Ministerial approval gives green light to archdiocesan plans for St Joseph CMAT

Following a successful pilot project evaluation, ministerial approval has been granted to continue the success of St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust. The approval means that the trust may continue to onboard sponsored academies that need more support, until December 2024, as well as converter academies. As part of the archdiocesan strategy, St Joseph CMAT will then become CMAT 10 as a central Liverpool Trust.

During the pilot stage, the trust received additional grant funding, which allowed the board to establish a strong and experienced central team. There are currently seven academies within the trust who are aligned around the mission to ‘transform children’s lives through a world-class, Catholic education’.

As a Catholic trust serving some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country, the mission of transforming lives could not be more relevant; therefore, St Joseph CMAT pledges to offer an excellent education to all children, which prepares them for future success. 

Andrew Truby, CEO of St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, said: “We believe firmly that all of our children are entitled to access an ambitious curriculum and excellent teaching, which allows them to achieve and exceed national expectations. 

“Regardless of the starting points, everyone involved in St Joseph CMAT is highly committed to the pursuit of high achievement and aims for our academies’ performance to be above the national average in all measures, including and especially in religious education.” The trust has developed a robust strategy that is informed by the latest evidence from research.

By combining a high-quality curriculum that is designed to ensure success for all with the latest research into cognitive science, the trust ensures that its academies improve quickly and securely. The collaborative culture and strong partnership ensure that all staff benefit from high-quality professional development.

Celebrating Success

At its second annual conference, which brought together all staff, governors, directors and the central team, held at Liverpool Hope University in June, the trust celebrated its many achievements at the end of the first full year together.

One of the trust’s key priorities is to ensure that every child is a reader, which is why the trust works with Read Write Inc and Ruth Miskin Training. The impact of ‘Every Child a Reader’ is that 74% of children passed the Year 1 phonics screening check, an increase of 12 percentage points, and 94% of Year 2 children, an increase of 30 percentage points this year. 

Across the trust, attendance has also increased by 1.47 percentage points, meaning that children have attended 30,508 more lessons than last year. There has also been a 4.87 percentage points decrease in persistent absence, equating to +102 children attending school more regularly.

See the Celebrating Success video here.

Looking to the future

This is an exciting time for Catholic education in Liverpool as St Joseph CMAT will now welcome converter academies to its family. The trust is working closely with the Archdiocese of Liverpool on a phased approach to the onboarding of new schools from January 2024 onwards. 

Joan McCarthy, director of education at the Archdiocese of Liverpool, said: “The Archdiocese of Liverpool welcomes the DfE announcement on the future of the St Joseph Catholic MAT. We look forward to working with the MAT and the DfE as we progress towards establishing CMAT 10 in line with our published strategy.”

The growth of the St Joseph family will further enrich the opportunities for collaboration as a trust, which aims to become a centre of excellence in Catholic education for the region.

Notre Dame College

Notre Dame Catholic College in Liverpool will soon join St Joseph CMAT as its third secondary school. 

Ann Connor OBE, chair of St Joseph CMAT Board said: “I am delighted to welcome Notre Dame Catholic College to our family of schools. Women in my family had been educated by Notre Dame sisters for three generations when I became a pupil at Mount Pleasant. 

“The sisters have given a dedicated and outstanding contribution to education in Liverpool since 1851. I am therefore very proud that St Joseph CMAT will be able to carry their charism onwards in the 21st century.”