In September of this year, we joined a Multi Academy Trust. It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it was a journey the school took that spanned nearly four years. From initial conversations, which we knew would go nowhere – exploring our position and what we thought about MATs and our role within one. Over those years we had various meetings, visits and conversations with four or five different MATs. My governors were determined that we did not rush the decision – even though from the earliest conversations we knew that joining the ‘right’ MAT would bring key benefits; as well as acknowledging we had a lot to offer. Two years ago, we started the proper due diligence process on two selected MATs and then recently we became a part of the Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust (BTCT). 

I learnt a lot as a school leader going through this process and felt I needed to share my thoughts. What prompted me to do this was a simple tweet I wrote recently: 

My school joined a trust this September… I am loving the connection, brilliant new colleges, eclectic mix of schools and sense of belonging. So powerful to feel part of something rather than waiting for the sea change that will never come.

The narrative around this was not unsurprising but significant. Many people said that this was refreshing to hear. That they often heard negative narratives around MATs – not positive. It got me thinking – why is that?Why do I have a different perspective on this?

I have been a head for long enough that I still remember the original MATs when their Empire was still all consuming – The LA. I remember meetings with 150 heads in the room, a long table of leaders at the front and a three-line whip for attendance. I struggle to remember what was good about this – apart from catching up with other head teachers and gossiping, or moaning about some policy, or directive. A lot of my initial thoughts about joining a MAT was based on this experience. I realise now that MATs (Well the one we have joined) are nothing like LAs – old, or new. They are a completely different thing. LAs are pushing against the final nails being hammered into their coffin. Even massive reinvestment in them will not be able to meet the varied and bespoke range of needs schools have in a fragmented, and bruised education system. The last ten years in education have ensured that we need innovation moving forward – there’s much to do and this blog isn’t about how the current MAT system has all the answers for ensuring that we have a fair and equitable National Education system that works for all. But it is recognising why I now fully believe why joining a MAT is clearly the first big step. This must be the right MAT for your school. Therefore, my first lesson was on autonomy. 

Autonomy

Have as much autonomy over making the choice as you can possibly have. Not making a choice does not feel like autonomy. When people say to me – Oh, we are going to see what the LA will do before we make the MAT decision I say, “Good luck!” Genuinely – I grieve for what has happened – but as a leader, being stagnant and waiting for something that – year on year- only gradually seems to get worse, right in front of our eyes – seems blinkered. Like passing a deer that has been hit by a car. We know we need to do the right thing but, do we have the stomach for it? A lot of just waiting for something seems strategically naive – Being proactive, even if that’s fully backing your LA is important. Half measures leave schools at a distinct disadvantage. Your autonomy is in the choices you can make. Doing nothing does not seem like a wise choice anymore. Though I know some people who will clearly argue against this.  

Autonomy matters. It’s usually the reason cited for NOT joining a MAT. LA schools have plenty of autonomy, basically because the LA don’t have any capacity to be there for all its schools. The autonomy I have lost so far has meant I am spending far more time being the head teacher at a school that is focussed on learning… which in turn develops our identity and ethos – another thing that MATs are often accused of taking away. 

Yes, I don’t see how precarious the budget is looking daily – Halleluiah! I don’t have to update HR policies, broker for H&S software, worry about hand dryers falling off walls (though that did happen this week!), renegotiate photocopier contracts… in fact– the biggest early takeaway is this – I, as in me the head teacher – am no longer alone in my worry about the infinite possibilities beyond teaching and learning that can happen in a school. I have quite happily handed that part of my autonomy over… I have NO fear of handing over the sometimes-overbearing bureaucracy to a centralised system. I suddenly have people, who answer their phone, who email and who I know by name who have the same vision as me – They want our school to be successful within the MAT.

I still have autonomy over how staff are deployed, what curriculum we have, the day-to-day leadership of the school. Nothing in the day to day running of my school has changed since September. I’m sure it will over time but that is just change – that should happen anyway. There is no branding, if you didn’t know, you would be hard pressed to tell we were in a Trust from the outside. The only give away is the BTCT logo on the side of the new minibus the trust bought us in September. 

Autonomy is important – but how often do headteacher’s think about that and realise, good leadership of a school is NOT about how much responsibility a few people have… It’s about the right people doing the right jobs. Longevity in school leadership is about spreading the many challenges as evenly as possible. Not being martyrs to a cross in which we feel we will eventually be nailed to. 

