Multi-academy trusts operating in a local hub model, where neighbouring schools support each other, could prevent schools from suffering from educational isolation, new research has suggested.
Academics have previously warned that schools can face an “educational isolation” that goes beyond just being based in remote areas but also means they are isolated professionally, economically and culturally and lack the resources they need.
Now, they have carried out new research looking at how this problem could be addressed in a system moving towards all schools being in MATs.
The report by Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope and Dr Rowena Passy looks at the impact of a MAT operating smaller hubs of schools in the South West of England.
They conclude that MAT leaders should “consider a hub model if they have educationally isolated schools, as it supports school leaders accessing resources needed for school improvement at a local level”.
The report also says that trust leaders “must consider how school support structures can be re-defined to provide targeted resources and support to schools affected by their place”.
It also calls on policymakers to recognise and respond to the needs of educationally isolated schools.
The academics warn that educational isolation is common in rural and coastal areas, where poverty and social exclusion are significant concerns.
Their report adds: “Location matters. Rural and coastal areas in England face infrastructural challenges, socioeconomic issues, and limited employment opportunities, negatively affecting housing, transport, technology, and leisure.”
And it warns that pupils from persistently disadvantaged backgrounds in rural-coastal schools have lower attainment at the end of secondary schooling than pupils from similar backgrounds in urban schools.
The authors say: “The image of an idyllic country or seaside life, with strong community support for the local schools continues but is not necessarily the whole picture; many coastal and rural areas have high levels of deprivation, their schools can be isolated from different kinds of support for teaching and learning, and community members do not always support their local school.”
The research, published by the University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marjon University, is based on findings from a three-year research project, from 2019 to 2022, focused on a hub model, which was introduced by a MAT in the South West consisting of 20 primary schools.
The report said the hub model was used to geographically group schools into smaller units for school-to-school support with the aim of reducing the negative effects of educational isolation experienced by many of the schools.
The authors found that key successes of the hub model for the MAT were: the development of trusted, supportive local relationships, collaboration within the hubs to the benefit of the whole MAT and the quality of communication.
The authors add: “School leaders appreciated the non-judgmental, local support that helped reduce feelings of isolation inherent in a school leader role - feelings exacerbated by geographical remoteness from other schools.
“Collaboration was also considered a great achievement of the hub model for sharing knowledge, expertise, and resources, particularly during the pandemic and with schools in close geographical proximity that understood the context of the community. The ethos of sharing and supporting matured and flourished during the three years of the hub model.”
In a foreword to the report, Lord Jim Knight said: ”The long-standing challenges of England’s rural and coastal communities are now getting some attention. As the human impact of entrenched deprivation is magnified by isolation, it is timely to examine how school groups should respond.”
The former schools minister said: “If every school is now to be in a MAT, how should they respond to counter that isolation and nurture a mindset of high aspiration? Recruiting teachers in these areas is hard, how can we create strong professional networks to drive improvement in the quality of teaching?
“These communities are normally in poorly funded local authority areas, how should schools best collaborate to ensure every child’s needs are addressed? This study looks at how one MAT in the South West has responded by using a local hub model. This worked well with the London Challenge in the first years of the century, could it work in a more rural context?”
The Confederation of School Trusts’ deputy chief executive Steve Rollett said: “One of the strengths of the trust system is that there are a range of potential trust models, which can be shaped to reflect local needs.
“It is important that we continue to research and understand the pros and cons of different approaches. CST’s inquiry on trust-led school improvement is looking at some of these issues and while we don’t believe there is a single model of how to run or improve trusts, we do think there is more we can collectively know about the effectiveness of trust models.”
