St Clare CMAT Praised for Compliance Pod Use During Internal Audit

St Clare CMAT Praised for Compliance Pod Use During Internal Audit

The Challenge

St Clare Catholic Multi-Academy Trust (CMAT), comprising 13 schools, was preparing for a scheduled internal audit. With the audit team operating remotely, the Trust needed a way to provide auditors with full visibility of statutory and best-practice compliance activities across all schools—without creating security risks or overwhelming staff with data requests.

“Audits can be stressful, particularly across multiple sites. We wanted to give the auditors what they needed, while still keeping control of our data.” said Kim Stonebrudge, Operations Manager at St Clare CMAT.

The challenge was clear: how to balance transparency with data security in a multi-site environment.

The Solution

To meet this need, Compliance Pod created a bespoke auditor account within the system. This tailored access gave the audit team the ability to log in, view, download, and extract the relevant data—while keeping all other areas of the system secure.

Where required, Compliance Pod provides external auditors with a quick 15-minute training session to familiarise them with the system. In this case, however, once Kim had seen the login permissions created for the auditor, she was confident that no training would be needed. The layout was so intuitive that the auditor could immediately find everything they required.

“The auditor’s ability to log in and get exactly what they needed, without any fuss, was a game-changer for us” Kim added.

The Results

The audit process ran exceptionally smoothly. Early feedback from the lead auditor was overwhelmingly positive:

“Compliance Pod is one of the best systems we’ve seen in any sector” said the auditor.

This feedback was later shared with St Clare CMAT’s Trustees, generating enthusiasm and confidence at board level. The system was no longer seen simply as a compliance tool, but as a strategic asset that strengthens governance and accountability across the Trust.

The Impact

By working closely with St Clare CMAT to understand their requirements, Compliance Pod provided more than just an audit solution. The Trust now benefits from a system that enables seamless collaboration between schools, central teams, and external reviewers—delivering assurance where it matters most.

“Compliance Pod gave us the confidence to demonstrate to our Trustees that compliance is being managed consistently across all 12 schools” Kim explained.

At Compliance Pod, our goal is to provide schools, colleges, and trusts with clarity, security, and peace of mind when managing compliance.

“Seeing Compliance Pod used as a strategic tool by St Clare CMAT is exactly what we set out to achieve” said a Zoe Roebuck, Account Manager, Compliance Pod.

Conclusion

The success of St Clare CMAT’s internal audit shows how Compliance Pod can transform compliance management from a reactive process into a source of assurance and strategic value. By giving auditors, leaders, and trustees the confidence that compliance is under control, the system helps educational organisations focus on what matters most—delivering safe, well-managed learning environments.