The Department for Education expects multi-academy trusts (MATs) to take on challenging schools and welcome disadvantaged children from their local area, it has said today.
It also believes that trusts should operate a well-planned reserves policy that provides sufficient money for cashflow and any unplanned, urgent expenditure in schools.
These expectations are set out in detailed “trust quality” descriptions, published by the department today in draft form.
The government said the new draft descriptions will help to inform its decision making - such as in ”identifying the right trust to manage a school in its context, or the best trust to grow or expand within an area” - rather than to make “summative” judgements about individual MATs.
The list builds on what the DfE set out in its Schools White Paper last year, in which it identified “five pillars” of MAT strength.
It will work with the sector to finalise the list of descriptions by June.
Here is a breakdown of what the DfE believes a high-quality MAT looks like:
Inclusivity
The following are listed as ways in which MATs can provide a high-quality and inclusive education:
- Culture: create a culture in all of its schools that is motivating and ambitious for all, including disadvantaged children and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so that students can achieve their full potential.
- Curriculum: oversee the design and implementation of ambitious, broad, well-sequenced and knowledge-rich curricula in all of its schools.
- Student outcomes: achieves good outcomes for all of its students by delivering education that is both high-quality and inclusive.
- Accessible to all: operates fair access. Welcomes and effectively teaches disadvantaged children and children with SEND from its local area.
- Behaviour and attendance: ensures that its schools are places where all students attend regularly, are kept safe, feel calm and supported, and are able to actively participate and progress.
School improvement
The following are descriptions in a section on improving schools:
- Culture: creates a culture of continuous improvement in its schools through self-evaluation, challenge, support and appropriate action.
- School improvement: has a clearly defined and effective strategy to improve and maintain the performance of schools that are already part of the trust, as well as those that join.
- Transformation: takes on challenging schools and transforms previously underperforming schools by delivering broad and sustainable improvement.
- System-led improvement: supports the wider system in sharing learning for best practice; helps underperforming schools to improve; and contributes to building a trust-led system.
Workforce
The following are descriptions in a section on workforce:
- Culture: creates a high-performing working culture for all staff that promotes collaboration, aspiration and support. Uses the flexibilities of the trust structure to create opportunities for staff. Recognises the critical value of high-quality teaching, and champions the profession.
- Workload: fosters a supportive working environment by managing workload, prioritising wellbeing and taking action to support all staff.
- Retention: supports the retention of great staff both within the individual trust and across the school system.
- Working environment: prioritises effective behaviour and attendance policies to create a safe environment in which to work and learn. Utilises the trust structure so that staff are empowered to deliver their best.
- Developing new and early career teachers: makes a positive contribution to the wider system by delivering high-quality training and/or placements for trainee teachers. Supports early career teachers through the Early Career Framework
Finance
The following are descriptions in a section on finance:
- Culture: recognises the importance of effective and efficient use of resources for the benefit of all schools in the trust and the wider education system.
- Financial strategy: uses financial data and intelligence to set a stable, accurate and sustainable long-term financial strategy for the trust. Has a clear approach to delivering value for money through effective budgeting and risk management.
- Resource allocation: demonstrates efficient and effective use of resources; for example, through school and trust resource management benchmarking tools and integrated curriculum and financial planning.
- Reserves: operates a well-planned reserves policy that provides sufficient contingency for cashflow and any unplanned, urgent expenditure; and aligns resources to expenditure priorities across all of its schools.
On governance and leadership, the new descriptions document says that a MAT’s trust board and executive leadership team should “anchor the trust’s strategy in the needs of its schools, the communities they serve and the wider educational system in line with its charitable objects”.
Last month the DfE published the findings of its academies regulatory and commissioning review, which set out how the government will support and make decisions on MATs.
In June 2023 the DfE is due to publish more detailed commissioning guidance. As part of this, it will say more about the evidence it plans to use to consider trusts against the descriptions above.
