Maintained Schools, Academies and MATs: What Suppliers Need to Know

A school may look like a single organisation from the outside. It has one name, one website, one headteacher and one physical address. For a supplier, however, the organisation behind that school can make a major difference to who controls its money, who approves new providers and who is authorised to sign a contract.

A local-authority-maintained school, a standalone academy and an academy belonging to a multi-academy trust may serve similar pupils and buy many of the same products. Yet the route from initial interest to an approved purchase can be very different.

In a maintained school, the local authority, governing body and school leadership each have defined responsibilities. In an academy, the legal organisation is an academy trust. In a multi-academy trust, that trust is responsible for several academies and may control some or most purchasing through a central team.

This distinction affects much more than terminology. It can determine:

• whether a decision is made by the school or a central organisation;
• which budget pays for the purchase;
• whether the supplier must already be on a framework or approved list;
• how many quotations are required;
• who reviews safeguarding, data protection or technical requirements;
• who owns the eventual contract;
• whether one successful school relationship can lead to wider work;
• whether approaching several schools in the same trust is sensible or repetitive.

Suppliers do not need to become education lawyers or governance specialists. They do, however, need to recognise what kind of organisation they are approaching and ask the right questions before investing time in outreach, demonstrations and proposals.

This guide explains the practical differences between maintained schools, standalone academies and multi-academy trusts, and what those differences mean for businesses selling products and services to schools in England.

The basic difference between maintained schools and academies

The simplest distinction is that a maintained school is maintained by a local authority, while an academy is run by an academy trust and funded directly by central government.

That explanation is accurate, but it does not tell a supplier enough on its own.

Local-authority-maintained schools

A maintained school operates within a legal and financial framework involving the school’s governing body and its local authority. The local authority allocates funding, maintains a scheme setting out the financial relationship with its schools and may provide services or impose particular procedures in areas where it retains responsibility.

The governing body has strategic and legal responsibilities, while the headteacher manages the school operationally within the authority delegated to them. Financial and purchasing responsibilities may be distributed between the governing body, headteacher, school business manager and local authority.

Maintained schools are not all governed in exactly the same way. The main categories include:

• community schools;
• voluntary controlled schools;
• voluntary aided schools;
• foundation schools;
• maintained nursery schools;
• some maintained special schools.

These differences can affect matters such as employment, land, buildings and who has responsibility for particular contracts. Suppliers do not normally need to master every constitutional distinction before making contact, but they should not assume that all maintained schools can enter every agreement in exactly the same way.

Academies

An academy is a state-funded school operated by an academy trust. The trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is responsible for governance, finance, employment and contractual arrangements across its academies.

Academies receive funding directly from government rather than being maintained by a local authority. They have greater freedom in some areas, including aspects of the curriculum, staff pay and the organisation of the school day, although they remain subject to extensive legal, funding, safeguarding, admissions and accountability requirements.

The term “academy” includes more than schools that have converted from local-authority control. Free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges are also academies operating through academy trusts.

An academy may be the only school operated by its trust, or it may belong to a trust responsible for several schools. That difference is crucial for suppliers.

Standalone academies and multi-academy trusts

A standalone academy is sometimes described as a single-academy trust. The trust operates one academy, so the school and trust may appear almost identical in everyday communication. Even then, it is the academy trust that sits behind the school legally.

A multi-academy trust, usually shortened to MAT, operates more than one academy. The trust is a single legal organisation responsible for all the academies within it. Individual academies may retain local leaders, local governance arrangements and varying amounts of operational discretion, but they are not separate academy trusts.

For suppliers, this means a MAT should not simply be treated as a loose network of unrelated schools. The trust may employ staff centrally, hold contracts centrally, combine budgets and require academies to use common suppliers or systems.

What the structure means for a supplier

The school type affects the path a purchase follows through the organisation. It does not necessarily tell you who will first recognise the need.

