The MAT Unpacked

In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, host Ed Nell is joined by Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory and Jo Harper, Chief Executive of Activate Learning Education Trust, to explore what it really takes to build leadership capacity across a Multi Academy Trust. The conversation looks at the balance between centralisation and empowerment, the importance of culture, and how trusts can develop leaders f...

In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, Ed Nell and Chris Whiting are in Walthamstow for a second conversation with Sacha Corcoran MBE, CEO of Big Creative Academy Trust , this time focusing on SEND provision, genuine inclusion and what it takes to support the most complex young people in the system. Sacha pulls no punches about the funding gap, the broken EHCP system and a culture in parts of educat...

In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, host Ed Nell and Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory visit Walthamstow, London, to meet Sacha Corcoran MBE, CEO of Big Creative Academy Trust , a specialist further education college for 16-19-year-olds in the creative industries. Sacha shares her remarkable personal journey from a difficult childhood and teenage homelessness to leading an Ofsted outstanding in...

In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, host Ed Nell is joined by regular co-host Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory, alongside guest Julie Price Grimshaw from B11 Education - a former Ofsted HMI with extensive experience in school improvement, governance reviews and inspection. The conversation digs into what effective governance really looks like at trust board and local level, how Ofsted’s approa...

In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, host Ed Nell is joined by co-host Chris Whiting alongside sector guests to explore what effective governance really looks like within a Multi Academy Trust. The conversation moves beyond theory and compliance, focusing on how governance should actively support better decision-making, stronger leadership and improved outcomes for pupils. From the role of trustee...

In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, host Ed Nell is joined by regular co-host Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory, alongside returning guests Hugh Greenway and Simon Pink from The Elliot Foundation. The discussion focuses on one of the most misunderstood topics in trust leadership: risk management. Rather than treating risk as a bureaucratic exercise or a document that sits untouched for most of...

Episode 1 - Beyond the School Gate: How Trusts Can Become Community Anchors In the first episode of The MAT Unpacked, host Ed is joined by regular co-host Chris Whiting (Academy Advisory) alongside guests Hugh Greenway and Simon Pink from The Elliot Foundation. Recorded at the Trust’s London offices, the conversation explores how multi academy trusts can go beyond improving schools to play a wider...

Welcome to The MAT Unpacked, the podcast that opens up what “good” really looks like in multi-academy trusts. Hosted by Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory, each episode brings you honest and open conversations with trust leaders, auditors and specialists who’ve been there, done it, and learned the lessons. We go beyond theory and compliance to explore the decisions, processes and practical approa...