Keys Academies Trust

What Keys Academies Trust does

Keys Academies Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) operating five academies in west Peterborough — one secondary (Jack Hunt Academy) and four primary schools (Longthorpe, Nova, Ravensthorpe, Thorpe) — serving 3,488 students who collectively speak 80+ languages. Formed in 2018 from a prior alliance of primary schools working with Jack Hunt, the Trust is registered in England and Wales as an educational charity and is governed by Members, Trustees, and local Academy Committees.

The Trust operates two technology-oriented business lines. The first is iLearn, a proprietary learning management platform offering separate portals for parents, students, and teachers to access digital learning resources. The second is Keys IT Services, a division providing cloud-based IT infrastructure (EduCloud), helpdesk support, strategic development, digital technology audits, events and training, procurement services, and advisory on Department for Education digital standards. These services appear to serve the Trust's own academies and are positioned, via a 'What Our Clients Think' page, as offerings to external schools.

The business model is a UK state-funded Academy Trust: the Trust does not charge tuition and instead receives recurring grants from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and local authorities, with funding tied to student enrollment. Central headcount is reported at 31 (likely trust-level staff, with school-based teaching and operational staff not enumerated in the source). Marketing is primarily organic — a corporate website, an active @PKAT_edu Twitter account, and direct community engagement — rather than performance-driven acquisition.

Name

Keys Academies Trust

Legal name

Keys Academies Trust

Website

https://pkat.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Keys Academies Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating five primary and secondary academies in west Peterborough, educating 3,488 students from 80+ language backgrounds. It is funded by government grants and operates iLearn and Keys IT Services internally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Peterborough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: Keys Academies Trust operates as a UK Multi-Academy Trust receiving government funding through the Department for Education for educating students across its five academies. Revenue is derived from Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) grants and local authority funding based on student enrollment numbers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Keys Academies Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust that operates five primary and secondary academies in west Peterborough delivering K-12 education to 3,488 students speaking 80+ languages. It supplements its core educational mission with the iLearn digital learning platform and a Keys IT Services division that provides EduCloud cloud infrastructure, IT support, strategic development, digital technology audits, training, and procurement services to schools.

Product overview

Keys Academies Trust is an education trust operating 5 primary and secondary academies in Peterborough, UK. The trust offers a unified platform combining educational services across its academies with a dedicated technology services division. The core educational offering includes iLearn, a learning management system supporting students, teachers, and parents, alongside Keys IT Services providing comprehensive technology solutions including EduCloud cloud hosting, IT support, strategic planning, digital audits, training, and DfE standards compliance advisory services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Keys IT Services: IT services division providing technology support for education, including EduCloud, strategic development, digital technology audits, and procurement services.
• iLearn

Products and services

• K-12 Academy Education (Five Schools) State-funded primary and secondary education delivered across five academies (one secondary and four primaries) in west Peterborough to 3,488 students, including SEND provision, inclusive learning, and language support services.
• iLearn Digital learning management platform offered by Keys Academies Trust with separate portals for students, parents, and teachers, providing educational resources and tools across the Trust's academies.
• Keys IT Services Comprehensive IT services division of Keys Academies Trust providing technology support, infrastructure management, and digital solutions for educational institutions, including EduCloud, strategic development, digital technology audits, events and training, procurement services, and DfE digital standards advisory.
• EduCloud Cloud-based educational technology solution provided through Keys IT Services, offering hosted infrastructure and cloud services for schools and educational institutions.
• IT Support for Education Technical support services specifically designed for educational institutions, providing helpdesk and troubleshooting capabilities for school IT environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3488 students educated across the Trust

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Woodgreen Pets CharityminorOthers · 16 June 2024Woodgreen Pets Charity conducted special animal welfare visits to Longthorpe Primary Academy, providing educational experiences for students about animal care and welfare. This represents a community engagement partnership rather than a formal commercial arrangement.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• United Learning: National UK multi-academy trust running both state-funded and independent schools. Closely comparable in operating model (group of academies under shared governance) and offers a benchmark for how a MAT can add schools while preserving distinct identities.
• REAch2 Academy Trust: National primary-focused MAT with a hub-and-spoke federation model. Directly comparable to Keys in operating a central team that supports multiple primary academies, with similar growth-through-conversion strategy.
• Academies Enterprise Trust (AET): One of the UK's largest MATs operating a diverse portfolio of primary and secondary schools. Comparable in operating model and reliance on government per-pupil funding, though at a much larger scale.
• Harris Federation: One of the largest UK multi-academy trusts, operating a federation of primary and secondary academies. Directly comparable multi-academy trust structure with shared central services and a federated growth model, though at significantly greater scale than Keys Academies Trust.
• Oasis Community Learning: National UK MAT with a strong community-inclusion mission similar to Keys' stated social-mobility focus. Comparable in that it runs a portfolio of academies across primary and secondary phases, often in areas of socio-economic deprivation.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: Large national MAT with a broad portfolio of primary and secondary academies. Comparable in federated operating structure and shared back-office services, with a similar inclusion-focused ethos.

Regional players

• Anglian Learning: East of England MAT operating multiple schools across similar geography to Keys in Peterborough. Most regionally comparable peer given overlapping catchment and shared local-authority/DfE relationships.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: East Midlands-based MAT with a portfolio of primary and secondary schools. Comparable in scale and regional scope, providing a useful benchmark for mid-sized MAT operating economics.
• Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust: Cambridgeshire-based MAT covering schools in and around Peterborough. The most direct geographic competitor for new school conversions and for student recruitment in the same local authority area.

Others

• RM plc (RM Education): UK education-focused IT services and EdTech provider. Comparable to Keys IT Services in offering IT support, infrastructure, and digital tools to schools, and serves as a benchmark for what the Trust's in-house IT division could look like if scaled externally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PKAT_edu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/keys-academies-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Keys Academies Trust