Please come to the TLC ANNUAL LECTURE 2025!
This event will take place in room 1.20/1.21 (35 Berkeley Square, BS8 1JA), on Thursday 26th June, 5.00-6.30pm, followed by a wine reception.
We are honoured that this year’s lecture will be given by Dr Gary Lewis, who is CEO of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership – one of the major Multi-Academy Trusts in the region.
Everyone is welcome!
Governors, governance and government: Who are schools and Multi-Academy Trusts accountable to?, Dr. Gary Lewis
Since 2010, England’s educational system has been reshaped by academies, replacing local authority oversight with multi-academy trusts (MATs) and centralising policy under the Department for Education. Governance has shifted significantly, yet the role of MAT Boards and chairs remains relatively underexplored. My research addresses that gap through a Mixed Methods approach: a Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (2004–2022) and interviews with MAT chairs. My findings reveal diminished school autonomy, increased government control, and ad hoc governance post-2016. Chairs act as expert mediators, navigating complex systems while influencing policy. MAT governance follows corporate models, highlighting discontinuities with traditional school governance.