Six powerful principles to include in any MAT strategy

Chris Kirk - 14 November, 2018

MAT Operations

Category : Blog

Six powerful principles to include in any MAT strategy

In the first blog in this series I shared research which indicates MATs need to be clearer about their vision, even though different MATs will rightly have different visions.  I would suggest that the following principles are likely to underpin the vision for many MATs as they grow and mature:

Six powerful principles to include in any MAT strategy:

1. An inquisitive approach to curriculum and pedagogy, framed from the top and led from the middle

2. Consistent and regular performance data which is;

a) standardised (between Academies),
b) balanced (measuring what we value, rather than valuing only what we can easily measure),
c) integrated (the data is generated through activity which would be useful to the teacher, not just to create reports),
d) layered (different people can use it for different purposes without recreating burdensome collection),
e) benchmarked (we know how it compares to others)
f) formative and summative and well understood by all

3. High quality governance which is clear about authority and delegation

4. Leadership and management which is focused on outcomes, which inspires, and which aims for “subsidiarity”, with decisions being made where they are most effective

5. A culture of personal development and learning for staff as much as students

6. A clear growth strategy which balances economy with capacity, geographic focus, due diligence and a clear ‘deal’ for new joining schools.

These principles are a good start but a MAT needs a clear view about the capabilities which will deliver them.

Six core capabilities for MATs*

*Capability: a combination of people, systems and processes

The importance of systems to enable collaboration is often overlooked

It is traditional to think of MAT capabilities in terms of the first five of the list above.  However, I believe that there is a significant additional capability which can be built systematically: purposeful collaboration can bridge the gap between chaotic innovation, and stifling standardisation.

Technology can help scale collaboration between stakeholders

Paul Shoesmith, ICT lead for CJK Associates says that  “technologies can help to support collaboration between students, and between teachers and students.  Setting up, configuring and managing such systems can be challenging at an individual school level, but by sharing best practice across schools the investment in time which is often required to get those systems working effectively the benefits can be realised more quickly and at a lower cost, in time as well as financially.”

The way each MAT approaches the six principles and core capabilities will reflect size, context, and level of maturity.  In the next three blogs I will set out a possible pathway, considering the management style, organisation, systems, processes and policies that are likely to be put in place over time.

Click here to read the next instalment of Chris’ blog on managing MAT growth