The seed of an idea for me to study at Masters
level was first planted during my annual Performance Management meeting in the
autumn of 2014. This came after a summer
of significant research into how our trust was crumbling before our very eyes
(18 months after our conversion) and how this could be rectified or if not, how
we as a the seemingly insignificant entity (as a primary school in a 2
secondary schools merging and 1 primary MAT) could endeavour to protect
ourselves and the interests of our staff, pupils and wider community.
One of the biggest findings in my research was
the outcome that the governance practice did not marry with the policy. I think this is worryingly typical of some of
the earlier converters where the fundamental constitutional documents were not
fully understood. Everything was fine
during good times but scratch under the surface when things are going wrong and
it was clear that there were several gaping holes.
The detail of what went wrong is not relevant. The issues related to lack of communication and lack of trust leadership and management - governance had remained largely with the governing bodies of individual schools. For the secondary, the risk of our primary impacting the overall trust in standards and finance were small but the risk the secondary placed on us was significant and when we provided challenge to the system requesting certain documents this was not received well. We battled our way out of the trust, negotiating permission from the DFE to set up our own MAT (initially with just one school) and the original trust was eventually terminated.
The detail of what went wrong is not relevant. The issues related to lack of communication and lack of trust leadership and management - governance had remained largely with the governing bodies of individual schools. For the secondary, the risk of our primary impacting the overall trust in standards and finance were small but the risk the secondary placed on us was significant and when we provided challenge to the system requesting certain documents this was not received well. We battled our way out of the trust, negotiating permission from the DFE to set up our own MAT (initially with just one school) and the original trust was eventually terminated.
So, sat in my Performance Management meeting,
still only part way through the above story, it was clear to me that people in
core roles were not providing the challenge and rigour to the system of
governance and whatever the outcome, I felt that our governing board needed to
have someone to take on that protective custodianship. I felt huge responsibility to the pupils and
staff at our school having been on the original consultation group during our
academy conversion. One of the main
reasons for our initial conversion was ironically the desire to have a say over
our own destiny and here we were on the verge of being swallowed up by a
sponsor against the wishes of our governing body.
My line manager instantly saw the benefits of
Masters Level training in my role and was keen for me to begin the search for an appropriate course. By this time I had become a member of the
NASBM (National Association of School Business Management) and sought their
advice. They put me in touch with Anglia
Ruskin University (ARU) who were running a distance learning MBA in Educational Leadership and Management
- this seemed to be just what I was looking for and I enrolled for the coming
year.
NASBM are currently promoting other Level 7 courses on their link below:
http://www.nasbm.co.uk/Training.aspx
The equivalent course currently available through ARU is:
http://www.anglia.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/educational-leadership-and-management
NASBM are currently promoting other Level 7 courses on their link below:
http://www.nasbm.co.uk/Training.aspx
The equivalent course currently available through ARU is:
http://www.anglia.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/educational-leadership-and-management
Before the course even started our situation had
changed substantially, we had been graded Outstanding by OFSTED (from a prior
grade of Requires Improvement) - this was a turning point in our future
allowing us to gain permission from the DFE to 'go it alone'. In June 2015 I attended Company Secretary
training from our legal firm in London and took on this role. This enabled me to see exactly where we had
gone wrong and the kind of structure needed.
I was very conscious that our governors (now trustees) may not fully understand the
various roles and on the train on the way home I knocked up the following
diagram to help their understanding.
This has been updated over time to fit our trust development but this old template still outlines the various roles.
So in September 2015, we returned to a new
academic year as a new trust and I was due to start my MBA course. I never could have imagined just how aligned
the tasks required over the next two and a half years would be.
My studies provided the vehicle for some of the
most important areas of strategy required by the trust to be formulated using a
research focus and receiving external validation. The first two modules covered research
projects and how to undertake this. The
need to marry theory and practice made me take time out to understand Why? and
to provide an evidence base not just for the project undertaken but in choosing
this as the most appropriate direction of travel in the first place.
