Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT)

What Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT) does

Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT) is a charitable company limited by guarantee (registered company number 08464996) operating as a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) established in March 2013 by the Diocese of Ely. It is not a typical commercial enterprise: it is a non-profit state-funded education provider with governance from a Board of Trustees and ownership of the diocesan-level entity Diocese of Ely Education Trust (DEET). It operates 39 primary schools across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough, serving more than 7,000 children with over 1,000 members of staff. From September 2026 it will rebrand to Grace Schools; its first secondary school (Alconbury Weald Church Academy, up to 1,200 pupils) is scheduled to open in September 2027. Its core "products" are the schools themselves — state-funded academy provision under a Christian distinctiveness — delivered through a hub model that centralises finance, HR, IT, facilities, and estates across the network.

The Trust's technology stack is education-operational rather than consumer-facing. The website (demat.org.uk, transitioning to graceschools.org.uk) is the primary digital channel, supplemented by the quarterly "Amazing Grace" magazine and active recruitment via the My New Term platform. The proprietary layer is the "DEMAT Playbook" and accompanying "Principles of..." documents — codified operational and pedagogical frameworks — supported by a "best bets" curriculum portfolio of partnered programmes: SoundsWrite Phonics (linguistic phonics), the Primary Knowledge Curriculum (knowledge-rich sequenced curriculum), and CompleteMaths (mathematics). Staff feedback is operationalised through TeacherTapp, enabling benchmarking against 10,000+ sector responses. The Trust holds no patents, software products, or AI/ML capabilities.

DEMAT generates revenue almost exclusively from state education funding channelled through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) under Master and Supplemental Funding Agreements with the Department for Education. As a not-for-profit, all funds are reinvested into educational provision. There are no tuition fees; the "pricing model" is free state-funded education. Go-to-market is dual: a community-led motion where schools join the Trust voluntarily based on shared values and reputation, and a sales-led motion where the Trust proactively seeks to grow its portfolio through new school establishment (e.g., Alconbury Weald via DfE appointment) and expanded geographic reach beyond the Diocese of Ely. The primary customer segments are parents/families seeking Christian-based primary education and Church of England schools seeking academy status with shared services and school improvement support.

Name

Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT)

Legal name

Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust

Website

https://demat.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT) is a non-profit Multi-Academy Trust operating 39 state-funded primary schools across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough, serving 7,000+ children with 1,000+ staff under a Christian ethos, and expanding into secondary education in 2027.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education (Multi-Academy Trust)

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Cross-District Consortia & Shared Services Authorities (EDADABAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• Multi-academy trust services
• Primary school education
• School improvement programmes
• Church school governance
• Educational shared services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ely

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. State Education Funding: DEMAT receives government funding through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for operating its academies. Funding is governed by Master Funding Agreements with the Department for Education. Each academy has its own Supplemental Funding Agreement.
2. Charitable Not-for-Profit Operations: As a charitable company limited by guarantee, DEMAT operates on a not-for-profit basis, reinvesting all funds into educational provision and school improvement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DEMAT operates a network of 39 state-funded Church of England primary schools across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough, delivering free primary education to more than 7,000 children grounded in Christian values. The trust provides member schools with centralised support including curriculum standardisation (SoundsWrite, Primary Knowledge Curriculum, CompleteMaths), shared back-office services in finance, HR, IT, and estates via a hub model, governance and safeguarding oversight, and ongoing school improvement programmes. Revenue is received primarily as government grants from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, with the trust operating as a non-profit charitable company limited by guarantee.

Product overview

DEMAT operates as a Multi-Academy Trust providing education through a network of 39 primary schools across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough. The organization offers a unified educational platform built on Christian distinctiveness, with schools aligned around shared curriculum frameworks including SoundsWrite Phonics, Primary Knowledge Curriculum, and Complete Maths. The Trust is undergoing a rebrand to 'Grace Schools' in September 2026. A significant new product launch is the Alconbury Weald Church Academy, a secondary school opening in 2027, representing the Trust's expansion beyond primary education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alconbury Weald Church Academy (AWCA) A brand new, fully inclusive, state-funded, mixed secondary school located on the Alconbury Weald development in Huntingdonshire. Opening September 2027, it will be the first secondary school in the Trust, offering a broad and balanced curriculum underpinned by a Christian ethos for children aged 11-16+.
• DEMAT Schools Network (39 primary academies) A network of 39 primary schools across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough providing free state-funded primary education to more than 7,000 children aged 4-11, underpinned by Christian values of Love, Community, Trust, Respect, and Ambition, with aligned curriculum frameworks (SoundsWrite, Primary Knowledge Curriculum, CompleteMaths) and centralised support services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of DEMAT schools rated Good or better by Ofsted (up from 48% in 2019)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cambridgeshire County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Cambridgeshire County Council is delivering the Alconbury Weald secondary school project in partnership with DEMAT. The Education team at the Council is leading the project, with DEMAT as the future operators of the school. The Council is delivering the school in line with sustainability and best practice design aspirations.
• Urban&CiviccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Urban&Civic is the master developer of the Alconbury Weald development. They are working with DEMAT and Cambridgeshire County Council to deliver the new secondary school as part of the Education Campus. The project is supported by funding from Urban&Civic.
• SoundsWritecoreTechnology or IntegrationLinguistic phonics programme implemented across all DEMAT schools as part of the trust's 'best bets' for school improvement. DEMAT invests heavily in this approach with extensive CPD for staff.
• Primary Knowledge CurriculumcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary Knowledge Curriculum is one of the 'best bets' programmes implemented across DEMAT schools in a phased approach, providing well-sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum.
• CompleteMathscoreTechnology or IntegrationMathematics programme selected by DEMAT as part of its 'best bets' approach, implemented across all schools within the Trust in a phased approach.
• Church of England Secondary NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEMAT is working closely with the Church of England Secondary Network to develop and test plans for its first secondary school (Alconbury Weald Church Academy) during the pre-opening period.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Anglian Learning: Multi-academy trust operating schools across East Anglia including Cambridgeshire; comparable in scale, location and cross-phase school improvement focus.
• REAch2 Academy Trust: National primary-focused MAT and a recognised primary sector consolidator; comparable in growth strategy and primary-specialist positioning.
• Active Learning Trust: Large Cambridgeshire-based MAT operating primary and secondary schools in the same region as DEMAT, providing like-for-like local competition for academy conversions and staff.
• Diocese of Peterborough Academy Trust: Neighbouring C of E diocesan MAT covering Peterborough and surrounding areas; directly comparable on governance model and Anglican ethos, partially overlapping DEMAT's geography.
• Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT): Neighbouring Church of England diocesan MAT covering Norfolk primary schools; the structurally closest comparable to DEMAT in terms of diocesan governance, C of E character and East Anglian footprint.
• Cambridge Academic Partnership: Local Cambridgeshire partnership of schools including primaries; comparable geographic catchment and cross-school improvement remit.
• Trust in Learning Academies (TILT): Regional East Anglian MAT operating primary schools; comparable portfolio scope and school-improvement remit in overlapping geography.

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: One of the largest UK MATs with a significant Church of England-affiliated school portfolio; broader and more diversified than DEMAT but shares the C of E values-based positioning.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: Large national MAT with a broad portfolio of primary and secondary schools; overlaps on school-improvement expertise but is multi-region and largely non-faith.
• Star Academies: Faith-rooted national MAT specialising in school turnaround; comparable on faith-based distinctiveness and improvement narrative, though operating at larger national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-diocese-of-ely-multi-academy-trust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust (DEMAT)