A teacher may discover a resource in any type of school. A premises manager may request a repair. A SENCO may look for specialist support. A headteacher may want a new attendance system. The difference becomes clearer when that initial interest must be converted into an approved commitment.

In a maintained school, the process may involve:

• the relevant teacher or department;
• the headteacher or another senior leader;
• the school business manager or finance team;
• the governing body or one of its committees;
• the local authority, where its involvement or approval is required.

In a standalone academy, the process may involve similar school-level roles, but the governing body is the academy trust’s board of trustees and the school operates under the trust’s own financial procedures and scheme of delegation.

In a MAT, the process may also involve:

• a central procurement team;
• the trust finance department;
• a chief operating officer;
• a chief financial officer;
• a central IT, HR or estates director;
• the trust’s executive leadership;
• the board of trustees or one of its committees.

The practical lesson is that suppliers should identify both the person who needs the solution and the organisation that controls the decision.

These are not always the same.

A school leader in a MAT may strongly support an offer but be unable to appoint the supplier without central approval. Conversely, a trust may approve a supplier centrally but allow each academy to decide whether it actually wants to purchase the service.

The AllSchools guide to who buys products and services in UK schools explores the different roles that can act as users, champions, budget holders, reviewers, approvers and contract signatories.

Understanding those roles alongside the school’s organisational structure gives suppliers a far more accurate picture than relying on job titles alone.

How buying works in maintained schools

A maintained school usually has a delegated budget that its leadership and governing body manage within national rules, the local authority’s scheme for financing schools and the school’s own financial procedures.

The Department for Education’s current maintained schools governance guide explains that the governing body provides strategic leadership and accountability, while the headteacher is responsible for the operational management of the school within the responsibilities delegated to them.

This does not mean governors personally select every supplier. Routine purchasing is commonly delegated to the headteacher, school business manager, department leaders or other staff, subject to financial limits and internal controls.

A typical maintained-school purchase might proceed as follows:

1. A member of staff identifies a need.
2. The relevant leader checks whether a budget is available.
3. The school determines what quotations or procurement process are required.
4. Operational, financial or compliance checks are completed.
5. The purchase is approved at the appropriate delegated level.
6. A purchase order or contract is issued through the school’s established process.

For a low-cost resource, this could be quick and relatively informal. For a high-value, long-term or risky service, the school may need several quotations, governing-body approval, specialist advice or local-authority involvement.

The local authority’s role

The local authority does not necessarily choose every supplier used by every maintained school. Schools commonly have delegated authority over substantial areas of spending.

However, local-authority involvement may still matter. The authority may:

• publish financial and procurement procedures that schools must follow;
• offer contracts or traded services to schools;
• arrange insurance or other services centrally;
• manage payroll, HR, legal or property functions;
• retain responsibilities connected to land and buildings;
• require approval for particular transactions;
• provide procurement advice or frameworks;
• remain the employer in some categories of maintained school.

The precise arrangement varies by local authority and school category. Suppliers should therefore be cautious when a school says, “The council deals with that.” It may mean the authority has an exclusive arrangement, that it manages the process on the school’s behalf, or simply that the school currently buys the service through a council offer.

A useful follow-up question is:

“Is that service mandatory for the school, or are you able to consider alternative providers when the current arrangement is reviewed?”

This establishes whether there is a genuine opportunity without pressuring the school to ignore its procedures.

Who is the contracting party?

Suppliers should confirm which organisation will enter the agreement. Depending on the school type and subject of the contract, the relevant party may involve the governing body, the local authority or another legally authorised body.

Do not determine this from the name shown on the school website or from the title of the person leading the discussion. Ask who should appear on the quotation, order form, invoice and contract.

This is especially important for multi-year agreements, building work, employment-related services, leases and arrangements involving land, substantial liability or significant financial commitment.

How buying works in standalone academies

A standalone academy can feel similar to a maintained school from a supplier’s perspective because many decisions are made by staff working at the school itself.

The headteacher or principal may work closely with a business manager, finance team and trustees. There may be no separate central office because the academy is the trust’s only school.