Prior to my studies I had tried to use a common
sense approach in my work, balanced with a desire to do what is right for our
school. The journey that we had come on
taught me that that is not enough and had it all gone horribly wrong there
would have been huge consequences for some involved. At the very least, a research based approach
can provide evidence to those decision makers to increase confidence and
justify their actions. Accountability
and transparency have quite rightly never been more important.
http://alison-m-moon2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/my-academy-journey.html
The first two modules focused on research
itself, looking at types of studies, tools such as options appraisal and
S.W.O.T. analysis to assess what would make an effective project and ideas such
as appreciative enquiry to develop and decide the direction of a project. Ethics applications, surveys and interviews,
data collection and evaluative methods were also studied giving a wider
perspective to considerations in collecting quantitative and qualitative
information and the processes required to be able to ethically use the data
collected. Some of this seemed to be
beyond the realms of the type of research that I might need to complete,
however, the knowledge gained has added a perspective that I would not have had
without this theoretical learning.
The next 3 modules covered Developing Management
Systems, Leading Educational Change & Improvement and Strategic
Management. Each module studied theory
behind the topic and then allowed the development of a project (including case studies, literary reviews, presentations etc) - at such an
early stage in developing our trust, this was hugely beneficial allowing me to
focus on governance structures, risk management, business planning and income
generation as well as the development of our trust growth planning and
leadership. My grit and determination were somewhat tested during the 3rd module where there were staffing issues and changes with the tutor. This element was pretty much self-taught and really required me to dig deep to keep going.
The following modules were all supported with wise words and inspiration from @iantindal - his blogs are extremely informative and thought provoking (usually leading me to another area of research). Another dimension was the sharing of experience with others on the course - peer review and support was equally appreciated by all at different times throughout the duration. This encouraged self reflection and critique of my own and others work in a deeply constructive manner; something that was new to me. I think this (perhaps more than anything else) will enable me to be a better leader and strategic planner.
The following modules were all supported with wise words and inspiration from @iantindal - his blogs are extremely informative and thought provoking (usually leading me to another area of research). Another dimension was the sharing of experience with others on the course - peer review and support was equally appreciated by all at different times throughout the duration. This encouraged self reflection and critique of my own and others work in a deeply constructive manner; something that was new to me. I think this (perhaps more than anything else) will enable me to be a better leader and strategic planner.
The last part of the course was a 'Major
Project' directly linked to our trust development as well as the wider
education system including investigating lessons to be learnt from international
research which was fascinating. This section of the course pulled together all the different threads from earlier modules (as you might expect).
As I juggled my studies with the joys of year-end and bulge class building works it felt like this at times but all in all this period of study has been
invaluable. Thinking back to my own
understanding of MATs when we first academised and not for the lack of
commitment with the process, the learning curve has been phenomenal. The combination of life experience and in-depth research results in me truly understanding the entity that is 'Veritas
Multi Academy Trust'. I think it also
played a large part in my accreditation as a Fellow of the NASBM which I
received in May 2016; a huge personal achievement.
In terms of Educational Leadership and
Management, I hope to be able to balance the needs of my team with the needs of
our organisation in its goal of providing the very best educational experience
and outcomes for those pupils in our care and further afield. We intend through our research to provide
failsafe systems that maintain rigour and challenge to ensure standards are continuously improving. And with succession planning at
the core we intend to ensure this remains future proof. Surely a research based
approach allied with collaboration and effective leadership cannot fail to improve outcomes for all;
there is no place for an insular approach.
It feels now as though we are on the cusp - a
pilot about to take their first flight; there is no way after the journey we
have been on that we are going to crash and burn so the only alternative is to
buckle up and enjoy the ride!
We may be a fledgling trust but the experience gained goes beyond its years.
For interesting & informative blogs from others at Veritas Multi Academy Trust take a look at our website:
For interesting & informative blogs from others at Veritas Multi Academy Trust take a look at our website:
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