Multi-academy trust leaders have formed a national group aimed at preventing “irreparable” damage to small schools because of funding issues.
The eight MAT chief executive officers on the small school strategy group will also support small schools to find a compatible trust, the group’s chair has told Tes.
“The work of this group is urgent, particularly now when small schools’ trusts need to be heard before the damage to this vital sector of the education system is irreparable,” said chair Nicola Dunford, who is chief executive of Link Academy trust, which runs 18 primary schools in Devon.
“Funding issues impact on every aspect of the survival of these schools, which are at the heart of so many communities, and their ability to deliver the best education,” Ms Dunford added.
The group has been formed as Ofsted inspectors are being trained to understand the context of smaller schools during inspections. This training programme was revealed by Tes last month.
This training was revealed amid evidence that the current inspection framework is far more challenging for smaller primary schools.
Funding challenges for small schools
There is also concern that some smaller primaries will struggle to survive because of stretched finances and falling pupil rolls linked to a drop in the birth rate.
Meanwhile, the pressure of leading small schools was highlighted as an emerging concern by support service Headrest in its annual report.
After initially being set up by former Department for Education regional director for the South West Hannah Woodhouse, the small schools group began meeting in its current form in December.
The group has invited figures from within the DfE to advise members, who will advocate for small schools to ensure that their needs are considered in education policies, Tes understands.
The strategy group will also try to help small schools to understand the advantages they might experience in joining a trust, and support such schools to find a compatible trust.
The issues that small schools are facing can be “addressed through a more creative approach to funding - we are focusing on solutions”, said Ms Dunford. “We need to be heard,” she added
The small school strategy group is also being supported by the Confederation of School Trusts (CST).
Leora Cruddas, CST chief executive, said that the small school strategy group is “already helping trusts to identify best practice approaches, both where trusts can make changes themselves and also where they need support from government and the wider sector”.
The DfE was approached for comment.
