This is a summary of Ofsted's July 2019 research into MAT benefits, challenges and functions. You don't need to treat the findings as gospel, but they can still give you a good steer on:
- What trusts are doing that helps, and what they do that hinders, their schools
- How other trusts are approaching centralisation vs school autonomy
- Ofsted's recommendations - both for what trusts should do, and for how the DfE should change the way MATs are inspected going forward
What schools find useful from their trusts
These benefits aren't likely to come as a surprise to you, but it should still be useful to think about how you maximise each of these areas.
'Back-office' support
These functions run better because the trust can employ central specialists and manage them better than headteachers at school level School leaders can then focus on the education side of
