the good shepherd trust

What the good shepherd trust does

The Good Shepherd Trust (GST) is a private multi-academy trust (MAT) established in 2013 by the Diocese of Guildford to operate Church of England and community schools within the diocese's geographic boundaries in Surrey and Hampshire. It functions as a non-profit educational organization, not a commercial entity, and currently operates 24 member academies serving approximately 6,200 students with a staff of roughly 980 people. Schools are organized into four geographic hubs (Northern, Eastern, Western, Central) that coordinate localized support, shared resources, and collaborative networks between schools and school leaders. The trust operates under the oversight of the Diocese of Guildford, which in 2013 also established the Guildford Diocese Education Trust (GDET) as an overarching umbrella body for all Church academy trusts in the diocese.

Name

the good shepherd trust

Legal name

The Good Shepherd Trust

Website

https://goodshepherdtrust.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Good Shepherd Trust is a UK multi-academy trust operating 24 Church of England and community schools across Surrey and Hampshire, serving approximately 6,200 students through centralized curriculum, admissions, governance, and professional development services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Guildford

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, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Academy Funding: State-funded education through the UK government academy funding model. The trust receives funding for its member academies based on pupil numbers and educational outcomes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Good Shepherd Trust operates a network of 24 Church of England and community schools across Surrey and Hampshire, delivering primary and secondary education to approximately 6,200 pupils. It provides centralized educational services to its member academies, including curriculum leadership, continuous professional development for staff, admissions coordination, governance, safeguarding, and data protection oversight, organized through four geographic hubs.

Product overview

The Good Shepherd Trust operates as a single unified educational services offering through a network of 24 church and community schools, rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering comprises five interconnected service areas: the Member Schools Network (schools organized into four geographical hubs enabling collaboration), Curriculum Leadership (guiding curriculum principles, subject networks, and aligned assessment via Arbor MIS), Continuous Professional Development (online and in-person training, NPQ qualifications), Admissions Services (centralized admissions authority), and Trust Governance (policies, safeguarding, data protection, and compliance). These services function as an integrated educational ecosystem rather than discrete software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Guildford Diocese Education Trust (GDET)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013GDET was established by the Diocese of Guildford in 2013 to provide oversight and guidance as an overarching umbrella trust for all Church academy trusts within the Diocese, including The Good Shepherd Trust.
• Diocese of GuildfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe trust is established within the Diocese of Guildford and operates under the oversight of the Guildford Diocese Education Trust (GDET). The diocese provides guidance and support as an overarching umbrella trust for all Church academy trusts established within the Diocese.
• GLF (Girls Learning and Formation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred provider for National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). GLF provides teacher professional development opportunities for staff within the trust.
• Church of England / Catholic Education ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred provider for National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). Provides scholarship funding for NPQ courses to eligible schools.
• National SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides support for the provision of statutory religious education in Church of England schools.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: One of the largest UK multi-academy trusts operating a national network of both primary and secondary schools. Comparable as a multi-academy trust providing centralized curriculum, governance, and CPD services across a wide geographic footprint, but at materially larger scale than the Good Shepherd Trust.
• Oasis Community Learning: Large national multi-academy trust running primary and secondary academies across England. Comparable as a MAT delivering shared curriculum, admissions, and governance support, though operating at significantly greater scale and geographic spread.
• Harris Federation: Major UK multi-academy trust with a primary and secondary school network, offering shared curriculum and CPD infrastructure. Comparable business model of centralized support across member academies, but at much larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Outwood Grange Academies Trust: Large UK MAT operating primary and secondary academies with shared curriculum frameworks and CPD. Comparable as a multi-academy trust delivering centralized academic and operational support, though substantially larger and more geographically dispersed.

Direct peers

• REAch2 Academy Trust: National multi-academy trust primarily serving primary schools with a hub-based operating model and centralized curriculum and CPD services. Direct comparable in structure (hub organization, primary-heavy portfolio, central service layer) to the Good Shepherd Trust.
• Greenshaw Learning Trust: Surrey-based multi-academy trust operating a network of primary and secondary schools in the same South East region. Highly comparable given overlapping Surrey geography, mixed CofE/community school profile, and similar hub-style support model.
• Academy Transformation Trust: Mid-sized UK multi-academy trust operating a portfolio of primary and secondary schools with centralized improvement services. Comparable in scale and operating approach (centralized support, school improvement focus) to the Good Shepherd Trust.
• Learning Schools Trust: Multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary schools in southern England with shared curriculum and governance infrastructure. Comparable as a regional MAT delivering centralized services to member academies in a similar geographic band.
• Aspire Academy Trust: Regional multi-academy trust operating primary schools with a hub-based model and centralized curriculum and professional development services. Comparable structure and primary-heavy mix, operating in a similar regional footprint to the Good Shepherd Trust.

Others

• Diocese of Guildford Education Trust (GDET): Umbrella body established by the Diocese of Guildford in 2013 to oversee Church academy trusts including the Good Shepherd Trust. Comparable not as a competitor but as the governance and strategic oversight structure that defines the trust's operating context.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/goodshepherdtrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries22 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 the good shepherd trust