National Schools Commissioner Roadshows Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

Welcome and Introduction Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

Welcome and Introduction Twitter handle for today and all the roadshows is #NSCRoadshow (@Carter6D) Aims today & why I wanted to do the 9 Roadshows To set out my vision and plan for how I want to deliver the NSC and RSC core priorities To support and develop a dialogue with leaders across the system in whatever school they work in To help schools, trusts and TSA understand where they fit in the system and the contribution we need them to make

The Challenges to meet if we want to be World Class Shift the dialogue from Structures to Standards and Structures Progress and Attainment that equalises starting points in life Local, Regional, National and Global Citizens of the future Learning starts & accelerates when compulsory education ends Science, Technology, Languages, Humanities and the Arts underpin a knowledge based society

What does the NSC do? Hold the RSC team to account Oversight of the Intervention Strategy with the weakest Academy performers in the system Half termly Performance Forum to see which interventions at RSC and Trust level work and why Oversight of the 12 largest National Sponsor groups Influence policy making in the DFE as the NSC is in effect leading Operational Delivery Promote the development of leadership and governance and MAT structure Connect and create network opportunities to bring the system closer together

Core Aims of the RSC Role Monitoring the performance and intervening to secure improvement in underperforming academies Taking decisions on the creation of new academies Ensuring that the sponsor market meets local need by authorising new sponsors and challenging those that exist to perform even better Promoting and supporting new models of System leadership

The role of the Headteacher Board To hold the RSC to account & advise on decisions made in the region 4 Elected Outstanding Heads and 4 co-opted or appointed Meets every 2 weeks All HTB members will attend the first HTB national conference this summer The Role in support of the RSC is to; Approve Academy Conversions Approve new sponsors Approve new MATS Challenge the RSC that interventions are effective & appropriate Add capacity to RSC office

Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner Where are we now? Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

The System in Capacity Terms Total Number of Academies in the system as of the end of May 5719 in total with 19% of Primary and 66% of Secondary 304 Free Schools 40 Studio Schools 39 UTC Total Number of Sponsors is 853 128 in WM and SESL and 58 in the North Total Number of MATS is 973 Total Number of Teaching Schools is 735 LWY has 121 and SESL has 112 Total Number of NLE is 1114 Total Number of NLG is 439

The System in Capacity Terms Focus on Multi Academy Trusts We know there are 973 across the 8 RSC regions Size and Scale 681 have between 1 and 3 schools (69.9%) 185 have between 4 and 6 schools (19%) 74 have between 7 and 12 schools (7.6%) 20 have between 13 and 25 schools (2%) 13 have more than 25 schools (1.3%)

Planning a Growth Model What is a reasonable expectation of the rate of growth of existing MATS assuming they want to do this?

Planning a Growth Model There are 14,660 Schools that are not Academies What if every one of the current 973 MATS increased by 10 schools between now and 2022? 9,730 schools could join existing MATS That would leave 4,930 to create or join new MATS Assuming this is 5 schools per new MAT with an aim of educating 1000-1200 children the demand is around 980 new MATS across 8 regions 122 over 6 years in each region 20 per year from 2016-17

Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner Where do we want to be? Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

What does a School Led system look like in 2022? What kind of education system should we be aiming to create? (1) Every school is a giver and receiver of support More schools & MATS contribute to the concept of peer review The 1800 MATS/Sponsors work together and share resources and talent between each other Governance will be world class and we can name it and describe it

What does a School Led system look like in 2022? What kind of education system should we be aiming to create? (2) Every school is part of a formal collaboration that develops “next” practice and research potential Stand Alone Academies are thriving and sustainable but working with a number of MATS even if they are not part of one The performance gap is the smallest it has ever been Teachers, leaders and support staff have a 10 year career plan that is realistic and deliverable

A World Class education system will understand progression points Progression 1-ENTRY to SCHOOL Progression 2-RECEPTION to Y1 Progression 3-Y2 into Y3 Progression 4-YEAR 6 into YEAR 7 Progression 5-TOWARDS GCSE Progression 6-ENTRY POST 16 Progression 7-HE and WORK Each School in a MAT/TSA leads on at least one transition point for example

How are we going to get there? Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

