Blogs/Vlogs

MAT Development and Improvement Fund

26 October 2017

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a new multi-million pound fund to help the best academy trusts in the country to provide direct support to underperforming schools.

The £53 million investment will support the strongest trusts – particularly those focused on raising attainment for disadvantaged pupils – to take on and improve underperforming schools.

The fund, previously called “the regional academy growth fund”, will also be targeted in more than 100 specific areas of the country, and funding will be restricted to those with a “proven record” of turning around underperforming schools.

MDIF grants will be awarded for activities starting before 31 March 2018 and will usually be between £50,000 and £100,000, although in 2016-17, 350 grants were handed out to academy trusts under the old regional academy growth fund. Of those, 55 were for amounts over £100,000. Two trusts received grants of over £300,000.

The funding can be used to:

  • set up or expand your academy trust and its organisational structures, including covering legal costs;
  • establish robust reporting mechanisms to monitor pupil performance and identify specific development gaps;
  • provide continuous professional development training for the trust’s leadership team;
  • pay for teaching and leadership staff to work across the trust; and
  • provide accountancy, finance, business management or HR advice.

It is worth noting that successful trusts will have to report their activity and the effect it’s having on for 12 months from the point they receive their funding. It is also necessary to show how you will sustain any activity paid for by the award after the funding period.

Who can apply?

The MDIF is open to all trusts (including those awaiting approval, however, if you wish to apply, you must plan to do one of the following within the next 12 months:

  • take into your trust and improve at least 2 additional schools; or
  • form a new MAT of 2 schools or more and improve them.

Applications will be prioritised where trusts are planning to:

  • take on and improve schools that need help raising attainment for disadvantaged pupils; or
  • take on and improve Ofsted ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ schools and/or underperforming schools (those schools not meeting the floor standard at either primary or secondary)

There is also the focus on 100 specific area, mentioned above, and these are spread around the country. A full list is available here, and the East Midlands and Humber RSC Region has the most areas (24).

Further details about the MDIF and the assessment criteria RSCs will use can be found here.

The deadline for submitting applications is 23:59, 26 November 2017. If you have any questions about the MDIF please contact your nearest academy specialist.

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