This is why Autonomy in making the decision matters. Know why you are going into a MAT – or not. Make that decision and test it – RIGOUSLY – before jumping. I don’t believe you can make that decision until you have met with and done due diligence on some optional MATs. Our autonomy was strongest when governors were making the decision. They took due diligence seriously and they made sure it was not one head teacher, on their own, making the big decisions. This was the key step in this process. They didn’t become precious or think about their role – they thought about the future of the school and put that front and centre. They talked about what our key issues were; what was unique about our needs and then they tested that out on the two MATs we looked at. They tested it with rigour. From this we began to understand what we were looking for: 

This leads me to the second thing I learnt… 

Size Matters

It became clear to us very early on that we wanted a MAT that saw us as an integral part of the system cog. That we had a place, a role, skills and knowledge that would enhance the MAT as much as gain from the system and structures it was offering us. They were almost as sceptical about us, as we were about them. They gave us the harder messages from the very first conversations. It won’t all go smoothly, you will have to give up things you might feel are precious and important right now, there will be change… This honest and open approach really helped us prepare for what was to come. Early conversations with MATs can be all about excitement, new beginnings and promises… we got some of that, but we also got the harder elements of making a relationship work such as whose turn it was to load the dishwasher? Who needed to take the children to football practice in the rain? Elements of making relationships work that aren’t just the sexy bits that early dating may entail.  Because make no mistake – the early interactions can feel like a game of promises… Therefore, we went in with our eyes wide open, and most importantly – and I believe this is also key. We went in with a 100% desire to make this work and be something that was essential for us and for the wider MAT.  Not a – Oh we better join a MAT then attitude.

I think size matters here. There are currently only eight schools in our MAT. Four weeks in and I know the heads and teams well. I feel welcomed and part of the narrative already. This in turn is quickly building trust. When you see the negativity, it is almost always about a lack of trust. Maybe because of size it is easier to make us feel this? But, I imagine in the wrong small trust this could be even more difficult to handle. 

This sense of community – feeling part of something, even as we are dragged into the vortex of our own school silos – is powerful. Having a sense of direction with a group of colleagues is something I haven’t felt on this level for many, many years. But it doesn’t stop here. Suddenly there is a trust team of people focussed on teacher development, training, inclusion and other support areas. I’m not trying to do this on my own. I’m having professional conversations about contextual elements of how my school works (Or doesn’t work) with people who have different skills, knowledge and experiences… but ultimately, they want our success as much as we do because that is the role they have in the trust. 

The sceptical will say – well it is early days Brian. You just wait… Well, many of my head teacher colleagues have been working with the MAT for years. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what they are happy with and what are the issues. Just test this in the due diligence period.  Another key lesson in your due diligence – don’t just listen to the CEO – listen to what the other schools tell you; and look at what they do. For us, we wanted cohesion, inclusive practice and systems that had clarity about them; maybe size has an advantage here? I’m not saying all large MATs don’t work. I’m just saying my current experience is – I feel my school is seen and heard and this began during the earliest phases. We know what my school is trying to achieve, and I know how we will be supported in this process. 

Communication – vision

My final point of learning (Though now I’ve started I can see a series of blogs coming out of this experience) was about how important communication is when making the decision to join a MAT. How quickly can a MAT set out what they stand for and then show you? 

The MAT we picked understood inclusion at a level that excited us. It didn’t mean that they had it sorted – far from it. But they put it front and centre and were doing things about it. We are a complex school with a 55 place Specialist Provision within the heart of our Mainstream. The problems we faced were also shared within the MAT. It felt like we could bring things to the table, as well a learn a lot. 

When going into a discussion with a MAT make sure you really know where your lines are drawn. I imagine most MATs will be able to talk about developing teachers, curriculum, attendance etc… But what can they do to help you with the things you really struggle with? Teacher recruitment; specialised training; alternative provisions… Be clear what you want and then test it again. Even if they don’t currently have it – does their ethos support it? If you have more than one choice in making your MAT decision, then this is vital. 

I know the sceptic will say – But we have no choice, or – you are one of the lucky ones! I’d argue that it would be very odd for every MAT to be run by people who only want to ruin schools, break teachers and destroy education. Often, the echo chamber of social media (how we usually hear about people’s experiences) is one of negativity (especially recently). What we rarely hear from are those who are either OK, or happy with things. The narrative can seem like a few people are the consensus of the masses. All MATs are bad because I had a terrible experience (in which we’ve only heard their side of the story). This in turn damages reputations and casts doubt. Therefore, all MATs are bad, ok… 

I’m not naïve about any of this. I’m still waiting for something I didn’t see to hit me square between the eyes, or some existential crisis in which my 30 years in the education world comes tumbling in and I fall to my knees crying, “Why God? Why!”. But, that moment is certainly not here I currently see nothing but positive growth for my school, and the MAT we have become part of. That is a change in the narrative – because as much as things were OK before I could not see the levels of development and growth that I currently see. We could have never achieved this on our own. 

We really do need to change the narrative of negativity and hear more positive and open experiences shared across all schools. That will need a collective response in which the central education system wakes up to the reality that is the education system in 2024 and finds ways to bring us all together under a common national purpose that champions education rather than feels bashed over the head by it.