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Our main headquarters is at Grace Building, 8 High Street, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4JU.
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Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT) wins Multi-Academy Trust of the Year at National School Awards
Awards held at the House of Lords recognises DEMAT’s huge achievements
L-R Adrian Ball, CEO; Emma Heanes, Headteacher Bury CofE Primary; Lizzie Jones, Assistant Headteacher Bury CofE Primary; Helen Jackson, Chair of Boards of Trustees
The Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT) has won the Multi-Academy Trust of the Year award at the National School Awards.
The awards, held at the House of Lords in Parliament, recognised DEMAT’s extraordinary educational achievements as a multi-academy trust (MAT). The MAT of the year award celebrated “a MAT that has successfully turned around their schools or has managed to grow whilst maintaining or increasing positive pupil outcomes. The MAT should show examples of using innovation and imagination to improve their schools.”
2024 marks the end of a five-year transformation at DEMAT. In September 2019, 48% of their 39 primary schools were rated as ‘Good’ or better. Now, 95% of the DEMAT schools are rated as ‘Good’ or better by Ofsted. Meanwhile, the combined KS2 attainment across the Trust has gone from 48% in 2019 to 57% by 2024.
Working with Headteachers, the trust developed an education transformation project, focussed around a series of ‘best bets’. These ‘best bets’ included specific programmes such as SoundsWrite phonics, the Primary Knowledge Curriculum, and CompleteMaths, which were implemented across all schools within the Trust in a phased approach.
DEMAT has also celebrated record low voluntary staff turnover, of 12%, well below the pre-pandemic levels of 19% and below the current sector average. This is supported by a renewed approach to receiving feedback from staff through a new partnership with TeacherTapp. The surveys conducted in collaboration with TeacherTapp enable the Trust to not only reach over 1000 members of staff but also benchmark against over 10,000 responses to similar questions from across the education sector.
One of the largest primary only MATs in the county, DEMAT exists to create the foundations for its pupils to build successful futures. With schools across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Peterborough, Adrian Ball, Chief Executive Officer of DEMAT, commented, ‘’It’s truly an honour to be named MAT of the year in such prestigious awards. For the awards to recognise the huge progress of DEMAT is a proud moment for us, and I’d like to thank all our staff, students, and parents for making this possible’’.
The Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT)
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Number 08464996
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The Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust:
Grace Building
8 High Street
Ely
Cambs
CB7 4JU
