Ofsted has said it intends to continue building its knowledge of multi-academy trusts through its summary evaluations after ministers indicated that there are no plans to allow the watchdog to inspect or grade MATs.
School system minister Baroness Barran told Tes month that the government was not looking to introduce Ofsted MAT inspections as part of its ongoing work to set standards for trusts.
When the Department for Education’s Schools White Paper was published last year, setting out plans to move to an entirely MAT-run system, Ofsted said that trust inspection could help to identify where MATs were failing.
The watchdog has consistently called for it to be given the power to inspect MATs and has produced a new report, which warns that being unable to report on the effectiveness of trusts leaves both parents and policymakers with gaps in their knowledge.
But with MAT inspection now ruled out, it is set to continue its work carrying out summary evaluations of trusts.
An Ofsted spokesperson said: ” We haven’t made any changes to our MAT summary evaluation (MATSE) policy for 2023-24.
“MAT inspections fall under one of our strategic priorities in our five-year strategy and we make it clear that we will continually review our approach and advocate for additional powers where required.
“As part of this, we intend to continue to work with DfE on how trusts will be held to account through inspection and continue to carry out MATSEs to build our knowledge of the increasingly diverse sector.”
Ofsted resumed these evaluations of MATs a year ago, publishing its first summary since the pandemic in April last year.
Since then it has only published 11 MAT evaluations to date, with the latest - for Northern Education Trust - published last week.
Ofsted carries out the evaluations in two phases. This involves a batch of routine school inspections at schools run by the trust that is due to be inspected.
Once these reports have been published, Ofsted then carries out an on-site visit to the trust.
The watchdog does not have the power to inspect MATs or pass judgement on them, but its evaluations make observations about the impact that trusts have on their schools and make recommendations. Trusts have to agree to take part.
Tes has looked into Ofsted’s MAT summary evaluations published over the past 12 months, and here are the key findings from our analysis.
1. Ofsted reports mainly focused on smaller MATs
The vast majority of the trusts that Ofsted has focused on since April 2022 have fewer than 10 schools. Of the 11 trusts inspected, only two had more schools - Birmingham Diocesan Multi-academy Trust, with 19 academies, and Northern Education Trust, with 22.
Of the 11, six have both primary and secondary schools, one is a multi-phase special school trust and four are primary-only trusts.
The summary evaluations are based on inspections of between three and seven schools in each of the MATS.
2. Schools given some autonomy over their curriculum
A key focus of Ofsted school inspections under its current framework is the school curriculum, which feeds into a quality-of-education judgement.
A recurring theme in the MAT summary evaluation reports is that schools within trusts are being given some autonomy over their curriculum.
In a number of MATs that Ofsted assessed, it found that trusts provided some frameworks for the curriculum but schools were given freedom to “flesh this out” or make their own choices.
In the largest trust, Birmingham Diocesan Multi-academy Trust, it says this autonomy is based within “parameters of non-negotiables set by the trust”. This includes that all schools “must reflect diversity and equality within their curriculums”.
The report also notes that the trust’s “bridging units” are helping schools to ensure that transition points are seamless and that there is a “smooth” curriculum as pupils move between key stages.
3. Meeting the needs of pupils with SEND
Another key theme in the MAT summary evaluation reports is how well pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are being supported across the trust.
One report highlights how a SEND strategy to better meet the needs of all pupils with SEND has been developed at one trust. Ofsted says this needed to be evaluated to determine the impact it has on pupils’ education, attendance and behaviour, and then adapted if needed.
Another report says executive leaders should review their curriculum to assure themselves that the subject content in all settings, across both primary and secondary phases, is ambitious and meets the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
4. MATs’ work on recruitment and retention highlighted
Ofsted has also focused on the work of MATs to promote the recruitment and retention of teachers.
At Kaleidoscope MAT, in the South West of England, the summary evaluation highlights how the trust invests in its staff to ensure strong retention and recruitment. It says staff have opportunities to develop professionally, such as through informal coaching, to support the implementation of the trust’s early years foundation stage (EYFS) curriculum.
The Boleyn Trust, in London, is praised for its strategic approach to recruitment, training and leadership-succession planning. Ofsted says opportunities for career progression are among the factors leading to a high retention rate for teachers.
5. Ofsted praises close oversight of school progress
The inspectorate praises trusts for how well they monitor the performance and progress of their schools.
At The Boleyn Trust, the summary evaluation notes that trustees have “rigorous systems to check schools’ effectiveness and identify patterns and trends across the trust”.
It says headteachers report their work and its impact to governors and trust leaders, and that these reports are validated through regular school reviews conducted by executive leaders and external partners.
At the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust, in the South West, Ofsted highlights how trust leaders introduced a “rigorous cycle of monitoring and evaluation” of each of its schools.
It says that through regular “health checks” and the use of highly experienced external education consultants to chair “education scrutiny” and “inclusion and social justice” panels, trust leaders have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses within each of the schools.
6. MAT highly praised after previous negative review
The most recently published summary evaluation, for Northern Education Trust, represents the second time the inspectorate has focused on the MAT.
In 2017, under a previous system of reporting on trusts, a focused review into the MAT found that Northern’s strategies for school improvement had failed to secure urgent and necessary improvements in too many of its schools.
It also said that trustees were a considerable way from fulfilling their published aim for all schools to be “good” or better within three years of joining the trust.
Now, the new evaluation has praised the trust for improvements over the six intervening years.
It stated: “Since the last focused review by Ofsted, trustees and other leaders have transformed how the trust operates. This has, in turn, transformed the schools in the trust and the experiences and life chances of the pupils who attend them.
“Trustees have a very strong moral purpose to support pupils in all schools. Schools that have recently joined the trust have undergone monumental improvements that are life-changing for pupils and staff. All schools in the trust that have been inspected are now judged to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.”
7. How are MATs selected?
Ofsted has said it is now carrying out a programme of summary evaluations that will result in every MAT being evaluated within a certain window.
Tes previously revealed that, based on the initial rate of MAT summary evaluations, it would have taken more than 80 years to check on every trust in the country.
When asked how trusts are chosen for evaluation, an Ofsted spokesperson said: “In selecting trusts for summary evaluations, we aim to cover a broad range of trusts to give us an accurate and balanced understanding of the contribution that trusts make to the school system, to highlight areas of strength that may be disseminated more widely and to provide an insight into any weaknesses.
“Each year we aim to select from a wide range of trusts so that the overall sample is broadly representative of the sector.”
