Tread Carefully – The Pitfalls Of Trust Expansion
If the government's plan to convert all schools into academies goes ahead, existing multi-academy trusts will need to think carefully about how they expand, says Phil Haslett…
- by Phil Haslett
The government’s recent announcement that it expects all schools in England to become academies by 2022 has had a rocky reception across the education world.
The merits of this latest policy development are being vigorously debated by the unions and politicians, and we’ll need to see just what form it takes in the next few months. But the fact remains that academy status – and joining or forming a multi academy trust (MAT) of some form – is increasingly the only option open to many schools, mainly because in an era where education budgets are shrinking in real terms, joining together with other schools can offer financial, as well as school improvement benefits.
While deciding the right academisation route is a huge one for schools, and one they’ll need to make carefully, it’s also a time of equally big choices for existing MATs, which face the challenge of how to expand in a system where every school may become an academy.
Why are you expanding?
Expanding a trust by reacting to requests to join on a case by case basis is one thing, but it won’t work in this new era. Ultimately your trust needs to be clear on why you are growing. Is it just about expansion, or something else? That’s where a growth strategy, underpinned by a plan and the right structure, comes in. So what are the key things to remember when finding the approach that works for your trust? Vision and values These should underpin all of your long-term planning. What are you about, and what are you trying to achieve? Your trust should be a vehicle for improvement in all types of schools, so it’s important to have a mix of good and outstanding schools, as well as schools that require support. Vision and values will also influence how you structure your leadership, management and governance.
Have a delivery plan with short, middle and long-term objectives What’s your final destination and how do you want to get there? Create governance and senior leadership structures that can grow to help you achieve your end goal. Things will change along the way, so think about the big picture and then plan accordingly. Check whether your possesses the right skills To achieve the above, your SLT has to have the skills needed to deliver effectively. Running a MAT is not the same as running a school; the two require different sets of leadership and strategic skills. You may well have an outstanding executive head of two schools, but they’ll likely need different skills as a chief executive of a trust with 10 schools. Look outside as well as within – but don’t get obsessed by what others are doing Look for practice and approaches that suit you, and apply them to your circumstances and needs. Strategic partnerships and advisers can help you move forward more quickly and with more stability. Look at the big picture Make sure you have individuals on the trust board with the skill sets needed to provide continuous review and challenge. Ensure also that your board has a strategic focus – if you have lots of local governing body representatives you can get dragged into individual school issues, and that’s not what you’re about.
Get the structures right
It’s also important to remember that centralised systems, processes and structures will become increasingly important as your trust grows; you won’t get the financial efficiencies you will need without them.
This is the time to start looking at other sectors that rely on the effective management of multiple complex organisations. There are thousands of variations and examples out there to look at, but pretty much all of them will be based on the ‘central functions’ model. These ‘central functions’ will usually include IT, HR (including CPD and talent management), finance, business development and marketing. You’ll need to allocate responsibility for these in a way that will allow both leaders and teachers to concentrate on teaching and learning.
It’s up to each trust to find a balance between overseeing your central functions and maintain the local autonomy of your schools. Get the balance wrong, and your trust could become too bureaucratic and develop a reputation for imposing too much direction on its schools. Are good or outstanding schools likely to find that attractive?
Conversely, it’s unwise to have hardly any overarching systems or processes in place at all, and simply allow every school to do their own thing. You won’t benefit from the financial efficiencies that come with being a MAT, and you’ll find that managing and reporting across your schools will become increasingly complicated the more you grow. Most importantly of all, you risk limiting the schools’ abilities to collaborate and support each other.
Phil Haslett is business development director at Best Practice Network, a national provider of training, professional development and support services
He is also vice-chair of directors at the Olympus Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust comprising two secondaries and two primaries in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
