Berry Education Ltd

TrustGov Testimonial - Angi, Headteacher, Newcastle

Working with Berry Education has been an absolute game-changer for us.  Their team is highly professional, responsive, and dedicated to ensuring smooth and effective governance.  From day one, they have made the process seamless, guiding us with clear communication and unwavering support.  TrustGov is incredibly user-friendly, which saved us time and allowed us to focus on what really matters.  If you're looking for a governance partner that truly cares about your success, we can't recommend Berry highly enough.

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TrustGov Testimonial - Headteacher, Middlesborough

"My governors upload/organise their own documents now - Saving me hours!"

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TrustGov Testimonial - Parent Governor - Gateshead

“Uploading attachments to the Agenda speeds up the process of understanding and reading the documents in preparation for the meeting, and referring to them during the meeting.”

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TrustGov Testimonial - Governance Manager, Co.Durham

"The compliance system is wonderful!! It's intuitive and the only thing I have to do is check on the progress!"

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TrustGov Testimonial - Heather - Vice Chair In Durham

"TrustGov has helped our Academy Council become more time efficient. The reminder emails help us focus on what we need to do and when, so we are ready for upcoming meetings."

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Centurion Multi-Academy Trust - Case Study

Background
As a newly formed trust, Centurion Multi-Academy Trust was struggling with governance processes. Documents often went missing, trust members weren’t always receiving the right information, and decisions were regularly delayed. Meetings became inefficient, with time wasted revisiting information or resolving confusion, while the administrative burden grew heavier.

“There was such a lack of transparency, I never really knew what was being kept, who had attended which meetings, or when things had been updated. On top of that, the sheer amount of admin made it so difficult to keep governance documentation up-to-date and accessible. It all caused delays and confusion, which made decision-making harder than it needed to be.”

The Solution: TrustGov
When Centurion Multi-Academy Trust introduced TrustGov, it completely transformed the way governance processes were handled. By automating routine tasks like sending reminders and distributing documentation, the system reduced Louise’s administrative workload significantly.

“TrustGov has honestly made such a difference. Before, I was manually sending out emails and documents to everyone, which took up so much time. Now, the system takes care of that for me. It’s been an absolute game-changer for my workload.”

With all documents securely stored in one place, Louise found pre-meeting preparation much quicker and easier.

“I’ve halved the time it takes to prepare for meetings – I’m saving hours every week. The system is so simple to use, and everything’s secure and accessible. Even when auditors come in, I can just give them access to what they need without having to spend ages pulling everything together.”

Improved Meeting Efficiency
One of the biggest improvements has been in the efficiency of meetings and decision-making. TrustGov ensures that all trust members have instant access to relevant information well in advance.

“Now I know everyone’s got the documents they need before the meeting. They’ve had time to read everything, so we can get straight to making decisions instead of wasting time going over things. Meetings are so much more productive – it’s just a much better use of everyone’s time.”

Supporting Growth
As Centurion Multi-Academy Trust plans to grow in size over the coming years, TrustGov is already proving invaluable in supporting their ambitions.

“We’re planning to grow significantly, adding more schools to the Trust, and TrustGov is going to help us manage that. It gives us the structure and efficiency we need to keep making informed decisions as we expand.”

Conclusion
TrustGov has completely transformed how Centurion Multi-Academy Trust manages governance. By automating admin, improving transparency, and enabling secure document sharing, the platform has not only saved time but also made meetings and decision-making more effective.

“I’d absolutely recommend TrustGov to others. It’s cut my meeting preparation time in half, saved me so much admin, and made everything more efficient and secure. It’s made such a difference to how we work.”

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Oak Learning Trust Case Study

“We have worked with Berry Education since September 2020. Berry Education provide both our operational and strategic governance services and both services are excellent. Prior to September 2020, Claire Mitchell of Berry Education had been our governance clerk since 2017 and as such led the Trustees and I through the first months and years post academisation when her expertise in academies and the laws, regulations and requirements around them was invaluable in ensuring we made a smooth and successful transition from maintained schools to MAT.
Claire’s knowledge and expertise in the area of governance is excellent. She is well informed and has a very thorough knowledge and understanding of academies, how MATs work and the frameworks within which MATs operate. As she has such a detailed knowledge, she is able to offer this expertise to our board and its committees during meetings as well as when questions are raised outside of meetings. Berry Education is always completely up to date with developments in governance, EFSA requirements and DfE policy and ensures that the board and I are also kept abreast of developments and changing requirements even between meetings so that we are able to discharge our statutory responsibilities effectively. This is a huge benefit to us and means that for me as CEO, and for our Trust Chair, we do not have to worry about missing anything as we are kept informed in a very timely manner.
Berry Education has a very good professional network meaning it can draw on its contacts to support our trust and schools as required, and their regional training work for the NGA amongst others ensures that they are at the forefront of good practice. This has also been of benefit to us as we access the expertise and knowledge this brings to Berry through our clerking contract, therefore helping to keep us at the forefront of good governance practice too.
On a practical level, organisation around meetings is excellent and Berry Education ensure that all timescales are adhered to for meetings and documentation. During meetings the clerk is always well prepared and can refer back to things in the minutes and from previous meetings, this preparation means she is able to support our Trustees at all times and keep them informed of points relevant to their discussion. In addition to organisation, knowledge and expertise, Claire’s personal skills are outstanding and she has supported both the trustees, our LGBs and me through some tricky situations over the years with a clear head and a calm manner. She supports in trustee meetings in an effective but friendly way ensuring that when there are points that require clarification from the clerk this is done in a professional way which allows trustees to make decisions with all relevant information at their fingertips.
Berry also have an excellent track record on advising and supporting trustees directly with operational issues. Recent examples include the appointment of external auditors and the management of a sensitive HR issue. In both cases the feedback from trustees was of the highest order in regard to the support they received from Berry Education. I am also aware that the Chair of the Trust finds Berry Education a good source of advice and support when he needs it.
In conclusion, we are very happy with the service we receive from Berry Education and I would recommend them without reservation, their services are excellent.”
Dr Ailsa Taylor, CEO – Oak Learning Trust

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