Ofsted‘s current inspection model does not hold multi-academy trusts (MATs) “sufficiently accountable” or attribute enough credit to their work, a new report from the watchdog has found.
The inspectorate currently only has legal powers to inspect at school-level, despite it placing repeated pressure on the government to extend this to trusts.
But the new research – which looked at inspections of trust schools, and took in the views of HMIs and trust leaders – found that this often caused “frustration” for both parties, with trusts’ role in inspections often “unclear”.
It also shows the influence of MATs in the key judgment areas schools are evaluated on has increased over recent years.
