Last month we joined a number of Forum Strategy’s members for the first of three autumn roundtables chaired by Baroness Estelle Morris. Our focus was on the current landscape for accountability, and we tackled four big questions.
- What key guiding principles should underpin the accountability system?
- What might a new balanced scorecard potentially look like?
- What considerations should underpin the inspection of multi-academy trusts?
- And what can trusts do to further generate a culture of local, formative accountability to communities that acts as a balance to the more summative national models?
There were, of course, a range of views on all these questions, but it is nevertheless possible to give an overall sense of where consensus lies and where questions remain.
For starters, the group recognised the importance of a fit-for-purpose inspectorate. Much good has come from inspections over forty years ago, but it has also raised challenges.
The group broadly welcomed some of the government’s ‘quick fix’ changes to inspection in recent months as well as, in principle, the plans to move to a ‘balanced scorecard’ approach.
A vision of the future
However, before we came close to our main questions, one key conclusion was that there is an urgent need for a clear vision and narrative from the new government on the role of schools and education more broadly; not least in the context of a rapidly changing society and economy.
Technology, growing additional needs, pressures on health and wellbeing, changing workforce dynamics, and a need for greater community cohesion are all set to impact the system enormously in the months and years ahead.
A vision that anticipates this and, to a degree, makes sense of the role of trusts and schools in this context must inform and underpin accountability reform, but also curriculum reform, a recruitment and retention strategy, and much more.
In terms of the broadening role of and growing demands placed upon trusts and schools, especially since the pandemic, the group felt that there is a need for greater clarity around where the lines are drawn in terms of accountability.
As trusts and schools increasingly take the lead in vital work with their communities (and commensurately more responsibility), it is not clear that the inspectorate fully reflects or appreciates the contexts, partnerships or pressures experienced by many.
Any reform should therefore aim to determine clear parameters for national accountability frameworks that align with these demands and pressures.
The balanced report card
Regarding the proposed report card, it was felt that this must include both quantitative and qualitative measures. These should support schools to demonstrate the progress of all children and celebrate the many and varied ways this is achieved.
Many trusts and schools already take a formative accountability approach at a local level. A ‘test and learn’ process should be undertaken, piloting the report card approach first to determine whether it is both scalable and adaptable to future needs.
There was a clear desire not to see this rushed, and to ensure staff engagement and feedback data comes to form part of the range of metrics used to measure a school or trust’s impact and performance.
Trust inspections
In terms of multi-academy trust inspection, Ofsted’s MAT summary evaluations seem on the whole to have been received positively. The approach has avoided single word ‘judgments’ and promoted an emphasis on oversight through ‘dialogue’.
It was felt that the proposed trust inspections should be about more than a summary of inspection of their individual schools. Such inspections should capture the value being part of the trust brings and the impact it has on its schools and their communities.
It’s also important that inspectors should have sufficient knowledge and experience of trusts if they are to inspect them with credibility, including at the very least an understanding of MAT governance and models of school improvement at scale.
Roundtable participants also urged that this should be introduced with care, especially given the potential impact on retaining and recruiting volunteer trustees and governors.
System leadership
Finally, the group acknowledged the growth of ‘pure accountability’. Many trusts and schools are increasingly making themselves directly accountable to their communities based on their local vision and ambitions. A national inspection model should recognise these developments, when done to a high standard and with impact.
All in all, the clear message from many on our network is that we need to step back before we move forward with accountability reform.
Let’s consider its purpose with clear reference to a changing world and evolving needs.
Read the ‘Accountability Reform‘ report in full here
