Maria Dawes, Deputy Director The roles No School Left Behind – working together to support the Catholic Community of Schools The Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth Academies and Schools Annual Conference 26 January 2017 Maria Dawes, Deputy Director SESL

Some regional statistics Number of schools in SESL Headline Data (as at 1 January 2017) Sponsor ‘cold spots’ Primaries 10 Largest Sponsors by number of schools in SESL - 551 primary academies (20% of all state-funded) 337 converters 186 sponsored academies 28 free schools Secondaries (inc. all through & 16+) - 337 secondary academies (62% of all state-funded) 213 converters 103 sponsored academies 21 free schools 31 special schools (17% of all state-funded) 8 AP (7% of all state funded) 50 grammar schools (across Kent, Sutton, Medway, Bexley, Kingston and Bromley) – 40 are academies. 666 academies (73%) are in a MAT. 10 diocese (7 CofE and 3 Catholic) Name of Sponsor Number of schools in SESL The Kemnal Academies Trust 36 Harris Federation 32 Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership 22 GLF Schools 21 ARK Schools 14 Leigh Academies Trust REAch2 Academy Trust Oasis Community Learning 12 The Thinking Schools Academy Trust 11 The Diocese of Canterbury Academies Trust 10 *darker blue indicates greater need for sponsors 112 Teaching Schools 53 TSAs in South East; 35 TSAs in London 79% MATs have 1-5 schools in 139 sponsors (of which 9 are grammars, 4 are higher education institutions) 53 MATs not sponsors 61 Academy Ambassadors placed 29 participants completed the MAT CEO training programme Capacity data 86% of academies and free schools are good or outstanding (89% of free schools) All Schools: 81% G/O; 9% RI; 1% Inadequate; 9% not yet inspected 6 academies in category 31 academies below the floor (17 primaries; 14 secondary) 11 LA maintained schools in category with dAO 73 LA maintained schools below the floor (61 primaries; 12 secondary) 100 schools provisionally identified as coasting (59 primary; 41 secondary) Headline Performance data 2016

What are we seeing happening to MATs in SESL region? Diverse; local Greater governance financial awareness Growth of executive leadership Moving from looser to tighter Collaborative dividend for children

The benefits of collaboration ‘There is an increasing body of evidence for the benefits of close collaboration between schools.’ ‘Evidence suggests that formal collaborations, where there is shared accountability, are more likely than informal partnerships to deliver the benefits … Looser collaborations do, of course, have an important part to play in a self-improving school-led system … however, formal partnerships are more likely to lead to long-term school improvement.’ Forming or Joining a Group of Schools: staying in control of your school’s destiny http://tinyurl.com/groupofschools

The best leaders, teachers and support staff being deployed to ensure that as many children as possible benefit from their skills and expertise. Sir David Carter

What do we know about the benefits of being part of a MAT? enabled governors and leaders to come together and take responsibility to provide better education in their community, rather than just in their individual schools, supported by a common ethos; facilitated the sharing of effective practice across a group of schools, so that when a particular approach has been shown to work, improving teaching and learning, it can be implemented across the MAT; ensured no school was left behind because the leader or CEO of the MAT had the levers to secure improved performance of all the schools within the MAT, and were accountable for doing this; extended the reach of great leaders and governors – at all levels – to support and develop teachers across a wider group of schools; produced a pipeline of future leaders, by enabling a greater array of middle leadership positions; facilitated the recruitment and retention of staff, by giving leaders the ability to point to realistic career development paths and opportunities to specialise within a MAT; made it easier for teachers to support each other across the group of schools by sharing, drawing on and learning from good practice, taking on increased responsibility for specialist subjects and acting as a coach and critical friend; and generated economies of scale, enabling cost efficient commissioning and purchasing of goods and services, and/or facilitating the development of in-house services for schools across the MAT.

The Autonomy Debate and Who Does What Academy Autonomy Academy Systemisation Is there a benefit to the children in your school in doing things the same way: Culture, values and beliefs Educational Quality 7

Getting the balance right Too heavy a focus on systemisation Stifles ownership of change Restricts Innovation Reduces incentive to earn back autonomy by being a strong school More time spent on checking schools are doing what you think they are doing Too heavy a reliance on autonomy CEO becomes a hostage to fortune MAT adds value at the margins Accountability is harder to define Less transmission of strategy and effective practice into classrooms 8

MATs and School Improvement Structure and Strategies The ultimate challenge is finding the right approach that raises standards and sustains them Trust Cluster School What happens where? 9

What do we know about effective improvement strategies for groups of schools? Forms of support that are effective for school improvement vary depending on the point the school has reached in its school improvement journey. There is a role for a team of school improvement experts – every school can be the giver and receiver of support. The role of system leaders and Teaching Schools can be important. There are opportunities for collaboration between MATs. Arrangements that enable school leaders and teachers to share effective practice and work rather than just talk together. The most effective strategies to improve teaching and learning take place in schools and involve observing excellent teaching; opportunities to reflect with colleagues; and coaching in the teacher’s own classroom. Weak leaders can be supported through coaching, mentoring and other development opportunities encouraged. 10

Trust/Cluster/Academy Improvement Strategy Trusts need one data system Define the strategy at different levels of the trust structure Monitoring must inform delivery Diagnosis and Analysis Commissioning Delivery Accountability and QA Some form of external QA process 11

Leaders at the heart of school improvement

Risks Getting the partnership right Dependency on a key individual Getting the right people at all levels of governance Rate of Growth The right school improvement strategy Finance Forgetting to manage risk! 13

How can the RSC support On-line and downloadable resources: Overarching On supporting school improvement On governance On financial sustainability (Summary to be found on p 54 of Multi-academy trusts – Good practice guidance and expecations for growth – December 2016) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-academy-trusts-establishing-and-developing-your-trust Support and training There are several courses for existing and aspiring MAT CEOs and senior leaders wishing to develop these skills. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/expanding-your-academy-trust-resources-for-multi-academy-trusts/expanding-your-academy-trust-resources-for-multi-academy-trusts#regional-schools-commissioners Academy Ambassadors 14

How can the RSC support Recruiting trustees Academy Ambassadors School Improvement Strong links with the TSC £140M School improvement fund School-to-school support directory The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has produced a school-to-school support directory Map of teaching schools NCTL has also published a map of teaching schools. You can use the interactive map to sort teaching schools by location and specialism. 15

Thank you: Any questions or comments? RSC.SESL@education.gsi.gov.uk 0207 783 8162 5th Floor, Trafalgar House, 1 Bedford Park, Croydon 16