Nevertheless, the legal and financial structure is different.

The academy trust is responsible for the school. Its board of trustees provides governance, and the trust must follow its funding agreement, articles of association, the Academy Trust Handbook and its own internal controls.

The current Academy Trust Handbook provides the main framework for academy financial management and governance in England. It addresses responsibilities including financial oversight, internal control, delegation, regularity, propriety and value for money.

For suppliers, several practical points follow.

The trust is the legal customer

The contract is generally with the academy trust rather than with the academy as though it were an unrelated business. The trust’s correct legal name, company details and authorised signatory may need to appear in contractual documents.

A school’s everyday name may differ from the trust’s registered legal name. Suppliers should check this before producing final agreements.

Approval levels come from the trust

The trust should have a scheme of delegation and financial procedures explaining which decisions can be made by staff, committees and trustees.

A headteacher may have substantial authority, but it is not unlimited. Higher-value purchases, unusual transactions, borrowing, leases, related-party arrangements and other significant commitments may require additional scrutiny or approval.

The supplier does not normally need a complete copy of every internal policy. It does need to establish:

• who owns the relevant budget;
• what buying process applies;
• who needs to approve the proposal;
• who is authorised to sign;
• whether trustee approval is required;
• what evidence the trust requires from a new supplier.

Standalone does not mean unrestricted

Some suppliers assume academies can buy anything they want because they have greater autonomy than maintained schools. That is misleading.

Academy trusts manage public money and operate within detailed governance and financial requirements. They are expected to demonstrate appropriate control, transparency and value for money. The absence of local-authority control does not remove procurement responsibilities.

A standalone academy may also use public-sector frameworks, Department for Education buying arrangements or collaborative contracts with other schools and trusts.

The Department for Education’s Buying for Schools service provides state-funded schools and trusts with approved buying options and procurement support. Suppliers should therefore be prepared for a school to compare their proposal against existing frameworks, even where staff initially approached the supplier directly.

How buying works in multi-academy trusts

A multi-academy trust can offer access to several schools through one relationship, but it can also introduce additional decision-makers and a more formal process.

The most important fact is that the MAT is one legal organisation. It has one board of trustees and is accountable for all the academies it operates.

This does not mean every decision is made by one central procurement department. Trusts organise themselves differently.

Centralised MATs

A highly centralised trust may control many major categories from its central office, including:

• finance and accounting systems;
• payroll and HR;
• insurance;
• legal services;
• IT infrastructure and cybersecurity;
• management information systems;
• energy and utilities;
• large estates and facilities contracts;
• staff recruitment arrangements;
• major curriculum platforms;
• trust-wide professional development.

Individual academies may identify problems and contribute to evaluation, but the central team manages the procurement, contract and rollout.

In this model, contacting every academy about a centrally controlled service can waste time and create a poor impression. The trust may view repeated messages as evidence that the supplier has not researched its structure.

Decentralised MATs

Other trusts give academy leaders more discretion. Schools may control local budgets and select providers independently within trust policies and delegated limits.

The trust may still:

• approve new suppliers;
• set minimum contractual standards;
• review data protection or cybersecurity;
• require central finance onboarding;
• negotiate preferred pricing;
• restrict particular categories;
• take control above defined spending thresholds.

A supplier may therefore win an individual academy without immediately securing a trust-wide agreement.

Hybrid MATs

Many trusts use a mixed model. Some functions are centralised, while others remain local.

For example, the trust might appoint one IT support provider across all academies but allow each school to choose its own educational visits, local enrichment activities or smaller curriculum resources.

It might also use a centrally approved panel from which academies can select. This gives schools some choice while allowing the trust to control risk, contracts and commercial terms.

Suppliers should avoid asking only, “Does the MAT buy centrally?” The more useful question is:

“Is this particular category selected centrally, locally by each academy, or through an approved group of providers?”

That question recognises that decision-making can vary by category within the same trust.

