JMC’s expertise in MAT reviews, deep dives, data analysis and subject leader development has been crucial in driving our success. Trust Primary Director
MAT reviews
Increasingly MATs are becoming the key drivers for school improvement. Our MAT reviews can quality assure the work you are doing to implement trust-wide systems across all areas of the Ofsted framework.
Although MATs are not currently inspected by Ofsted, they can carry out ‘MAT summary evaluations’ at the sole discretion of the MAT. MAT leadership teams need to have an accurate, diagnostic understanding of how all the schools in the trust are performing, as a collective. What is the trust’s effectiveness in raising achievement, tackling attendance, improving behaviour, and keeping pupils safe across all its schools?
Strategic understanding of Trusts
Trusts are complex organisations and becoming more so as many trusts continue to grow. Leaders must ensure that the infrastructure supports the continued development and success of all the schools within the trust, particularly as more scaling up is required. We have the experience and breadth of understanding to know what schools need and how the trust can best support them.
When it comes to strategy, performance, structure and impact, there are various trigger questions which MATs may want to ask themselves in preparation. For example:
- What impact are you having on your schools – both in terms of promoting strong performance and tackling underperformance?
- Can you explain your governance structure and demonstrate that it is effective?
- How are you avoiding common governance pitfalls, such as poor communication and unclear relationships between the board, the executive and local governing bodies?
- How do you identify and deploy leadership expertise within your trust?
- Do you understand the strengths and weaknesses of all your schools?
- Does your local governing body (or equivalent) value the trust and the support it provides?
- How do the MAT’s values translate meaningfully into practices at all levels?
This is merely a sample of considerations which we would encourage MATs to reflect on as part of the process of a trust-wide MAT review..
Benefits of MAT reviews
The culture and systems of your trust will be reviewed by expert practitioners who have worked at a senior level in multi-academy trusts. They will provide you with honest, constructive feedback about the effectiveness of your organisation. This feedback will draw on evidence such as trust-wide analytical data, conversations with leaders and staff (from both trust and individual schools), and observation of practice, to help move the whole trust forward rather than individual schools.
