Inclusive Multi Academy Trust was formed in 2016 and is made up of four primary schools: Beechfield, Cherry Tree, Laurance Haines and Willow Tree. The Trust name, ‘inclusive’, originates from a driving belief that many different types of people form its school community and every single one should be treated fairly and equally so that they and their families can access a great education.
The Challenge: MAT-level consolidation and reporting
The Trust had used a primarily school-based budgeting system, but as COO Sharon Carlyon explained, this did not meet their needs as a MAT.
“The main issue is there wasn’t the consolidation we required at Trust level for reporting and it meant we had to do a lot of things four times, then manually bring it all together,” Sharon said. “We were constantly copying and pasting data between systems and regularly had to reconcile our staffing numbers back to our budgeting system, which was time-consuming and took focus away from using the data to drive conversations forward. We were also keen to ensure that our budgeting systems were ready for the next phase of our growth journey.
“With our previous supplier’s contract ending, we thought it was the right time to look at alternatives. Our Finance Manager Sarah Hamilton and I had separate conversations with IMP Software. We knew what they could offer and really liked the package available.”
The Solution: Additional insights and intelligence through IMP Planner and IMP ICFP
In June 2024, the Trust switched to IMP Planner, a unified tool for better budgeting, forecasting and reporting, and added IMP ICFP in March 2025.
“We felt IMP was a more straightforward process all round, I couldn’t fault the system, and knew they would move us forward,” Sharon explained. “I had met Will Jordan (IMP Co-Founder) and I like what he gives back to the sector as a whole, that sense of civic leadership and civic responsibility. That resonated with me, as did the company ethos. Implementation itself was a smooth experience throughout. We just had to send them a few documents, and they did the rest, and the training we did was great. IMP is obviously a well-oiled machine in terms of them having clearly spent a lot of time working out the best process for new customers.”
Sarah added: “Teams in schools are really busy and inevitably there can be a fear of change – but they saw the benefit of moving to IMP and, with the training they had and the system being so user friendly, they picked it up really well. It has been a really smooth transition.”
At a strategic level, and armed with additional insights and intelligence that support the Trust in operating even more efficiently, Sharon reflected: “We’ve definitely got more data at our fingertips now. This has really helped with KPIs, in that we are not having to sit there working things out manually. It’s all in IMP Planner. We can then take that to other members of the senior leadership team and our Board of Trustees.
“For schools – and then managing their data – I think they are much more in control, particularly of staffing because that was always quite hard to see in our previous system. The reporting that then gives us at this end is really useful.”
Whilst IMP ICFP is still in its early days, it has “brought another dimension”, Sarah commented. “We’ve been working with three schools that are the same size but slightly different, so the ease of being able to see their ratios and compare them across the MAT is fantastic because we have never really done that in any depth easily. For example, in summer 2025, one of the schools wanted to change their HLTA structure and we were then able to look at that across all three schools. For this one school, looking at how their timetable compared to the two other schools, we were able to initiate a conversation on a more efficient use of HLTA support. Previously, we wouldn’t have had that information readily available to us.”
“With IMP ICFP it is integrated into the budgeting platform and thus staffing is always the same in both budgets and ICFP – it’s helping colleagues to think about expenditure in a different way,” Sharon added. “Instead of us giving them an Excel spreadsheet, schools can see the information they need from the software package. Headteachers have really embraced IMP ICFP and IMP Planner. With Planner, we make sure we keep on top of it and are continually analysing it, so that it becomes an embedded monthly process rather than doing a reforecast in November and another forecast in Spring. It should be seen as a continuum, rather than three jobs a year.”
She continued: “We are only in our second year using Planner, so we are still learning how to use the system the best way, but the beauty is that colleagues have seen the benefit straight away. They are feeling more confident in ways they possibly would not have done before, including our Heads as it helps them get to grips with the business aspect of the role.”
The Impact: Supporting Trust growth, financial planning and decision-making
Sharon outlined the benefits of IMP when a new school joins the Trust. “Our three existing schools are all financially robust, and we have a balanced three-year budget in place, so I feel we are in a stronger position than many,” she said.
“However, the latest school we are onboarding comes with challenges, so I am confident that IMP Planner and IMP ICFP will enable me to really concentrate on that school and work towards making it more financially viable, looking at staff ratios and ICFP modelling. IMP will really help us to highlight the areas that we can look at moving forward with first.
“For the other three schools, we will continue embedding IMP ICFP and use that with Planner to get the most out of it that we can, supporting conversations with Headteachers. In all cases, there will be time saved from where we were.”
Sharon concluded: “I don’t have any hesitation recommending IMP in terms of the software – I’m pleased we made the move, and I think it’s a great product for the sector. Implementation and support has been brilliant all the whole way through. IMP also give so much in return, including Customer Connect events and the IMP Benchmarking Reports.
“As a customer, it’s a fantastic experience, and with IMP I never feel like we are standing still. With the launch of IMP Finance: Purchasing, IMP continues to be innovative and respond to what the market wants, and from a price perspective, it is another really competitive product.”