Central approval does not always create local demand

A supplier may be approved by a MAT without being used by every academy. Approval can mean that the trust has completed due diligence and permits schools to buy, not that schools are required to do so.

The supplier may still need to build awareness and demonstrate relevance at academy level. The AllSchools guide to what approved supplier status actually means in a MAT explains why inclusion on a list should be treated as the beginning of an opportunity rather than a guaranteed stream of work.

Budgets, procurement and contracts are not controlled in the same way everywhere

School type provides useful context, but it does not reveal the whole buying process.

Two maintained schools in different local authorities may work under different local procedures. Two MATs may use very different delegation models. Even two academies within the same trust may have different needs and local budgets.

Suppliers should investigate five separate questions.

Who identifies the need?

This is usually the operational or educational owner. It could be a teacher, department leader, SENCO, premises manager, IT lead, business manager or senior leader.

Who owns the budget?

The budget holder may be at school, department or trust level. A person can support the proposal without controlling the money needed to fund it.

Who runs the procurement?

The person evaluating the educational or operational solution may not manage quotations, frameworks, tenders or supplier onboarding. That work may sit with finance, a business manager, procurement staff, the local authority or a central trust team.

Who approves the commitment?

Approval may depend on value, contract length, risk and whether the expenditure was already included in an agreed budget. Higher-value or unusual purchases may need committee, governor or trustee approval.

Who signs the contract?

The contract signatory must have authority to commit the relevant legal organisation. Suppliers should not assume that the person attending demonstrations or negotiating the service can sign the final agreement.

The Department for Education advises schools to check their own procurement rules and choose a buying route appropriate to the value and nature of the purchase. Its guidance on buying procedures and procurement law for schools explains that schools should distinguish between lower-value purchasing and more formal processes, while also considering public procurement law where applicable.

This means suppliers should avoid universal claims such as:

• “Schools always need three quotes.”
• “Headteachers can approve purchases below a particular figure.”
• “MATs always buy centrally.”
• “Maintained schools must buy through the council.”
• “Academies can choose any supplier they want.”

Each statement may be true in a particular situation and false in another.

A more professional approach is to ask which rules apply to the proposed purchase.

How to identify whether a school belongs to a MAT

Suppliers should establish the school’s organisational status before beginning substantial outreach.

A school website is a useful starting point. Academy websites should normally identify the academy trust responsible for the school, often in the footer, governance section or statutory information pages.

The trust may also have its own website listing all member academies and central leadership roles.

However, school websites can be inconsistent. A site may prominently use the school’s brand while placing the trust’s legal information elsewhere. Staff pages may also focus on local roles and omit central teams.

Useful checks include:

• looking for the academy trust’s name in the website footer;
• checking the governance or statutory information section;
• reviewing the trust’s own website;
• checking whether several schools share the same company or trust name;
• looking for central finance, IT, HR, estates or procurement contacts;
• checking official school and trust records.

The government’s Get Information about Schools service provides official information on schools and establishment groups in England. AllSchools also brings school and trust information together in a format designed to help users explore individual schools, trusts and their relationships.

Once the trust is identified, do not immediately assume that central outreach is required. First establish whether your product category is managed centrally.

A supplier of whole-trust payroll software will probably need a different route from a local drama workshop, peripatetic music provider or small classroom-resource business.

Research should therefore answer two questions:

1. Which organisation is responsible for the school?
2. At which level is this specific purchasing decision made?

Should suppliers target individual schools or MATs first?

There is no universally correct answer. The right route depends on the offer, the supplier’s experience and its ability to deliver at scale.

When individual schools may be the better starting point

Targeting individual schools can make sense when:

• the purchase is normally controlled locally;
• the service responds to a school-specific need;
• the supplier is new to the education market;
• a local case study is needed before approaching larger organisations;
• the supplier operates within a limited geographic area;
• implementation is easier to test with one school;
• the contract value is too small to justify trust-wide procurement;
• individual leaders have meaningful delegated authority.

