Equals Trust

What Equals Trust does

Equals Trust is a primary multi-academy trust (MAT) incorporated as a charitable company limited by guarantee in England (company number 10279606), founded in September 2016 and headquartered at Keyworth Primary & Nursery School in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. The trust operates a network of 18 primary and nursery schools across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire in the East Midlands, serving pupils aged 3–11, alongside a central team of 46 staff that delivers shared services including finance, HR, payroll, IT, governance, legal, premises, and admissions. Member schools retain their individual ethos and identity while operating under the trust's EQT Principles for Learning framework, structured around the 4 Es (Expectation, Entitlement, Enrichment, Engagement) and supported by a tiered Equals Trust Practitioners Network of Lead Practitioners, Research Practitioners and Teaching & Learning Practitioners. Trust-wide enrichment offerings include the annual Albert Hall concert, the SciTech Inter Trust Competition, the Digital Leaders online safety programme, and the newly launched Girls Can Code STEM initiative with Nottingham Trent University, the Royal Society, Microsoft and Suno.

The trust's underlying technology footprint is administrative rather than proprietary: schools run on the Arbor Management Information System provided by SAMpeople / Arbor Education, recruitment is handled through the SAMpeople job board, and the website embeds YouTube and Vimeo video content. No public API, SDK or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The trust holds partial WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance, GDPR and UK Gender Pay Gap reporting certifications, and operates under the regulatory framework of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Revenue is derived almost exclusively from UK government funding channelled through the ESFA — recurrent per-pupil funding, pupil premium, and targeted grants — with no commercial pricing, customer billing, or subscription model. The trust's customers in an operational sense are the families and pupils of its member schools, while its economic counterparty is effectively the UK Department for Education. Go-to-market activity is limited to the trust's website, individual school websites, trust-wide events, and direct enquiries to the central team for prospective member schools.

Name

Equals Trust

Legal name

Equals Trust

Website

https://equalstrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Equals Trust is a UK primary multi-academy trust operating 18 member schools across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, delivering shared central services and the EQT 4 Es learning framework to pupils aged 3–11 and funded by the ESFA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Keyworth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: Equals Trust receives government funding through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for each academy within the trust. This includes recurrent per-pupil funding, pupil premium, and other government grants for specific educational initiatives.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Equals Trust operates a network of 18 primary and nursery schools across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, delivering mainstream primary education for pupils aged 3-11. It provides centralised back-office services (finance, HR, payroll, IT, legal, governance, premises) to its member academies and implements a shared EQT Principles for Learning framework built on Expectations, Entitlement, Enrichment, and Engagement. The trust also runs school improvement, practitioner development, digital safety, and trust-wide enrichment programs to support consistent educational quality across all member schools.

Product overview

Equals Trust is a primary multi-academy trust operating 19 member schools across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. The organization offers a unified platform of educational services centered on the EQT Principles for Learning framework (Expectation, Entitlement, Enrichment, Engagement), supported by Central Trust Services providing finance, HR, IT, and governance functions. Key offerings include the School Improvement Services, Equals Trust Practitioners professional development program, Digital Leaders student safety initiative, and Trust-Wide Enrichment Activities such as the annual concert at Albert Hall and Sci Tech competition. The member schools network allows individual schools to maintain their distinct identities while benefiting from collaborative resources and shared best practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Member Schools Network
• Central Trust Services
• School Improvement Services
• Equals Trust Practitioners Program
• Digital Leaders Program
• Trust-Wide Enrichment Activities
• Girls Can Code Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 schools operating collaboratively with shared support services and mutual accountability
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nottingham Trent University (Department of Computer Science)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Hosted the first 'Girls Can Code' initiative for Equals Trust pupils. University facilities including robotics lab and VR development space were used for the coding workshop. Staff and students from the Department of Computer Science participated as mentors and facilitators for the event.
• Royal SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Provided funding support for the Girls Can Code initiative, enabling high-quality STEM experiences in schools and connecting pupils with technology experts in the field.
• Framework (Homelessness Charity)minorOthers · 1 June 2026Charity supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness across Nottinghamshire. Equals Trust partnered with Framework for the 'Change for Change Week' campaign, raising funds and awareness with former Netherfield Primary School pupil Lewis serving as a Youth Ambassador for Framework.
• Education MutualminorOthersProvides Health & Wellbeing services to employees of Equals Trust as part of staff benefits package.
• SAMpeople / Arbor EducationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecruitment platform partner providing job board services, talent pool management, and recruitment software for Equals Trust. SAMpeople is part of Arbor Education which also provides the Arbor MIS system used by member schools.
• Research Schools and Teaching SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal educational partners that support and challenge teachers to develop subject knowledge, pedagogy, and wider practice. These partnerships enable Equals Trust to access best practices and professional development resources.
• East Midlands Education Support ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional education support organization providing continuing professional development opportunities and resources in collaboration with Equals Trust.
• Rushcliffe Learning AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal learning alliance network providing access to professional development and collaborative opportunities outside of the trust.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust operating primary, secondary, and independent schools nationally. Comparable to Equals Trust in MAT operating structure and shared central services, but at materially greater scale and geographic spread.
• Ark Schools: National UK multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools with a strong educational framework brand. Comparable to Equals Trust as a MAT operator with a defined pedagogical model, but with significantly broader reach.
• Oasis Community Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary academies nationally with a strong community-hub ethos. Comparable to Equals Trust as a MAT, but operates at much greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Harris Federation: Major UK multi-academy trust running primary and secondary schools across London and southern England with extensive central services. Comparable in operating model to Equals Trust but materially larger and London-focused.
• REAch2 Academy Trust: One of the largest UK primary-focused multi-academy trusts, operating a national network of primary schools. Comparable to Equals Trust as a primary-focused MAT with central shared services, but at materially greater scale.

Direct peers

• Greenwood Academies Trust: UK multi-academy trust operating a similar-sized network of primary and secondary academies across the East Midlands, directly comparable to Equals Trust in geography, governance structure, and central shared-services model.
• L.E.A.D. Academy Trust: Nottingham-headquartered multi-academy trust running a comparable network of primary academies with central leadership and shared services, directly comparable to Equals Trust in region, structure, and operating philosophy.
• Nova Education Trust: East Midlands multi-academy trust operating both primary and secondary schools under a shared governance and central services framework, directly comparable to Equals Trust in regional focus and trust operating model.
• Transform Trust: East Midlands-based multi-academy trust operating primary schools with a shared central services model, directly comparable to Equals Trust on geography, school-type focus, and trust-scale.
• White Hills Park Federation Trust: Nottinghamshire-based trust operating a small cluster of primary schools with shared governance, directly comparable to Equals Trust as a tightly localised East Midlands primary MAT.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equals-trust

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries18 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 Equals Trust