MAT Governance in 2026 and Beyond: Navigating the Next Phase of Trust Accountability

During the session, we will be discussing the following:

• Latest MAT sector insights: What the newest trust data reveals about the state of the sector.
• The White Paper decoded: The implications of the Government's reforms for trusts, collaboration and future growth.
• The next phase of trust accountability: Exploring evolving expectations around trust commissioning, Community Collaboration, MAT inspections and governance intervention where performance concerns arise.
• Governance priorities for the future: Examining the emerging measures and responsibilities boards need to understand, including executive pay, attendance and reintegration, disadvantage metrics, AI safety and quality standards.

Let us introduce you to this week's professional speakers

Steve Barker

Steve brings over 30 years of experience in school and trust governance across all phases of education, combining national sector influence with hands-on leadership at the board level.

As Judicium’s Governance Expertise and Partnership Lead, Steve plays a central role in shaping high-quality governance support for schools and trusts. A current Chair of Trustees in an academy trust, Chair of an infant school governing body, and Member of a ten-school multi-academy trust, he understands first-hand the realities and pressures facing boards today. He is a former Ofsted Lay Inspector and was appointed as a National Leader of Governance (NLG) and NLG Advocate by the National College for Teaching and Leadership. As part of a select national group, he helped develop and pilot the External Reviews of Governance programme, leading the first-ever review in 2013, and previously served on the Department for Education Advisory Group on Governance. A prolific writer and facilitator of governance training for over two decades, he supports boards nationwide through training, advisory work and thought leadership.