Eko Trust is a family of good and outstanding schools who collaborate to learn and deliver the best educational outcomes for their children. The trust is currently made up of seven schools: five primary, and two all-through Social, Emotional and Mental Health Special schools all based in Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Hackney and Suffolk. Its 2025 strategy outlines a target to grow to 15 schools, and 5,000 pupils.
In April 2022 Eko purchased IMP Planner, a unified tool for MAT-led budgeting, forecasting and reporting, and began using it alongside its existing system for the 2022-23 budget forecast with consolidation across its then three schools. Now having more than doubled in size, and with three to five more schools expected to be added by the end of this academic year, it is set to move to a geographical hub model taking the trust’s central team into new territory.
Jan Gillard, Trust Lead for Finance, who has been part of the trust since it formed in 2016, explained why a switch to IMP Software was needed as the organisation looked to expand.
“Our previous system did not have the capacity or ability to grow without significant input from us,” Jan recalled. “Our accountancy firm recommended IMP Software to us, and we brought in three suppliers to demonstrate. It was clear from the off that IMP Planner was user friendly and had the capability we were looking for, especially in terms of what we could extrapolate from it. Some providers are all singing and dancing, but then delivery of day-to-day support isn’t there. With IMP, we had huge confidence.”
Teresa Rowland, Trust Lead for Business and Operations, who joined Eko Trust in 2021 having previously been a Business Manager at Rushmere Hall Primary School, said: “We need accurate information to go to our CEO and Trustees, and IMP was by far the best option for us. We were sold by the team’s personalities, and enthusiasm for the product. They really listened to us, and it was clear they could grow with us. If something was not there that we asked for, it was planned for the future. They were open and honest throughout our discussion, and things have gone from strength to strength.”
Jan revealed that the trust has used IMP Planner “to bring all the schools together”, mapping budgets as a consolidated piece month-by-month. “In a challenging operating environment in 2022-23, we used IMP for lot of scenario planning, but it was also a year of learning too,” she admitted. “Ensuring that the system aligned to our trust ethos and values is really important when learning a new tool. The online chat and support mechanism has been essential as we are not IT specialists. We get positive feedback on IMP all the time when we are meeting Headteachers for budget reviews. They can see exactly where they are it each month. Our Deputy CEO & COO loves the data and reporting. We have the capability to see things at a high level or drill down to schools, so we have versatility”.
Teresa added: “The dashboard, and seeing ‘which side of the line we are on’, is so important. If, for example, we forget to put minus in for income then we do not have to wait for the reports to tell us that. Overall, the whole IMP system has brought stronger processes into schools, which allow us to focus on strategy. The reporting functionality, in particular, is excellent. The trust is trusted with reporting, and that is down to us having a reliable tool. We now have a strategic thinking tool, which we did not have before.”
For Jan, working with IMP Software has undoubtedly saved time. “Getting new schools on the system has been so smooth,” she commented. “If I look back now, I cannot believe how we managed without IMP Planner. The hours we spent on importing staffing costs and so on, and now we no longer need to do that manual input. We recently worked with DfE on a report, and their feedback on our processes and practice was excellent, as it has been from our Trustees and auditors. IMP is part of that development.” She continued: “I would stress just how good the support is from IMP. They challenge us too, they do not just accept things, so we have that two-way engagement. There is no such thing as a stupid question and their response time is excellent. They are really lovely people to work with.”
Case study developed: December 2023