The Two Core Priorities that we need to Deliver between 2016 and 2022 Growing the capacity of the System with Care Improving the system strategically Raising the performance of Academies Expanding our Existing MATS If there are qualities of System leadership there must also be intelligences that underpin them IMPACT-knowing what to do and when to do it-Highly intelligence impact leaders recognise the impact that they have to have on others to change practice and refocus direction EMOTIONAL-knowing how to take people with you-understanding the feelings and emotions of those experiencing the change HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO BOTH Embedding the MAT as the best structure for improvement Approving and Developing new MATS

The Characteristics of Successful MATS See @Carter6D to download the whole document I published it again this morning

When multi-academy trusts work at their best…… Building a Community around moral purpose and high aspiration The authority of the lead educationalist Collective responsibility for the results of all children “If one fails we all fail” Strategic governance allied to educational focus at LGB Recruitment and retention Career progression for staff retain the best staff in the trust if not in the same school Efficient Management of Resources Trust appointments on behalf of the schools Where possible the “all through” 0 to 19 MAT makes sense of the learning progression of children Carlos Dominguez spoke about the need to define the value of collaboration and we have to do the same with MATS. Free style

How will Governance in England become world class? Governance Capability starts with Personal Qualities and Attributes The 7 principles of public life (Nolan) is a good place to start Knowledge and Skills Achieving Outcomes for children People and Relationships Holding people and systems to account Setting Direction Effective use of resources Compliance and outstanding management practices Carlos Dominguez spoke about the need to define the value of collaboration and we have to do the same with MATS. Free style

The Performance Challenge Sir David Carter June 2016 National Schools Commissioner

The system leader and the school improvement space Phase 1 - De-clutter The school is broken No underpinning of the future Real truth comes after project starts Phase 2 - Repair Control from chaos Reactive decision making Make the school feel like a normal school Phase 3 - Improve Leadership becomes more proactive Strategies start to embed Outcomes never as bad again Phase 4 - Sustain Maslow “self actualisation” Confident, innovative and risk taking delivery School Improvement is seqeuntial Do the four phases Can the same leadership team do all four stages or can you identify the right leaders for the journey that you are on In a single school setting you have to hope that you have that team-in a MAT the trust will have people who you know can adapt and become specialists on this journey

The Leaders we need on this journey Phase 1 - De-clutter Calm and Reassuring Leadership Ability to focus on urgent priorities Give team members the right jobs Highly visible Phase 2 – Repair Lock down the early improvements Build a medium term plan Still visible but more QA Phase 3 – Improve Monitoring and Tracking is the key Management shifting to leadership Benefiting from collaboration Phase 4 – Sustain Securing excellence Looking to lead collaboration 3-5 year planning School Improvement is seqeuntial Do the four phases Can the same leadership team do all four stages or can you identify the right leaders for the journey that you are on In a single school setting you have to hope that you have that team-in a MAT the trust will have people who you know can adapt and become specialists on this journey

What the best MATS and Schools appear to do to sustain improvement Keep things very simple Focus relentlessly on making teaching as good as it can be Personalised and bespoke development Ensure the best practice is aligned to and alongside the less strong practice Ensure consistency of what the leaders believe to be the best way to improve a core standard Scrutiny is high quality & improves practice-not just used to show what is already known

Core NSC Priority As NSC I want to play my part in Improving the weakest 100 Academies in the system The 100 academies I am most worried about will work with the NSC I will hold the RSC to account for improving them 3 Questions we should be able to answer now! Which Interventions at school and system level are the most effective? Which model of system leadership is most effective to improve standards fast? How do the best schools sustain their improvement?

The Performance Challenge Table Discussion

Performance Challenge Driving Questions Please focus on only ONE of these individually, in pairs or on the whole table Q1-If you were responsible for improving a school in deep trouble, what would be the 5 key areas of your due diligence? Q2-What is the relationship between middle & senior leadership in rapid school improvement Q3-How would you structure your report to your board to demonstrate impact on the school you were working with?

Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner The Growth Challenge Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

Why do we need a Strategy? We will need to grow our existing sponsors and MATS We will need to approve new sponsors and MATS Lessons learned from rapid growth without the correct infrastructure Give RSC the confidence to approve MATS to grow by more than one school at a time Gather the evidence of what the most effective MATS do

The MAT Growth Journey Starter Trusts Established Trusts 1-5 schools Up to 1000-1200 students Within single LA and Region Established Trusts 5-15 schools Up to 5000 students More than one LA and likely to be single region Regional Trusts 15-30 schools Approx 10000-12000 students Likely to be in more than one region System Trusts 30+ schools 12K students and beyond Working across the system in 3 or more RSC regions

The Growth Readiness Audit The audit will enable the trust, the RSC, & the NSC to assess the capacity and the capability of any MAT to grow significantly in the next five years The growth thresholds are the most obvious points for the audit to be conducted Who does the audit? For Starter Trusts the RSC and HTB as they do now For Established and System Trusts I am keen to use MATS have who have experienced the growth “spurt” being considered For System Trusts we will probably engage credible change consultants working alongside CEO and Board members of trusts

The 5 components in the Audit Standards and Track Record of improving schools Performance of the academies over time Response of the trust to under-performance People and Leadership Internal Capacity to create regional hubs (Exec Heads or Regional Directors) Finance and HR capacity School to school support Governance Board capacity and strength Accountability model Regional Governance models Financial Sustainability Financial Health & Medium-Long term planning Risk Management Mitigation strategy Monitoring Depth of Risk awareness across the trust

Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner System Leadership Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

What is System Leadership? There are lots of views and descriptions but this one works for me… “System Leadership take place when leaders working together plan and deliver a strategy that improves educational outcomes for children across a number of schools, some of whom the leaders never get to meet.”

System Leadership challenges us in different ways Leading a phase or subject across several schools Leading improvement beyond a single school and being accountable for it Transmitting effective practice and abandoning that which does not work Change Management Potential to progress from NQT to Principal within the same MAT as talent gets developed

The system-led collaborative culture Definition of collaboration Collaboration is working with others to do a task and to achieve shared goals. Fundamental part of human interaction The Arts Sport Charity Private and Public Sector Conditions that support collaboration Authority to make decisions Competition and Collaboration Clarity of vision A well-executed plan A governance model that holds people to account Buy-in Giving and Receiving We attempt to define collaboration in different ways-we can make it as complicated or simple as we like-I think my version gets close to the beautiful simplicity of what it is to collaborate with other human beings. As a child I experienced it on the sports field As a child I experienced it in orchestras and bands As an adult it has been my privilage to experience it for most of my adult life as a teacher, headteacher, CEO and schools commissioner CONDITIONS-free style

The qualities of the most successful system leaders Diagnosis of what is needed Can lead with credibility in the school improvement space Can see the MAT as an educational hub for excellence Ability to take action and execute the plan & evaluate it Understands how to hold people to account and welcomes being held to account Can tell the difference between context and an excuse Has a mindset that puts children’s needs ahead of adults’ expectations System Leadership is different to single school leadership A system in educational terms is often used to describe leadership across more than one school but it is more than that. System Leaders promote COMMUNITY CONFIDENCE COMMUNITY COHESION I think if I reflect on the work of the system leaders I have worked with in this role I feel confident that these qualities are present in many of them

The twin leadership intelligences for successful collaboration IMPACT INTELLIGENCE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT ON OTHERS SELF AWARENESS If there are qualities of System leadership there must also be intelligences that underpin them IMPACT-knowing what to do and when to do it-Highly intelligence impact leaders recognise the impact that they have to have on others to change practice and refocus direction EMOTIONAL-knowing how to take people with you-understanding the feelings and emotions of those experiencing the change HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO BOTH IMPACT ON OTHERS SELF AWARENESS

The mind-set that underpins future Leadership thinking Scanning the Horizon and looking ahead. Preparing and Anticipating change Collaborate with people who are different to you Too many collaborations reinforce similarities not the differences Be bold enough to abandon the past Dare to be different and stand out from the crowd

Summary and Conclusions Sir David Carter June & July 2016 National Schools Commissioner

Ten Questions to Consider in Term 6 2015-16 Is our MAT delivering on the promise we made OR are we strong enough to lead a MAT or become a sponsor in our own right? Who should we consult with and talk to in order to inform our decision making about further expansion OR the setting up of a new organisational model? What do parents like about the way we educate their children and how do we engage them in an even more meaningful way? What are we good at that we could share with other schools with credibility? Do we care enough that a school in our neighbourhood is in difficulty?

Ten Questions to Consider in Term 6 2015-16 What does our current performance tell us about the areas of our provision that needs to be better? How do we receive as well as give support? What are the current relationships and partnerships we value that we do not want to lose? What are the future challenges that we can anticipate that will test us over the next five years? How strong is our current governance model? Should we commission an external review or use a tool to self-audit? Have we engaged with our RSC to let them know about our thinking?