In this policy paper, CST sets out the case for the school trust, and a trust-based system. It sets out why CST believes trust-based system is our best bet to move the English education system from good to great, and explains why a group of schools working together in a school trust is so much more than simply the changing of the legal structure of the school.
School trusts have become the successful cornerstone of the education system in England. Most children in England are educated in academies and most schools in England are academies.
- 62% of all children in state-funded in schools are educated in academies.
- 82% of secondary age children in state-funded in schools are educated in academies.
- 44% of primary age children in state-funded in schools are educated in academies.
We have previously set out the positive impact of school trusts. For example:
- DfE analysis shows that the top 10% of school trusts outperform the highest performing local authorities by 0.2 Progress 8 score. For disadvantaged pupils, the pattern is repeated, with a lower absolute but larger relative performance advantage.
- Ofsted’s Fight or flight? How ‘stuck’ schools are overcoming isolation report identifies trusts as critical agents in addressing entrenched under performance.
- FFT Education Datalab’s analysis, by Dave Thomson, offers compelling evidence of the positive impact of multi-academy trusts on previously failing schools - all but seven of the 142 schools in the study improved to Ofsted good or outstanding after joining high performing trusts.
The growth of trusts has corresponded with an upturn in the performance of the English education system. There are far fewer failing schools in England than a decade or so ago, and evidence from international tests shows children in England have risen up the rankings and are now among the highest performing in the western world.
The English education system, like most systems, has variability within it which must be addressed. It is important we hold onto that drive for improvement and also recognise the strengths in our system: the aggregate picture of the quality of what is happening in our nation’s schools is, compared to many other nations, a good one.
The challenge is how we go from good to great. We believe that a group of schools working together in a single legal entity is our best bet for achieving this.
We now have a Schools White Paper which proposes that school system must be rooted in partnership and collaboration, so it can achieve higher standards, strengthen professional practice, and deliver better outcomes for children.
We are pleased that the White Paper uses CST’s language and narrative. It speaks of an ambition that all schools should be ‘anchors’ in their communities, collaborating with each other and across public services. This White Paper aims to put collaboration at the heart of the system by moving to all schools being part of school trusts.
So it seems timely to return to, refresh and republish CST’s paper on why a trust-based system is our best bet for a system that is designed for children.
