Join CST | Confederation of School Trusts

Join CST today

Discover how you can trust can benefit from joining CST, the sector body advocating for, connecting, and supporting school trusts.

Our membership is open to all school trusts in England, whatever the size or type. We also offer membership options for diocesan board and local authorities who support academies, and maintained and independent schools looking to learn more about the sector.

Details of our membership options are set out below, along with fee details and links to apply online.

Our membership year runs from September to August, but we welcome membership enquiries all year round.

Trust membership

Trust membership is at the heart of everything we do. Every school trust in England can be a member of CST to benefit from our work advocating, support, and connecting the sector. Trust membership covers all staff throughout the trust and its schools, plus all those involved in governance.

Membership fees for school trusts are calculated in bandings which are based on the number and type of schools in your trust. You can use the calculator below to quickly see the fee for your trust.

Number of primary, special, or alternative provision schools:

Number of secondary or all-through schools:

Annual trust membership fee: Enter your trust's details above and press the Calculate button to see your membership fee.

School membership

School membership is for maintained, independent, and international schools wanting to understand and connect with the school trust sector. It is a valuable resource for those considering forming or joining a trust.

Annual school membership is £195 + VAT for a primary, special, or alternative provision school, or £380 + VAT for a secondary or all-through school.

Affiliate membership

Affiliate membership is for diocesan and local education authority advisory teams that support schools and school trusts.

The annual fee is £975 + VAT and covers membership benefits for up to 10 colleagues in your organisation or team.

CST membership is the best money we spend each year. Thank you for all that the CST does for schools across the country and not just their members.

Suresh Shan, Chief Finance Officer, Tandridge Learning Trust