The Five Key Phases of the Model
A4i provides comprehensive and holistic audit and monitoring of performance across schools and ever-more complex school organisations. The 4MAT provides the right way to provide bespoke and appropriate training to key leaders. As such it will provide the necessary framework to support the role of governors and trustees and the key tool of the Local Improvement Board (LIB).
The A4i professional development programme is built on a systematic results-driven methodology made up of five key phases:
- Phase One will involve an initial audit and an outline of planned on-going auditing through the next four phases;
- Phase Two will focus on the portrayal of performance and risk through the 4MAT;
- Phase Three will establish and maintain a clear and transparent accountability framework;
- Phase Four will provide on-going monitoring through half termly Local Improvement Board (LIB); and,
- Phase Five will help to support MAT's progress to the next stage of its evolution as a MAT.
4MAT fits completely with the Ofsted inspection framework and was recently praised during a school inspection by HMI. 4MAT portrays performance and identifies risk and necessary mitigation to maintain the identified trajectory for improvement. Having created this portrayal, the leadership team are supported with a training programme in accountability and the construction of a bespoke but rigorous and effective monitoring system.
Phase One will focus on due diligence and the establishment of audit schedules. Part of the process of becoming a charitable trust or an academy in a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) is an expectation that all Trust Boards have deep understanding of their community and each of their schools and their starting points so that true measures of progress and improvement can be accurately planned and provided.
The purpose of this first audit is to carry out MAT due diligence looking specifically for:
- Strengths and how these can be used to contribute to the trust or the MAT;
- Alignment to the values, ethos and vision of the charity, trust or MAT;
- Providing the supported evidence and analysis for the baseline 4MAT canvas;
- What precise improvement is needed for rapid gains in progress to be pertinently focused and evidently successful; and,
- How corporate governance is well informed to support highly successful and excellent charities, trusts and schools.
Beyond initial due diligence both internal and external monitoring and audit controls will continue to inform the work of leaders in reporting to the Board of Trustees through the Local Improvement Board (LIB).
4MAT is the contextual picture that comes from the process of seeking and interpreting evidence by leaders and stakeholders to establish and to maintain an effective overview of responsibility for performance and accountability for improvement.
Performance and risk are portrayed and are aligned to statutory, mandatory and regulatory criteria synthesized in the form of audit tools.
The 4MAT portrays the target and trajectory the school or network has set for improvement.
Our accountability training programme offers a consistent, results-driven methodology for deepening an organisation's understanding of the concept of accountability and of how to build an accountability framework that successfully promotes improved outcomes for children and young people.
Our six-phase programme is relevant to schools, MATs and LAs and is delivered as a bespoke package in three stages:
- Training on what effective accountability means and looks like in practice;
- Collaborative evaluation of your accountability systems; and,
- Implementing and using the framework.
This phase offers bespoke strategic and operational management training that will enable Trustees and Head teachers (and governors) to maintain an effective and on-going overview of responsibility for performance and accountability for improvement.
The performance of all schools in an organisation or MAT can be monitored and the early signs of poor performance tackled in a timely and decisive way.
The training will help leaders / governors to ensure that identified solutions and commissioned interventions will be efficient and effective.
4MAT will support leaders looking for an effective accountability framework to help support their school improvement or as part of their transformation to becoming an academy or to becoming part of a network, alliance or MAT.
4MAT will support existing networks, alliances and MATs as they consider growth and the on boarding of more schools.
4MAT places a focus on the whole school system or network and on all leaders / governors being aware of the school or network's trajectory and how they can best contribute to that flight path.
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