Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are facing some of the toughest conditions in years. Budgets are still tight, recruitment continues to challenge even the strongest trusts, and the expectations on leaders grow year after year.
Yet even with all this pressure, something important is slipping under the radar. Financial stress is affecting staff across the sector, shaping their wellbeing, their performance and their ability to grow. Research in the Zellis Financial Fitness Report 2025/26 shows that this isn’t a marginal issue but a fundamental one.
Throw into the mix the government’s Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper, which sets out plans to recruit 6,500 more teachers, improve maternity pay for teachers and leaders, introduce a Teacher Training Entitlement and over £200 million for SEND CPD, while also strengthening leadership through mentoring, coaching and retention incentives. These ambitions depend on staff who have the focus and confidence to learn, lead and stay, which is exactly why tackling financial stress now matters for MATs everywhere.
The scale of the problem
The report finds that financial anxiety is almost universal. Overall, 92% of employees have experienced financial stress or worry in the past 12 months, and almost nine in ten say it affects them at work in some way.
For MATs, where people sit at the heart of educational success, this picture is worrying. Financial pressure doesn’t stay at home. It shows up in the everyday behaviours and decisions that shape trust, culture and pupil learning. The research highlights that tiredness, reduced concentration, lower patience and increased mistakes are among the most common effects. These impacts are especially relevant in schools, where sustained attention, calm communication and accurate decision making are essential traits.
The hidden impact on teaching, support and safeguarding
When staff are under financial strain, their cognitive capacity narrows. Almost half of respondents say financial worry makes it harder to focus or concentrate, and more than a quarter say they are less productive or slower to complete tasks. This has real consequences in busy school environments.
Think about the difference focus makes to safeguarding responsibilities, or about the key role clear communication plays in pupil support. Even small lapses can create risk. Add in the fact that financial stress affects sleep, and therefore alertness, and the implications become clearer still.
Schools have always relied on people going above and beyond, but it is harder to do that when a significant share of mental energy is spent managing financial worry.
A major threat to skills growth across trusts
One of the most striking findings in the research is the effect of financial stress on skills development. More than half of employees say it hinders their ability to learn new skills. Younger staff are even more affected, with 65% of survey respondents saying financial anxiety limits their ability to learn.
For MATs, this is critical. The sector is increasingly dependent on internal progression and investment in staff capability, especially with rising recruitment pressures. If financial worry slows development, trusts risk losing their ability to build the talent pipelines they need.
At a time when trusts are expected to strengthen leadership, improve teaching quality and offer clear career routes, this barrier cannot be ignored.
The knowledge gap: support exists but isn’t reaching staff
Even when support is available, the report shows that many employees simply don’t realise it. More than half either believe their organisation doesn’t offer financial wellbeing support or don’t know if it does. Meanwhile, 91% of employers say they do.
This gap is particularly problematic for MATs. Staff are dispersed across multiple academies, often working different hours or in roles with limited online access. Traditional benefit communications rarely reach everyone. As a result, even helpful tools can remain unused, limiting their impact.
Yet when people are made aware of the support available, the benefits are striking. Among employees who do have access to financial tools, 78% have used them, with many using them more than once a month. These tools boost confidence, improve financial knowledge and help reduce stress.
The role of trust leadership
The report makes it clear that financial stress affects managers too. Leaders who feel financially stretched are more distracted, less present and less focused on staff development. This has a direct influence on the employee manager relationship, which the research identifies as one of the biggest drivers of engagement and enjoyment at work.
In MAT settings, where pastoral leadership, role modelling and communication shape the tone across a whole trust, this is especially important. Staff need leaders who can support them, but leaders also need support themselves.
The research also shows that managers who have experienced financial stress are more likely to recognise and respond to it in others. This reinforces the case for normalising honest conversations about financial wellbeing and giving managers the confidence to raise the topic sensitively.
An opportunity for MATs to strengthen trust culture
Supporting financial wellbeing won’t remove all the pressures facing MATs, but it can create the conditions for better performance. When people feel more secure, they focus better, learn faster and contribute more. Younger employees in particular respond strongly to well communicated tools that help them manage their finances.
At a time when MATs are competing for talent, building internal capability and aiming to keep their best people, this matters. Financial wellbeing is becoming part of the employer brand. Trusts that invest in it stand to gain not only from improved staff experience but also from stronger outcomes for pupils.
Download full report
You can explore all the data, insights and practical recommendations in the Zellis Financial Fitness 2025/26 report.
