At the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England advocating for, connecting and supporting executive and governance leaders, we are proud to support and represent more than two-thirds of the sector (all academy schools).

Our mission is to build an excellent education system in England – every school is part of a strong and sustainable group in which every child is a powerful learner and adults learn and develop together as teachers and leaders.

Not only do we seek to join up leadership across the system, but we also support executive and governance leaders through high-quality professional services.

Trust finance teams are absolutely critical to supporting objectives around building excellence in the system and so any initiative that supports the sharing of best practices is one we would absolutely welcome. This is why I am delighted to be involved with The MAT Finance Awards, supported by IMP Software, which recognises the achievements of Trust finance professionals as well as effective leadership and governance in relation to finance.

Our role is to support the development of Trusts, and the people working with them, so our direct involvement in The MAT Finance Awards (for the second year running) aligns perfectly with that ethos and mission.

Before the launch of The MAT Finance Awards in 2021-22, there was no such platform to shine a light on the fantastic work being done up and down the country by hard-working finance teams that has largely been done ‘behind the scenes’, but now is the perfect time to celebrate their hard work and showcase their impact.

It is also clear that the role and contribution of Trust finance teams will become even more prominent given the Schools White Paper’s directive that by 2030 most Trusts will be on a trajectory to either serve a minimum of 7,500 pupils or run at least 10 schools, and as Trusts aim to build resilience and save money to reinvest into education.

I would encourage all Trust members (and the wider MAT finance community) to consider nominations for The MAT Finance Awards 2022. As a member of the judging panel, I am really looking forward to reviewing the entries later this year.