MAT Insights: Growth Without Risk? Building Safe, Sustainable and Scalable Multi-Academy Trusts

As Multi-Academy Trusts grow through expansion, school transfers and evolving organisational structures, maintaining effective oversight of Health, Safety and Fire becomes increasingly complex. What starts as a school-level issue can quickly become a trust-wide challenge, impacting governance, staff wellbeing, operational resilience and long-term growth.

For MAT leaders, sustainable growth relies on more than educational outcomes and financial performance. It requires confidence that systems, culture and risk management can scale alongside the organisation, providing meaningful assurance across every academy.

In this MAT Insights session, Jim Liddy is joined by Steve Walton, Health and Safety Trust Lead at Emmanuel Schools Foundation, to explore the realities of managing risk at scale. Combining sector insight with real-world trust experience, they will discuss how MATs can create consistency across multiple academies, strengthen board-level assurance and build the foundations for safe, sustainable growth.

This session will cover:

• The key Health, Safety and Fire challenges facing growing MATs
• Why effective risk management is critical to sustainable trust growth
• Governance, accountability and board-level assurance
• What current sector data reveals about workforce wellbeing and organisational risk
• Creating consistency across academies without increasing bureaucracy
• Building resilient systems and cultures that support future growth

Let us introduce you to this week's professional speaker

Jim Liddy

Chartered Member of IOSH with over 20 years of experience in Health, Safety & Fire management. Jim has been a member of Judicium Education's Health & Safety team since February 2023, conducting health & safety audits and fire risk assessments, providing health, safety & fire advice & support to schools in the Northeast of England and delivering instructor-led health, safety and fire training courses. Away from work, Jim is a keen hiker and fell runner.

Steve Walton

Steve is Assistant Vice Principal and Trust Lead for Operational Audit (Health & Safety) at Emmanuel Schools Foundation. With over 35 years' experience spanning the RAF, engineering, education and senior leadership, he brings extensive expertise in health and safety, risk management, operational assurance and compliance within highly regulated environments.

Working across the trust, Steve supports school and trust leaders to strengthen compliance, operational effectiveness and continuous improvement. His work focuses on health and safety governance, risk management, auditing and assurance, helping to ensure robust systems and processes are in place to support safe and effective learning environments.