells a combined story:

• Attendance shaping outcomes
• Exclusions influencing behaviour
• Staffing changes affecting results
• Contextual groups shaping persistent absence

When data sits together, conversations become diagnostic — not descriptive.

5. They benchmark intelligently

A single number means very little without context:

• “Persistent absence is 17%.”
• “KS2 reading is 74%.”

High-performing MATs use three benchmark layers:

• 1️⃣ Trust context — how each school compares internally
• 2️⃣ National context — significance vs national norms
• 3️⃣ Time context — improving, stable, declining

Nuance changes the entire strategic conversation.

6. They use data to support, not punish

Punitive data cultures shut down insight. High-performing MATs use data as a learning tool, not a stick.

Their conversations sound like:

• “What’s driving this?”
• “How do we support the school earlier?”
• “What intervention will shift this trend?”

Supportive cultures produce more honest insight — and faster improvement.

7. They invest in clarity, not complexity

Some MATs believe the solution is simply “more data”.

High-performing MATs know the opposite is true:

Clarity beats complexity.

They use reporting designed specifically for education:

• guided narratives
• structured pages
• significance added where it matters
• questions leading the user through insight

Dashboards become as intuitive as a well-taught lesson.

8. They reclaim time — and reinvest it where it matters

The true impact is not technical. It’s human.

• Principals spend less time producing data
• Central teams spend less time cleaning it
• Governors get clearer answers
• Support reaches schools earlier

High-performing MATs don’t just “use data better”.

They free staff from data so improvement becomes the main activity again.