Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust

What Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust does

Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust (ODBST) is a charitable Multi Academy Trust (MAT) established in September 2017 to provide a governance and shared-services vehicle for schools across the Buckingham Episcopal area, covering Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes in England. The trust operates as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and is institutionally linked to the Diocese of Oxford through a Service Level Agreement, with the Diocese appointing its volunteer Members. As of 2025–2026, ODBST comprises 15 member schools — 14 primary and one secondary (Chiltern Hills Academy, the first secondary added in 2025) — serving more than 3,000 children and young people, and employs roughly 15 central staff to deliver trust-wide functions.

The trust's core offering is school improvement support and centralized shared services: School Effectiveness, Finance, HR, Estates and Health and Safety, Data Protection, Procurement, and Safeguarding. Each member school retains its local governing body, accountable to the Board of Trustees, while the trust centralizes non-educational functions to reduce administrative burden. ODBST runs trust-wide events (Pupil Voice Day, ODBST Day, Advent service, Children's Eco Summit, Leadership Conferences) and a Christian-distinctiveness programme rooted in its diocesan heritage. Its technology footprint is light: the public website and member-school websites are built by e4education/Juniper Education, with standard integrations for Google Analytics, Google Maps, Vimeo and YouTube; there is no proprietary platform, no app, and no disclosed AI/ML capability.

Revenue mechanics are institutional rather than commercial. Schools join via academisation, transferring their government per-pupil funding to the trust; ODBST does not operate a pricing model, does not pay dividends, and makes no profit. Strategic emphasis is on organic growth through additional academisations within Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, expanded service lines (e.g., the October 2025 launch of Seedlings Nursery & Preschool at Great Horwood CofE School, part of a government-funded school-based nursery wave), and estates-level initiatives such as the June 2026 rollout of more than 90 EV chargers across member schools.

Name

Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust

Legal name

Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust

Website

https://odbst.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust is a not-for-profit Diocesan Multi Academy Trust, established 2017, that governs 15 primary and secondary schools across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, serving more than 3,000 pupils through shared services and diocesan oversight.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi Academy Trust Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Compliance, Risk & Audit Support Services (EHS, Title IX/Clery Support, Policy Admin) (EDAEALAK)

Keywords

• Multi academy trust
• School improvement services
• Education governance support
• Academy shared services
• Academisation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Kidlington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. School Funding / Academy Funding: As a charitable company limited by guarantee, ODBST operates as a not-for-profit educational trust. No one can make any money from the company. The trust benefits from all the support and training available from the Diocese through the SLA (Service Level Agreement). Schools transfer their funding to the trust upon academisation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ODBST operates as a Diocesan Multi Academy Trust delivering educational governance, school improvement support, and centralised shared services (HR, Finance, Estates and Health & Safety, Data Protection, Procurement, School Effectiveness) to 15 member primary and secondary schools across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The trust serves more than 3,000 children and young people, supports school-based nurseries such as Seedlings Nursery & Preschool, and enables member schools to maintain local character through local governing bodies accountable to the Board of Trustees.

Product overview

Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust (ODBST) operates as a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) providing educational services to primary and secondary schools across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The organization serves more than 3,000 children and young people through 15 schools. The core offering is the MAT governance and school improvement support structure, supplemented by a Shared Services Team that provides centralized HR, finance, estates, health and safety, and data protection services. ODBST maintains a public website platform built by e4education (Juniper Education) for communications and service delivery. The Trust is rooted in Christian values and is linked to the Diocese of Oxford, with decisions made by local governing bodies accountable to the Board of Trustees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Multi Academy Trust Governance and Educational Services Core MAT offering providing educational leadership, governance oversight, and statutory compliance across 15 primary and secondary schools in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, serving more than 3,000 children and young people.
• School Improvement Support High-quality school improvement support and partnership working delivered across the Trust to strengthen individual school performance and educational outcomes.
• Shared Services (HR, Finance, Estates and Health & Safety, Data Protection, Procurement) Centralised back-office support covering HR, Finance, Estates and Health & Safety, Data Protection, and Procurement functions for member schools, reducing administrative burden on school leadership.
• Seedlings Nursery & Preschool School-based nursery and preschool offering extended 48-week care (7:30am-6pm) for children aged 2+ at Great Horwood CofE School, part of the Government School-based Nursery Capital Funding programme.

Named customers14 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Diocese of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe trust is linked to the Diocese of Oxford through the appointment of its Members, who are all volunteers acting as the 'owners' of the company. The company benefits from all the support and training available from the Diocese through the SLA (Service Level Agreement).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reach Academy Trust: Reach Academy Trust is a regional Multi Academy Trust running a network of primary and secondary schools in the South of England with shared services and school-to-school improvement support. Comparable to ODBST in operating model and in the Southern/regional MAT tier.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: Greenwood Academies Trust is a regional Multi Academy Trust with a similar size and footprint to ODBST, operating primary and secondary academies with a centralised shared-services model. Closely comparable in operational scale and conversion-led growth approach.
• White Horse Federation: White Horse Federation is a Multi Academy Trust operating a network of primary and secondary schools in the South West of England. Comparable to ODBST as a regional MAT with a centralised shared-services and school-improvement delivery model.
• Oasis Community Learning: Oasis Community Learning is one of the UK's largest faith-rooted Multi Academy Trusts, operating a network of primary and secondary academies across England. Directly comparable to ODBST as a values-led MAT running multiple schools under a centralised shared-services model.
• Anglian Learning: Anglian Learning is a regional Multi Academy Trust based in the East of England operating a network of primary and secondary schools. Comparable to ODBST as a similarly sized regional MAT with a shared-services operating model and school-improvement support function.
• Bath and Wells Diocesan Academy Trust: Bath and Wells Diocesan Academy Trust is a Church of England Diocesan Multi Academy Trust running a network of academies under the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Directly comparable to ODBST in the Diocesan-led MAT operating model that delivers shared services and Church of England values to member schools.
• Salisbury Diocesan Multi Academy Trust: Salisbury Diocesan MAT is a Diocesan Multi Academy Trust operating schools under the Church of England's Salisbury Diocese footprint, providing the equivalent of ODBST's governance and shared-services model in a neighbouring Diocesan context — the closest structural analogue to ODBST's Diocesan/MAT hybrid.

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: United Learning is the largest Multi Academy Trust in the UK, running a national portfolio of schools including state-funded academies and independent schools. Comparable as a broad incumbent MAT offering the same centralised governance and shared-services proposition ODBST provides, but at materially larger scale.
• Harris Federation: Harris Federation is one of the highest-performing and largest MATs in England, operating a primarily London-centric network of primary and secondary academies. Comparable as a broad incumbent MAT delivering centralised shared services and school improvement support, competing for conversions in the wider Buckinghamshire/Milton Keynes orbit.
• E-ACT: E-ACT is a large national Multi Academy Trust operating a portfolio of academies across multiple regions of England. Directly comparable in the academy-conversion, centralised-shared-services delivery model that competes for the same academy-conversion pipeline as ODBST.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bucksoxford
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oxford-diocesan-bucks-schools-trust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust