Skip to content
Back
School structures

Governing in 4D

Setting the standards for trust governance in a community-rooted system

Research
07/05/2026

As the government moves towards a universal MAT system, the good governance practice that exists in many trusts must become consistent. Where governance is weak or underdeveloped, the risks are systemic and the potential of a trust-based system is diminished.

This policy paper sets out the evidence on successful governance practice and explains why the sector needs to embrace trust governance as a four-dimensional system — the trust board, the members, the local tier and trust executives — and in doing so, embed minimum expectations for all four.

The case we put forward has a particular focus on the local tier because this is the dimension where the gap between rhetoric and reality remains widest, and where the 2026 white paper's ambition of community-rooted trusts will be won or lost.

At a time when it is needed most, Governing in 4D, grounded in NGA's direct work with trusts at every stage of development, offers clear recommendations to inform policy decisions and enable trusts to achieve governance excellence.

Governing in 4D: policy paper

PDF download

Governing in 4D: quick read

PDF download

Recommendations

The new trust standards must begin from an understanding of quality trust governance as a four-dimensional process, with each element separate but complementary, and with a fifth set of expectations covering how the dimensions work together. Across these five areas, the non-negotiables we propose the Department embed within the new trust standards require:

  1. A local tier with deep community knowledge, genuinely empowered and rooted in the community it serves.
  2. Trust executives with specialist professional expertise who enable effective governance.
  3. Trustees who deliver strategic leadership while delegating intelligently.
  4. Members who understand and act on their constitutional role as guardians of the trust's charitable purpose.
  5. A governance architecture designed to make the four dimensions work together, and to evolve with the trust.

  • "4D governance offers a shared language, a clearer framework, and, crucially, a route to governance that is strong enough to sustain growth, flexible enough to respect local context, and ambitious enough to help every school succeed."

    Emma Balchin

    Chief Executive

    National Governance Association

    Related content