Ofsted could be tasked with assessing the school improvement capacity of multi-academy trusts (MATs), sector leaders have said.
And the national body representing MATs has said that the government should set out a long-term plan to develop and test such an approach as an “immediate focus”.
In a report setting out recommendations for school improvement published today, the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) added that while full MAT inspections could be a part of the future, there is still “work to do” to define the purpose that MAT inspection would serve,
The report comes after the CST warned MPs last year about the “huge risks of layering trust inspection over the existing system”.
Today’s report recommends an “immediate focus” on creating an evidence base for trust improvement capacity, and how it can be evaluated effectively and proportionately.
The CST said: “This could be tested through evaluative frameworks, such as Ofsted’s multi-academy trust summary evaluations (MATSE), before being taken forward as appropriate.”
Ofsted‘s current MATSE approach allows it to evaluate trust-level findings and recommendations after inspections at schools in the same trust, but it does not have the power to inspect MATs.
Labour has said that if elected, it would want Ofsted to carry out full MAT inspections.
But CST’s report says that although trust inspection could be a “longer-term ambition for the system, there are risks, if this goes ahead,” in terms of the “evidence base we hold about how effective trusts operate and improve schools”.
“There is also work to do to define the purpose(s) trust inspection would serve and how this would align with school inspection and regulation,” it adds.
‘Coasting schools’ intervention should be abandoned
The report also calls for the Department for Education’s rule that “coasting schools” are eligible for intervention following two consecutive less than “good” Ofsted judgements to be “redesigned or abandoned” owing to its “problematic” nature.
And it suggests that organisations, such as effective trusts, should be commissioned to provide expertise and capacity to schools, coordinated by regional school improvement commissioning teams.
Alongside this, CST recommends “slim and efficient DfE regional teams with a clear remit to regulate and commission improvement support” to ensure that “scarce capacity is not drawn out of schools and trusts”.
However, the trusts’ body said it is important that regional directors are able to intervene, including through sponsorship and re-brokering, if it is in the interest of pupils.
CST launched an inquiry last year into trust-led school improvement to investigate how trusts can best support the wider education system.
The organisation’s deputy chief executive, Steve Rollett, said: “School trusts are at the forefront of school improvement and have led to a rise in school standards across the board.”
Mr Rollett said there was now an opportunity to build on “the improvement expertise and capacity in effective trusts to support schools who need help”.
The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
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