ASCL comment on NFER report on the transition to an all-MAT system

Responding to the National Foundation for Educational Research’s report that states the government’s plan to have all schools in a multi-academy trust (MAT) by 2030 is not possible, Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Rather than continuing to pursue this unachievable target, the government needs to deal with far more pressing issues. Their immediate focus should be on addressing the recruitment and retention crisis, which is making it increasingly difficult to put teachers in front of classes, and the long-term underfunding of education from early years through to post-16. These are much greater threats to educational standards over the next few years than some schools not being in multi-academy trusts.

“We agree that all schools and colleges should have the opportunity to be part of a strong group which suits their own needs and where they both give and receive support. In many cases this will be in the form of MATs, though other forms of partnership can also bring significant benefits. Many local authority schools, as well as schools which operate as single academy trusts, are happy with the structure in which they currently operate and struggle to see how joining a MAT would help them to maintain or improve standards.

“These issues were evident even before the scrapping of the Schools Bill, which has cast further doubt over this and other policies. Clearly the ambition to have all schools in MATs by 2030 is totally unrealistic and so the government must clarify exactly what it does intend to do. Creating an all-MAT system would require huge structural change, so if the government is intent on pursuing this policy it must explain how it intends to facilitate and support this process to ensure positive outcomes and avoid schools joining or forming groups which aren’t best placed to support and challenge them. Getting this underlying structure right is more important than meeting an arbitrary deadline.

“If the government insists on pressing ahead with this policy, it must explain how it is going to delivered. Meanwhile, school and college leaders are once again left in the dark.”