Winning one school can help the supplier learn how education buying works and create evidence relevant to similar schools.

When a MAT may be the better target

A trust-level approach may make more sense when:

• the problem affects several academies;
• the category is commonly centralised;
• standardisation creates operational or financial benefits;
• the supplier can implement across multiple sites;
• central reporting is part of the value;
• the offer supports finance, HR, IT, estates or governance functions;
• the supplier already has credible education-sector evidence;
• a trust-wide contract would materially improve value for money.

A MAT is not simply a larger school. A trust-wide sale requires the supplier to show that its offer can work across schools with different phases, sizes, staff, systems and local needs.

The proposal may need to address:

• central oversight;
• academy-level adoption;
• phased implementation;
• training across multiple sites;
• consistent service standards;
• combined and school-level reporting;
• data separation and access controls;
• support capacity;
• trust-wide commercial terms;
• what happens when new academies join the trust.

A supplier that can deliver successfully to one school should not automatically claim it can serve 30. Trust leaders will want evidence that the service, team and systems can scale.

The existing guide to MATs versus individual schools provides a more detailed comparison of the two routes.

Common mistakes suppliers make with school structures

Assuming every academy controls its own contracts

An academy leader may want the product but lack authority to select a provider in that category. Establish whether the decision is local before investing heavily in the opportunity.

Sending the same email to every academy in one MAT

This can create duplicated communication and may irritate central staff. Where a category is centrally managed, one informed trust-level approach is usually better than repeated generic messages.

Contacting only the trust chief executive

The chief executive is not the correct first contact for every service. Operational offers may belong with finance, IT, estates, HR, education, safeguarding or academy-level leaders.

Treating maintained schools as council departments

Maintained schools often have substantial delegated responsibility for their own budgets and suppliers. Do not assume every buying decision is made at the local authority.

Assuming academies have no restrictions

Academy autonomy does not remove governance, procurement and financial controls. Academy trusts are responsible for managing public money and must follow the requirements applying to them.

Using the school’s name as the contracting party without checking

The public-facing school name may not be the correct legal party. This can cause delays when the order form or contract reaches finance or legal review.

Confusing interest with authority

A head of department, teacher or academy principal may be an excellent internal champion but still require approval from another person or central team.

Ignoring existing trust-wide arrangements

A school may be satisfied with your offer yet already be committed to another supplier under a central contract. Ask when the arrangement is due for review rather than repeatedly trying to displace it mid-term.

Promising trust-wide savings too early

Before claiming economies of scale, understand the trust’s current provision, academy differences, implementation needs and likely usage. Lower unit pricing is not a saving when rollout costs or adoption problems are ignored.

A practical research and outreach process for suppliers

Before approaching a school, establish its type and likely buying route.

Step 1: Identify the school structure

Determine whether it is:

• a local-authority-maintained school;
• a standalone academy;
• an academy within a MAT;
• another type of institution requiring separate research.

Step 2: Identify the organisation behind it

For a maintained school, note the local authority and school category. For an academy, identify the legal academy trust. For a MAT academy, record the trust and review its member schools.

Step 3: Decide where the need is likely to originate

Identify the person who experiences or owns the problem. This may be a curriculum leader, SENCO, business manager, premises manager, IT lead or senior leader.

Step 4: Determine whether the category is local or central

Ask whether the individual school can choose the supplier, whether central approval is required or whether an existing contract already covers the service.

Step 5: Understand the likely buying process

Ask:

• Which budget would fund this?
• Who else needs to review it?
• Does the school need quotations or a formal tender?
• Is an approved framework available or required?
• What due-diligence documents are needed?
• Who gives final approval?
• Which legal organisation signs the agreement?

Step 6: Tailor the proposal to the organisation

A maintained-school proposal may need to fit local financial procedures or address local-authority involvement. A standalone academy proposal should use the trust’s correct legal details and approval route. A MAT proposal may need to distinguish between central benefits and academy-level implementation.

