1. Multi Academy Trusts: The role of the CEO
A presentation for Future Leaders’ Executive Educators programme

2. CEOs have a variety of roles…
Corporate chief executive
Thinker and strategist
Guardian of the flame
Ambassador
Instructional leader
Communicator
Leadership developer
Business developer
Orchestrator of partnership depth
Quality assurer

3. …but operate across a broad spectrum of MATs…
Fledgling MATs with two or three academies
More established MATs with 10–20 academies
MAT spectrum
Developing MATs with five to 10 academies
Large MATs with 20 or more academies

4. …though the size of the average MAT is growing
Number of academies by size of academy grouping
March 2011
July 2015
Nearly two-thirds of the 4,725 academies are now in MATs and there are 517 MATs that have two to five academies, 98 with 6 to 15 and 19 with 16 or more
Source: DfE

5. So, the focus of the session will be to:
Examine each of the CEO roles in more detail
Consider a number of variables that influence the exercise of CEO roles
Work in groups on applying this thinking to our context
Allow time for personal assessment and reflection

6. Thinker and strategist
Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Understanding and analysing the political and policy context
Developing with directors and leaders the vision, values and key aims for the MAT
Translating a vision and aims into a plan of action with agreed milestones
Managing short term demands in the context of longer term aims

7. Guardian of the flame Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Securing buy-in across the MAT to the vision, values and aims
Identifying key polices and initiatives to help embed commitment and make the vision and values real
Aligning people and development plans to work towards the agreed goals
Reviewing progress and impact and refreshing the vision

8. Maintaining momentum and an improvement trajectory
Progress
Maturity
Stagnate or renew?
Growth
Decline
Start-up and learn
Time

9. Instructional leader Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Being a leader of learning and creating a collaborative learning culture
Understanding the key drivers of school improvement and being able to describe their application across the MAT
Being able to implement strategies for schools in different contexts and at different points in their improvement journeys
Determining the tight-loose balance on curriculum content and approaches to teaching and learning*
*The scope of the tight-loose balance will also apply to other areas – for example, performance management, ICT and financial reporting systems.

10. Leadership developer Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Having a clear distribution of leadership roles and accountabilities and deployment of senior leadership expertise
Developing a strong team culture with senior leaders and fostering a co-construction ethos
Identifying emerging talent and creating systems for emerging leaders to have leadership assignments across the MAT
Evolving the organisation’s leadership structures and succession planning

11. Orchestrator of partnership depth
Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Knowing where performance is strong and having systems for deploying expertise across the MAT
Integrating formal professional development linked to classroom coaching model(s)
Facilitating middle leaders to lead joint professional development projects – linked to MAT priorities and an evaluation/impact model
Encouraging networking opportunities and ways for staff to learn from and celebrate each other’s efforts

12. Quality assurer Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Having an unremitting focus on improving results and outcomes
Knowing in real time the quality of teaching and learning and progress in all academies*
Using benchmarking and peer review within the MAT and with top performers to spur innovation and improvement
Performance management of other senior leaders
*A good data dashboard system will also embrace metrics on pupil and staff attendance, behaviour, applications for places, and financial management

13. Business developer Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Developing a strategy for growing the MAT – including the rate of expansion
Developing a strategy for integrating/procuring support functions and services – including a prioritised timetable for realising economies of scale
Develop a five-year financial strategy
Balancing opportunities and risks

14. Communicator within the MAT
Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Creating a simple, clear narrative for what the MAT is trying to achieve
Putting place systems for communicating effectively with trustees, governors, leaders, staff, parents and pupils
Being able to persuade through vision and modeling collaborative behaviour
Encouraging and listening to feedback

15. Ambassador for the MAT Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Promoting the MAT’s vision, values and achievements and explaining the strategy and journey for improvement
Engaging with other MATs, schools and the local community
Negotiating with and influencing government representatives and other stakeholders
Managing the reputation of the MAT

16. Corporate executive Key attributes 1 2 3 4
Having clear schemes of delegation and reporting arrangements to local governing bodies and directors
Supporting the development of directors, governors and the central MAT team
Establishing consistency of policies across academies in the MATs
Ensuring compliance with statutory and financial requirements

17. A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to other members of a central team
An example
Chief Operating Officer
CEO
Director of Standards
Management accountant
Key curriculum specialists* PA
Director of Teaching and Learning*
Business Manager
Central Business Team
Other senior leaders carrying out ad hoc roles
Part-time Marketing Officer
HR and Estates Managers
*Might be linked to a SLT role in one of the academies
*Might be based in academies
MAT spectrum

18. As the MAT develops the CEO role will evolve
Chief Operating Officer
Director of Standards
Management accountant
Key curriculum specialists*
Director of Teaching and Learning*
Central Business Team
Part-time Marketing Officer
HR and Estates Managers
MAT spectrum

19. Scale and spans of control in a growing MAT
A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to other leaders
Scale and spans of control in a growing MAT
MAT
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners
Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners
Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners

20. Scale and spans of control in some larger MATs
A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to other leaders
Some larger MATs also using Regional Directors
Scale and spans of control in some larger MATs
MAT
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Executive principal
Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners
Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners
Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners

21. DfE view of chain and cluster roles
Similar across high performing sponsors
Different between high performing sponsors
Chain CEO
Strategy Vs operational level: A general distinction between strategic direction - exercised at chain level- and more operational accountability-exercised at school or hub level.
Autonomy to hubs: one chains’ hubs are MATs in their own right, but there are other examples of highly devolved decision-making. In other instances the role is restricted more narrowly to school improvement.
CFO
Education. Dir.
HR (and others)
Hubs led by educationalists: All the high performing sponsors we interviewed had middle leaders with educational expertise – some were known as ‘Exec Principals’ and others ‘Regional Directors’.
Size of ‘hubs’ varies significantly. At the extremes were one with 3 schools and another with 15 schools – most others varies between 4 and 10. Directors of smaller hubs tend to be thought of as ‘Exec Principals’.
Hub director
Hub director
Hub director
Head A
Head B
Head C
Head D
Head E
Heads reporting lines – whilst most heads report directly to the hub director, some still report to school governing bodies reflecting differences in local school governance arrangements
Board and local governance links: It is common for school governing bodies to include representation from board members.

22. A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to complement their own skills
No one leader has all the skills
Leadership requires good self knowledge – whether though 360 degree assessment or Myers Briggs etc
While CEOs should aspire to develop, they should also seek to put together teams that complement them – and each other

23. A CEO’s role might (for a defined period) depend on a MAT’s history or challenges
A CEO might at a particular stage of a MAT’s development have to prioritise:
School improvement
Governance
Financial management
Restructuring the Trust
Building relations with the community
But the team should still ensure that all roles are covered

24. Task 1: A group task Your table will be assigned two of the CEO roles.
Your task will be to draw on your experience and tease out through group discussion:
Which aspects of the roles are the same – irrespective of the size or stage of the development of a MAT
Provide examples of how exercising the roles is influenced by a MAT’s context and its stage of development
Time for discussion: 30 minutes
Please capture the key points using the template provided

25. Role
Which aspects of the CEO role are the same – irrespective of context
Examples of how the context of a MAT affects the exercise of a role

26. Task 2: A personal task
Consider each of the roles and attributes and assess how confident you are in your capacity to undertake the role:
1 = Not at all confident
2 = Lacking some confidence
3 = Quite confident
4 = Very confident
Identify the five areas where through the Executive Educators programme or another means you are looking to develop experience, expertise and confidence
Time allowed: 15 minutes