REAch2 Shortlisted for Three MAT Excellence Awards

REAch2 Shortlisted for Three MAT Excellence Awards

REAch2 Academy Trust is delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for three awards at the MAT Excellence Awards 2025. These national awards celebrate the exceptional work of multi-academy trusts across the country, recognising excellence in leadership, innovation, and impact.

Shortlisted Badge

This year, REAch2 has been named a finalist in the following categories:

  • MAT of the Year – Celebrating the collective achievements of all 62 REAch2 schools, the dedication of our staff, and the incredible progress being made across the Trust.
  • Environmental Trust of the Year – Recognising our commitment to sustainability, from embedding environmental education in our curriculum to the practical steps schools are taking to reduce their carbon footprint.
  • Staff Development Award – Highlighting our investment in the professional growth of our teams, ensuring that staff at all levels have access to high-quality training and career development opportunities.

These nominations reflect the hard work, innovation, and dedication of our school and central teams, who work tirelessly to provide the best possible education for over 21,000 children across our Trust.

Cathie Paine, CEO of REAch2, said:

"To be recognised in these three categories is a huge testament to the collective effort of our staff, pupils, and wider community. It is particularly special to see our commitment to environmental sustainability and staff development highlighted alongside our Trust-wide impact. These nominations belong to every single person in REAch2 who is making a difference every day in our schools. Congratulations to everyone!"

The MAT Excellence Awards are presented by Optimus Education, in partnership with the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), and celebrate the positive impact that multi-academy trusts are having across the education sector. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 19 June 2025.

For more information about the awards, visit MAT Excellence Awards website.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this success. We are proud of what we are achieving together.

REAch2 captures the views of both children and adults across all 60 academies and staff

REAch2 captures the views of both children and adults across all 60 academies and staff

During the months of February – April, REAch2 carried out its first annual survey in order to gather the views of children, parents, carers and staff across all 60 academies.

Cathie Paine, CEO, explains, “We believe that REAch2 is a family connected by a common desire to learn from each other, share experiences and be mutually supportive across the entire academy community. Every school and every individual, be it child, parent or staff, is included in this vision.

These surveys are pivotal, and I want to thank everyone who gave us their views. The responses mean we are able to get the unique perspective of parents and children as well as providing an insight into multiple areas of Trust life. It’s important to know how our children, parents and carers and staff feel about a range of topics including the environment, wellbeing and what it means to be part of REAch2. It was brilliant to see so many positive results but there is definitely lots still to do!

We want to build on the surveys, learning from them year on year and the findings will inform our strategic planning and help us improve”.

REAch2 accredited to provide Initial Teacher Training

REAch2 accredited to provide Initial Teacher Training

The largest primary-only family of schools in the country, REAch2 Academy Trust, has been accredited to provide Initial Teacher Training (ITT) following a rigorous government process. As a result of the accreditation, REAch2 will be running its ITT programme nationwide from 2024 across its 60 schools and beyond.

The accreditation process was designed to ensure that all accredited ITT providers are able to deliver high-quality ITT against the new Quality Requirements which will become part of the ITT criteria 2024/2025, and come into effect in September 2024. Recent reforms to ITT required all existing providers to re-apply for accreditation, as well as offering new providers the opportunity to apply for accreditation. 80 providers were accredited in the first wave, only one out of every three applying, highlighting the strength of the REAch2 application and the quality of the programme they will be providing.

Copperfield Academy Classroom Teacher with Children

As primary specialists, the REAch2 ITT programme will ensure trainees receive extensive training in learning how to work expertly with the youngest children, ensuring they develop a strong foundation for future learning and easing their transition to secondary school.

The REAch2 ITT programme will give trainees the opportunity to train in well-established local networks of schools at the heart of their communities while benefiting from all the advantages of being part of a national network of primary practitioners.

Andrea Wright, Head of Early Career Teacher Development at REAch2 Academy Trust, said:

“This is an exciting new chapter for REAch2, building on the success of the REAch Teach Primary Partnership’s current ITT provision. REAch2 represents one of the largest networks of primary education professionals and is committed to creating expert primary practitioners and future school leaders who provide exceptional opportunities for learning for all children.

“We want trainees to: ‘Train locally, grow nationally’ benefiting from a broad and strong national network of schools who share our vision and values. We know that great teachers shape children’s lives, and we can’t wait to get started in training the next generation of expert primary teachers to do just this.”

Andrea Wright
Head of Early Career Teacher Development

Cathie Paine, CEO at REAch2 Academy Trust, said:
“We are all delighted to be accredited as an Initial Teacher Training provider and are looking forward to helping develop new teachers. My vision for REAch2 is for every one of our schools to be great, and that will only happen with great teachers in the classroom. This is wonderful news that we can start to train the next generation of expert primary teachers to do just this.”