April 2015

The know zone

  • A question of sport
    After being quizzed about excellence by a student teacher, Gareth Burton cast his mind back to his own PE lessons at school to find parallels between the pitch and the classroom. More
  • Leaders' surgery
    Making changes at the top and Business or pleasure? More
  • A world-class education system
    At the heart of ASCL’s blueprint is a need for a self-improving education system in order to truly make it world-class. What do you think is required to achieve this? Here ASCL members share their views. More
  • Quickstart Computing
    QuickStart Computing is a comprehensive, national programme to help teachers to plan, teach and assess the new national curriculum for computing. It is available free of charge to all secondary teachers and there is a dedicated version for secondary schools. More
  • Adding value
    Top tips for converting to a multi-academy trust (MAT) More
  • Be a super model...
    Sue Bull looks at ways to support your staff in making the leap to leadership. More
  • Fair shares
    ASCL has drawn up new guidance encouraging schools and local authorities (LAs) to pay school business leaders and school business managers at a rate that reflects their role in school leadership, as Val Andrew explains. More
  • A lighter touch
    Schools rated ‘good’ are the focus of the most important change to the Ofsted framework this year with more emphasis on professional dialogue, as Suzanne O’Farrell explains. More
  • Retiring thoughts
    Stephen Casey and David Binnie highlight the changes in the pipeline for teacher pensions. More
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Adding value

Top tips for converting to a multi-academy trust (MAT)

  • Have a clear vision of the benefits that becoming a MAT can bring. Not all will be attained immediately but it is important to have a strategy of how the Trust should develop.
  • Centralise any processes that can be centralised sensibly.
  • Training and the production of a Trust Handbook is vital where the MAT requires the schools to perform processes in a specific and timely manner.
  • Utilise existing skills within the Trust. Within the Trust, promote staff to have responsibility in their specic area to reduce recruitment costs and increase career development.
  • Ensure that all schools are completing processes in the same way and using the same systems. This enables better negotiation leverage with system suppliers and also makes any trust level work
  • easier, as all schools can provide consistent information. Trusts with differing systems across the schools will be fighting an uphill battle from day one.
  • Involve the schools in decisions that will affect them. Changing or implementing a new system will be much easier when involving schools in the selection/decision process.
  • Change is required when becoming a MAT. Embrace the change and ensure that changes are managed and communicated as early as possible.

To find out more visit www.psfinancials.com/education, email education@psfinancials.com or call 01733 367 330

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