Perfect for: MAT CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and other Central Team staff

Thursday December 3, 2026 · 10:00 a.m.

86% of MATs now describe themselves as fully centralised, up from 61% in 2024. Yet admin spend per pupil still rose in every size of trust last year. For trusts of six to ten schools, the average is £495 per pupil.

So if trusts have centralised, why aren’t the savings following? We looked at 58 routine admin tasks across primary, secondary and special schools, and found that around half a day a week per member of staff could be automated. Much of that work is still repeated school by school, even where the central team already owns the process.

Ed Butcher, Product Director at Arbor, walks through where that time goes, using real examples of how systems and processes either hold trusts back or help them scale. He’s joined by [NAME], [ROLE] at [MAT NAME], who explains which processes their trust centralised first, and what that meant for their savings and their staff.

You’ll leave with a clearer view of where economies of scale are being lost, and where to look first: from third-party tools to the admin your central team still does by hand.

We look forward to seeing you there!