Page 14 - APi innovation - accountability for improvement

CASE STUDY -

From the first Local Improvement Board (LIB) of a newly formed ensure open and honest dialogue to enable true improvement rigorous affirming and challenging all at its very best to
Multi Academy Trust (MAT) written by the Head teacher of one to take flight. Thus if you indicate a red border around any of the make a significant difference in the lives and opportunities of
of the academies in the MAT. competencies you must vindicate initially the base colour that children.....
you have chosen and the concern that you hold.
The initial LIB establishes a baseline position which portrays where This is school improvement in its
each academy in a MAT is at the entry point to the organisation. This is real transparency.
purest form.
The baseline due diligence visits include one that focuses on the Equally the need to be data rich is key – but which data sets are
leadership of learning, conducted by two trained 4MAT coaches these? From the 4 MAT canvases for each school comes the resultant
who are non-self-regulatory experts, are objective and familiar It was my experience that the key data revolved around: 4MAT canvas for the MAT.
with the 4MAT programme. This is crucial as it portrays as a MAT what are the strengths,
• Impact of spending of for example Pupil Premium funding; areas of risk and due mitigation.
Initially as Head you are required to complete a straight-forward
2 page pro-forma which itemises the areas of specific interest • Impact of teaching and learning on all groups of children, The aspect of confidentiality is also crucial for the LIB. The
you wish the due diligence to focus on (including some regulatory for example SEND, EMC, EAL etc. individual 4MAT canvases and how they have altered has to
information). The findings of the initial visit are then shared with However as you move LIB 2 LIB the key data will inevitably be delivered to SLT and appropriate Local Academy Governing
the CEO and Trustees as the initial baseline canvas. This is in turn change and predicted forecasts of end of Key Stage results will Boards with due rigour and sensitivity. Nobody likes criticism,
contrasted with the canvas that the Head and SLT have produced be paramount. especially if they feel that it is harsh, or unjust - we all
independently for the Academy. understand that.
The ‘no pain-no gain’ scenario springs to mind.
Once the discussion has begun the dialogue is both lively and Instead, I have come to reflect and understand that it is
challenging. Each competency is debated - where there needed The LIB is a clear CPD opportunity and a new school through the frank conversations and the unpicking of the areas
to be rigorous challenge and debate there was. improvement model. No head teacher or Senior Leader or for development into focused short term action plans that
indeed for that matter 4MAT coach or LIB Chair will sit and have real teeth and are time-limited that rapid progress can be
The competencies are interwoven therefore it is self-evident think I have heard this before because they will not have. The
over time that if an area is classified as amber for instance power of the LIB for each Academy within a MAT is that your achieved.
then that immediately impacts on any inflated areas around Academy‘s view is heard, scrutinised, challenged and reviewed. On reflection it is the responses
the canvas. Equally if areas of particular strength are identified
then these can raise other areas of the canvas due to their The next step is then the trajectory and how that LIB 2 LIB plan and thinking provoked by the
‘inter-relatedness’. can resolve the identified issues. questioning and challenge

The judgement re each competency allows for a border The next step the following day is to explain the canvas to the that come from the 4MAT and
which can be of a different colour – this is vital as it creates fellow MAT heads, CEO and other LIB members. associated LIB that are the key
the identification of medium or high risk, or trajectory for This is a ‘cathartic’ experience. drivers to making significant
improvement for the next LIB.
It is the first time that your school is really ‘laid bare’, regardless change.
At this initial LIB it is crucial to indicate and air the key concerns how closely you believe that you have worked together as
the Head / SLT have about their Academy as it is the best way to
a collaborative network or association of any kind - this is