Customer Story: The De Curci Trust

When every decision matters, you need more than a spreadsheet

Nathan Waites does not have a typical day. As Chief Financial and Operating Officer at The De Curci Trust, a three-school multi-academy trust in Portsmouth, his responsibilities span finance, procurement, capital development, health and safety, IT, cyber security, data protection, HR, governance and a bit of marketing too.

"I wouldn't say I have a typical day," he says with a smile. "As much as in some ways I don't necessarily have a typical hour either."

The De Curci Trust brings together Solent Infant School, Solent Junior School and Springfield School, all within walking distance of each other and feeding naturally from one to the next. Nathan has been at the helm of the trust's financial operations since  2018, and has been using Access Education Finance and Budgets throughout. Nearly nine years on, the system remains central to how he leads financial planning across the trust.

Planning ahead in an uncertain world

Ask Nathan what keeps him up at night and the answer is honest and immediately familiar to anyone working in trust finance. Budget planning under uncertainty is the challenge that never goes away.

"We're in the current year, working through it, and I'm already starting to think ahead for what's going to happen in September 2026 and onwards. I've got various sources of information: indicative funding from November, recommendations from the DfE to the School Teachers Review Body on what pay awards might be affordable. But that doesn't necessarily always tell you yet what assumptions you should be making within your budget."

The ability to build in known facts as they become available, and to model different scenarios as assumptions shift, is where Access Education Budgets earns its place. Nathan describes a process that will resonate with many trust finance leaders: starting with what is known, layering in what is likely, and running multiple what-if scenarios to understand the financial impact of each.

"I really value having a system where I can build in my known facts, whether that's the current staffing model or the GAG funding once it's confirmed. And then that picture becomes clearer and clearer, up until we get to having an almost fully factual budget for approval in July."

For the trust's finance and audit committee, being able to model a 2% teacher pay award against a 3.5% or 4% scenario is not just a useful exercise. It is the basis for a sensible, evidence-led governance conversation.

"My colleagues at trustee level want to say yes, these are reasonable assumptions, or to challenge me and ask what does that look like if it's a 2% award versus a 3.5%? What impact might that have on the business? That's where the system really earns its place."

When every pound has to work harder

Funding is finite. It is a phrase Nathan returns to more than once, and it reflects the reality facing every trust in the country right now.

"How can we deliver the best education for our children using the resources that are provided to us? That's the question. It's about making the best use of what we have."

Access Education Budgets gives Nathan and his team the tools to answer that question with confidence. When staffing is the single biggest driver of school expenditure, the ability to model different staffing structures quickly is not just convenient. It is essential.

"If we can get the staffing model right and make that work, then we can start to reinvest any spare income in some additional extras. What are the absolute essentials we need to deliver the curriculum? And then what are the nice-to-haves, the next refurbishment project for example, that we can prioritise if the numbers allow?"

This approach, letting the school development plan drive the budget rather than the other way around, is one Nathan champions strongly. The five-year view that Access Education Budgets provides makes that kind of strategic thinking possible in a way that spreadsheets simply cannot match.

Planning the curriculum and the budget together

For Nathan, staffing modelling does not happen in isolation.. It is a joined-up approach that reflects how the best trust finance leaders now think: curriculum planning and budget planning are not separate exercises, they are the same conversation – Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP).

Answers at your fingertips, not at the next meeting

One of the changes Nathan has noticed most in his day-to-day work is how quickly he can now access transactional detail. In governance meetings, in weekly reviews with school leadership teams, in audit conversations, the ability to drill into the numbers in real time has changed the quality and pace of those discussions when needed.

"Sometimes if I'm asked a question during a meeting I can almost drill in and answer that, whereas a couple of years ago I might have said I'll take that away and feed back at the next meeting or follow up with an email afterwards."

He gives a practical example: looking at what the trust has spent with a particular supplier, accessing the PDF of an invoice attached directly to a transaction in the system, without searching through a paper archive or waiting for someone to retrieve a document.

"It's not just numbers on a page. What does that actually mean in reality? And can you get that information out of your system quickly enough to have a sensible conversation with school leadership, with governors, with trustees? That's what matters."

Giving trustees the confidence to make better decisions

Good governance depends on good information. For Nathan, one of the quieter but significant benefits of Access Education Finance and Budgets is what it makes possible in the boardroom. Trustees and governors are not operational finance experts, but they carry real accountability for the financial health of the trust. Being able to present clear, accurate, up-to-date data, with scenario modelling that shows the implications of different decisions, changes the quality of those conversations entirely.

"Having those tools and resources to hand enables us to have sensible conversations and then make sensible, informed decisions. My colleagues at trustee level want to be able to challenge me, to ask what does this look like under different assumptions, and actually I want them to. That challenge makes us better."

It is the difference between a finance report that trustees receive and a financial picture they genuinely understand and can act on.

Change done well: involving the right people

Nathan's tenure has spanned nearly a decade of evolution, including moving to the academies chart of accounts, a change he undertook carefully and deliberately. His approach to system change offers practical guidance to any trust leader facing a similar decision.

"It's understanding what problem you're trying to address, what system you're trying to improve, and why, and for what purpose? Not making change for change's sake, but asking whether there is going to be a beneficial outcome in doing so."

The process Nathan describes is methodical and inclusive: involving key stakeholders early, understanding the impact on different roles, asking consistent questions across different options, and making sure colleagues are engaged and bought in before anything is implemented.

"Will it make my job easier? Will it make my colleagues' jobs easier? Will it be more efficient? And are the results going to be ultimately more beneficial and more cost-effective? If I can answer those questions positively then it's probably a worthwhile decision to move forward with."

He is equally thoughtful about implementation, emphasising that a new system is not a destination but a starting point.

"Planning and preparation is key, and so is communication. It wouldn't be right to say here's a new system, watch this webinar for half an hour and off you go, good luck. It's a much more strategic approach. Who needs to be involved? Who needs to be considered? And how are we going to look after them to make sure we're giving them the best tools, training and development to set them off on a secure footing?"

A message to peers in the sector

When asked what he would say to other trust finance leaders considering a move to a modern financial management solution, Nathan does not hedge.

"Use all of the sources available to you to gather information and make sure your data is as accurate and up to date as possible. Don't be afraid of change. Embracing change is a real opportunity."

And the reason it matters goes beyond efficiency or reporting accuracy. For Nathan, it comes back to something more fundamental.

"If we can streamline processes, free up staff capacity by working more efficiently, then that's ultimately going to benefit pupils at the end of the day."

That, in the end, is the point. Not software for its own sake, but the right tools, used well, in service of the children who come through the doors of The De Curci Trust's three schools every morning.

Ready to give your trust the financial tools it deserves?

Nine years of funding pressures, shifting demands and growing complexity, and The De Curci Trust has never needed to look elsewhere. Not software for its own sake, but the right tools, in the right hands, delivering for the children who matter most.

Find out how Access Education Finance and Budgets can help your trust plan with confidence, make faster decisions and free up time for what matters most.