Sector leaders are urging Catholic dioceses launching religious mega MATs of up to 70 schools not to rush the 鈥渉uge undertaking鈥 to avoid the mistakes of the early academy days. All but one of the 19 English Catholic dioceses are pursuing trust growth plans, with papers seen by Schools Week showing bishops in one diocese planning to split almost 200 schools between three super-sized trusts. But the government鈥檚 鈥渟udden鈥 decision to scrap trust growth funding has prompted some to take stock, with one putting its MAT strategy on ice. Pepe DiIasio However, the wider merger plans are likely to reshape the current landscape of large trusts, with several likely to become among the country鈥檚 biggest. Pepe Di鈥橧asio, the general secretary of the , warned that the mega-merger plans would 鈥渞equire a great deal of planning and preparation鈥. 鈥淪etting up multi-academy trusts of the size envisaged is a huge undertaking and cannot be rushed into.鈥 Rise of the religious mega MAT The Catholic dioceses want to move their remaining local authority-maintained schools into bishop-backed trusts. Many also want to consolidate the number of trusts in each area. In Salford, bishops want to split their schools between three trusts by 2030. Each will have at least 50 primaries and 10 secondaries, with the largest expected to take on 71 in all. The diocese decided to move towards full academisation after the previous government鈥檚 2022 white paper outlining a plan for all schools to be in trusts by 2030. Correspondence sent to leaders in April stated Salford would continue to follow through with the plans 鈥渞egardless of political changes that may come later in the year鈥. Just 42 (21 per cent) of its schools are currently in a trust. Schools Week revealed last month that the Archdiocese of Birmingham will move all its 236 schools into as many as five trusts. It will include the biggest ever merger, as six chains combine to create a 63-school trust. Di鈥橧asio added: 鈥淢ost MATs evolve and expand over time, building up systems for partnership working with their schools while ensuring that they have sufficient capacity in their central teams and are able to provide targeted support as necessary across their schools.鈥 鈥楲As can鈥檛 shut you down鈥 Some dioceses, such as Nottingham and Plymouth, have already completed rapid conversions. In Hexham and Newcastle, only a handful of schools are yet to join one of its four MATs. Nick Hurn Nick Hurn, the chief executive of the Bishop Wilkinson trust 鈥 which runs 47 schools in the area 鈥 said one of the main challenges with his 18-month expansion was 鈥渂uilding the central team early on because you鈥檙e doing it without the resources to start with. You鈥檙e speculating to accumulate.鈥 As dioceses push ahead, some have tried to convince leaders of the benefits by stressing they will be shielded from council closures. A letter sent in March by the Archdiocese of Southwark in south London 鈥 which wants schools to move into one of five Catholic trusts each with between 30 and 40 academies 鈥 said the 鈥渙ver-provision of school places鈥 continues to be a difficult situation鈥. With falling rolls expected to hit secondary cohorts, it stressed 鈥渁cademies cannot be closed by local authorities鈥. A spokesperson for the archdiocese said its trusts “are assisting schools with falling rolls, but if a school is not viable we would not [be] expecting it to convert in the first case”. Leaked documents from London’s Diocese of Westminster also showed a 鈥渒ey reason鈥 for its strategy 鈥渨as to ensure that the decisions for the provision, be that closure or amalgamation, would be solely within [its] authority鈥. Cuts cause strategy rethink Figures from the Catholic Education Service show the number of Catholic academies increased 13 per cent in 2023, down on the 17 per cent rise the previous year. Forty-six per cent of Catholic schools are now academies. But Liverpool, where bishops hoped to launch 12 MATs with between six and 28 schools, has paused its plans after Labour鈥檚 鈥渟udden announcement鈥 it was axing funds, including the academy conversion grant. Salford is also 鈥渁ssessing the impact removal of the conversion grant will have鈥, while Birmingham will lodge its submission for the final tranche of funding by the December 20 deadline. Jeff Marshall, an academy conversion consultant, said moves to create larger faith-based trusts will hamper co-operation between schools. 鈥淕oing to your own corner and creating a Catholic MAT or Church of England MAT or a non-faith one has created divides where we鈥檝e never had them before. That collaborative mentality is taking a hit.鈥 A Catholic Education spokesperson said academy decisions were only made after 鈥渇ull and thorough consultation鈥.