Ensuring education is inclusive is the top priority for academy trust CEOs, though this is being made difficult by a lack of funding, according to a survey.

Of the trust leaders who responded to the Confederation of School Trusts’ (CST) annual survey, 73 per cent said inclusion and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision is the most important thing to them this academic year.

This is an increase from 56 per cent of trust leaders who felt inclusion was a top priority last year.

Among large trusts with 20 or more schools, 92 per cent of trust leaders said they would focus their efforts on SEND this year.

Of the trust leaders surveyed, 87 per cent said funding was the main challenge their organisations face in making their SEND provision work, but 57 per cent also said they have also found coordinating support with external services difficult this year.

Balancing budgets ‘even more challenging’

CST chief executive Leora Cruddas said, “Trusts have embraced new financial models to put more money to the frontline but recent years’ stretched public spending, and external economic pressures have made balancing the books all the more challenging.”

More than half of trusts already have a trust-wide director of SEND, and 16 per cent plan to introduce one this year, the survey revealed.

Trust leaders were also more likely to report financial sustainability as a general challenge and a priority for them this year. Three-quarters expect to have to dip into their reserves this year.

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The proportion of leaders who said the cost of SEND and falling pupil numbers were big risks to their trust’s financial sustainability has increased compared with last year’s CST survey.

Trust budgets and challenges in SEND provision were also highlighted by a majority of leaders as barriers to achieving their strategic priorities.

Trusts are expecting to grow

Academy trusts are still worried about the school estate, with 41 per cent of leaders reporting they have a building that is beyond its expected life or at imminent risk of failure.

Two-thirds said they are also expecting to grow in the coming year, and two-fifths said they are exploring merging with another trust.

Ms Cruddas said this indicates trust leaders are increasingly seeing the power of bringing schools together to address challenges.

“This does not mean the future is only about large national trusts - the average trust size is still less than five schools - and we believe there is scope for a range of different sizes and structures,” she added.

Of the trusts surveyed, 61 per cent also said improving attendance is a priority this year, and others highlighted focuses on assessment and narrowing the attainment gap.

Recruitment and retention challenges

Recruitment and retention of teaching staff remains a challenge, the survey showed, with 62 per cent of trust leaders reporting workforce struggles.

More than 40 per cent of trust leaders said they were struggling to get SEND specialists and support staff.

More than 400 trust chief executives responded to the survey, which was conducted in May and June of this year and co-run with Edurio.