Step 7: Make the next step proportionate

Do not ask a large trust for an immediate organisation-wide commitment when you lack education case studies or implementation evidence. A discovery meeting, technical review or carefully defined pilot may be more realistic.

Similarly, do not turn a straightforward low-cost school purchase into an unnecessarily complex enterprise sales process. Match the effort to the value, risk and structure of the decision.

The best suppliers make it easier for schools and trusts to buy responsibly. They identify the appropriate route, provide clear information and respect the organisation’s controls instead of trying to bypass them.

Frequently asked questions

What is a maintained school?

A maintained school is a state-funded school maintained by a local authority. Its governing body and headteacher manage the school within national requirements, the local authority’s financial scheme and the responsibilities delegated to them. Maintained schools include community, voluntary controlled, voluntary aided and foundation schools.

What is an academy?

An academy is a state-funded school operated by an academy trust and funded directly by central government. The trust is responsible for governance, finance, employment and contracts. Academies include converter academies, sponsored academies and free schools.

What is a multi-academy trust?

A multi-academy trust is one academy trust responsible for two or more academies. It is a single legal organisation with one board of trustees. The trust may manage services and purchasing centrally, delegate decisions to academies or use a mixture of both approaches.

Is a MAT the same as a group of independent schools?

No. Academies within a MAT belong to one legal trust. They are not separate academy trusts merely cooperating under a shared brand. The MAT is accountable for all its academies, although local leadership and delegated responsibilities may vary.

Is a free school an academy?

Yes. A free school is a type of academy. It is funded by central government and operated by an academy trust rather than maintained by a local authority.

Can maintained schools choose their own suppliers?

Many maintained schools have delegated authority to choose suppliers for a wide range of purchases. However, they must follow the applicable local-authority scheme, their own financial procedures and any existing contractual arrangements. The local authority may retain responsibility or provide central arrangements in some areas.

Can an academy choose any supplier it wants?

Not without limits. Academy trusts have greater independence from local authorities, but they must comply with their funding agreements, the Academy Trust Handbook, procurement law where applicable and their own financial controls. Existing contracts, frameworks and delegated approval limits may restrict an individual academy’s choice.

Are all MAT purchases made centrally?

No. Some MATs centralise most significant purchases, while others delegate substantial authority to individual academies. Many use a hybrid model. Suppliers need to ask how the particular product or service category is managed.

Who should a supplier contact in a MAT?

The correct contact depends on the offer. Trust-wide IT may belong with the IT director, estates work with the estates team, HR services with central HR and educational programmes with a director of education or academy leader. The chief executive should not be treated as the default contact for every proposal.

Can a supplier work with one academy without a trust-wide contract?

Sometimes. It depends on the trust’s scheme of delegation and whether the category is managed locally. An academy may be able to buy independently, require central approval or be required to use an existing trust-wide supplier.

Who signs a contract for an academy in a MAT?

The contract is generally entered into by the academy trust through a person authorised under its delegation and financial arrangements. The academy’s public-facing name may appear in operational documents, but the trust’s correct legal identity should be confirmed for the contract.

Does becoming an approved MAT supplier guarantee work?

No. Approved status may mean that due diligence has been completed and academies are permitted to use the supplier. It does not necessarily require schools to purchase from that supplier or create automatic demand.

Should a new supplier approach schools or MATs first?

Individual schools are often a practical starting point for suppliers needing experience, evidence and case studies. MATs may be appropriate when the offer solves a central problem and the supplier can deliver consistently across several academies. The choice should reflect the buying category, contract size and supplier’s operational capacity.

How can suppliers check whether a school is an academy?

Check the school’s website, governance information, website footer and official establishment records. Academy websites should identify the academy trust responsible for the school. The government’s Get Information about Schools service can also be used to check establishment and trust information.

What is the most important question to ask about school structure?

Ask: “Is this particular decision made by the school, the local authority or a central trust team?” That question helps identify the real buying route without making assumptions based solely on the school’s public identity.