Proposed Trust Merger

Background and Context

The Trustees and Members of Accord Multi Academy Trust have been considering for some time how we might further grow our family of schools to extend the impact of our work to date. The reasons behind our ambition to grow are twofold: firstly, we recognise that a larger organisation will have greater capacity to deliver the very best learning experiences and continue to improve our schools; and, secondly, we want to be able to contribute further to the education system and support more children, families, and communities to achieve success in our locality.

For some time, we engaged in discussions with Maltby Learning Trust (MLT) about the possibility of the two successful and well-established Trusts joining together to create a brand-new organisation, built on the strengths of the two Trusts and resulting in an organisation that will be greater by the sum of their parts. In October 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) publicly approved the application from Accord and MLT to merge creating a larger Trust with a new name and identity of Place Partnership.

Accord and MLT are well established Trusts who will now seek to create a combined family of 12 academies committed to ‘uniting our communities to provide exceptional experiences and achieve success’.

Looking Ahead

This arrangement will be a voluntary merger of equals, rather than any form of takeover / acquisition of one Trust by the other. The two Trusts have much in common, starting with a similar vision and values shaped around putting children and young people first, setting high standards, delivering exceptional learning experiences, and committing to and connecting with the local communities that we serve. The merger will be a true partnership, with two existing organisations coming together as the new Trust, with a co-created vision and mission that prioritises:

• Place: Serving and responding to the needs of our communities, working in partnership with a range of stakeholders to support growth, regeneration, and transformation.
• People: Investing in people as our most important resource, aligned with our vision for children and our communities.
• Purpose: Providing exceptional experiences for all young people that go beyond the classroom, delivering outcomes and opportunities that secure pathways to success, particularly for our most vulnerable children.

Each academy will retain its unique identity whilst benefiting from increased collaboration, shared services, and broader expertise. This is not only a strategic move for both Trusts but also a response to national policy direction encouraging Multi Academy Trust (MAT) consolidation to strengthen the education sector.

We strongly believe that both Trusts are rooted in their local communities, and that our staff teams are central to our respective success. This merger opens up exciting opportunities for professional growth, innovation, and the continued improvement of the quality of education we provide to ensure the very best for our young people.

At this stage, the merger is anticipated to take effect from 1 September 2026.

Below you will find the latest documentation relating to the merger.