Multi Academy Trusts: The role of the CEO A presentation for Future Leaders’ Executive Educators programme

CEOs have a variety of roles… Corporate chief executive Thinker and strategist Guardian of the flame Ambassador Instructional leader Communicator Leadership developer Business developer Orchestrator of partnership depth Quality assurer

…but operate across a broad spectrum of MATs… Fledgling MATs with two or three academies More established MATs with 10–20 academies MAT spectrum Developing MATs with five to 10 academies Large MATs with 20 or more academies

…though the size of the average MAT is growing Number of academies by size of academy grouping March 2011 July 2015 Nearly two-thirds of the 4,725 academies are now in MATs and there are 517 MATs that have two to five academies, 98 with 6 to 15 and 19 with 16 or more Source: DfE

So, the focus of the session will be to: Examine each of the CEO roles in more detail Consider a number of variables that influence the exercise of CEO roles Work in groups on applying this thinking to our context Allow time for personal assessment and reflection

Thinker and strategist Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Understanding and analysing the political and policy context Developing with directors and leaders the vision, values and key aims for the MAT Translating a vision and aims into a plan of action with agreed milestones Managing short term demands in the context of longer term aims

Guardian of the flame Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Securing buy-in across the MAT to the vision, values and aims Identifying key polices and initiatives to help embed commitment and make the vision and values real Aligning people and development plans to work towards the agreed goals Reviewing progress and impact and refreshing the vision

Maintaining momentum and an improvement trajectory Progress Maturity Stagnate or renew? Growth Decline Start-up and learn Time

Instructional leader Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Being a leader of learning and creating a collaborative learning culture Understanding the key drivers of school improvement and being able to describe their application across the MAT Being able to implement strategies for schools in different contexts and at different points in their improvement journeys Determining the tight-loose balance on curriculum content and approaches to teaching and learning* *The scope of the tight-loose balance will also apply to other areas – for example, performance management, ICT and financial reporting systems.

Leadership developer Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Having a clear distribution of leadership roles and accountabilities and deployment of senior leadership expertise Developing a strong team culture with senior leaders and fostering a co-construction ethos Identifying emerging talent and creating systems for emerging leaders to have leadership assignments across the MAT Evolving the organisation’s leadership structures and succession planning

Orchestrator of partnership depth Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Knowing where performance is strong and having systems for deploying expertise across the MAT Integrating formal professional development linked to classroom coaching model(s) Facilitating middle leaders to lead joint professional development projects – linked to MAT priorities and an evaluation/impact model Encouraging networking opportunities and ways for staff to learn from and celebrate each other’s efforts

Quality assurer Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Having an unremitting focus on improving results and outcomes Knowing in real time the quality of teaching and learning and progress in all academies* Using benchmarking and peer review within the MAT and with top performers to spur innovation and improvement Performance management of other senior leaders *A good data dashboard system will also embrace metrics on pupil and staff attendance, behaviour, applications for places, and financial management

Business developer Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Developing a strategy for growing the MAT – including the rate of expansion Developing a strategy for integrating/procuring support functions and services – including a prioritised timetable for realising economies of scale Develop a five-year financial strategy Balancing opportunities and risks

Communicator within the MAT Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Creating a simple, clear narrative for what the MAT is trying to achieve Putting place systems for communicating effectively with trustees, governors, leaders, staff, parents and pupils Being able to persuade through vision and modeling collaborative behaviour Encouraging and listening to feedback

Ambassador for the MAT Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Promoting the MAT’s vision, values and achievements and explaining the strategy and journey for improvement Engaging with other MATs, schools and the local community Negotiating with and influencing government representatives and other stakeholders Managing the reputation of the MAT

Corporate executive Key attributes 1 2 3 4 Having clear schemes of delegation and reporting arrangements to local governing bodies and directors Supporting the development of directors, governors and the central MAT team Establishing consistency of policies across academies in the MATs Ensuring compliance with statutory and financial requirements

A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to other members of a central team An example Chief Operating Officer CEO Director of Standards Management accountant Key curriculum specialists* PA Director of Teaching and Learning* Business Manager Central Business Team Other senior leaders carrying out ad hoc roles Part-time Marketing Officer HR and Estates Managers *Might be linked to a SLT role in one of the academies *Might be based in academies MAT spectrum

As the MAT develops the CEO role will evolve Chief Operating Officer Director of Standards Management accountant Key curriculum specialists* Director of Teaching and Learning* Central Business Team Part-time Marketing Officer HR and Estates Managers MAT spectrum

Scale and spans of control in a growing MAT A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to other leaders Scale and spans of control in a growing MAT MAT Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners

Scale and spans of control in some larger MATs A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to other leaders Some larger MATs also using Regional Directors Scale and spans of control in some larger MATs MAT Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Executive principal Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners Senior, middle leaders & expert practitioners

DfE view of chain and cluster roles Similar across high performing sponsors Different between high performing sponsors Chain CEO Strategy Vs operational level: A general distinction between strategic direction - exercised at chain level- and more operational accountability-exercised at school or hub level. Autonomy to hubs: one chains’ hubs are MATs in their own right, but there are other examples of highly devolved decision-making. In other instances the role is restricted more narrowly to school improvement. CFO Education. Dir. HR (and others) Hubs led by educationalists: All the high performing sponsors we interviewed had middle leaders with educational expertise – some were known as ‘Exec Principals’ and others ‘Regional Directors’. Size of ‘hubs’ varies significantly. At the extremes were one with 3 schools and another with 15 schools – most others varies between 4 and 10. Directors of smaller hubs tend to be thought of as ‘Exec Principals’. Hub director Hub director Hub director Head A Head B Head C Head D Head E Heads reporting lines – whilst most heads report directly to the hub director, some still report to school governing bodies reflecting differences in local school governance arrangements Board and local governance links: It is common for school governing bodies to include representation from board members.

A CEO’s role will depend on how they distribute leadership – to complement their own skills No one leader has all the skills Leadership requires good self knowledge – whether though 360 degree assessment or Myers Briggs etc While CEOs should aspire to develop, they should also seek to put together teams that complement them – and each other

A CEO’s role might (for a defined period) depend on a MAT’s history or challenges A CEO might at a particular stage of a MAT’s development have to prioritise: School improvement Governance Financial management Restructuring the Trust Building relations with the community But the team should still ensure that all roles are covered

Task 1: A group task Your table will be assigned two of the CEO roles. Your task will be to draw on your experience and tease out through group discussion: Which aspects of the roles are the same – irrespective of the size or stage of the development of a MAT Provide examples of how exercising the roles is influenced by a MAT’s context and its stage of development Time for discussion: 30 minutes Please capture the key points using the template provided

Role Which aspects of the CEO role are the same – irrespective of context Examples of how the context of a MAT affects the exercise of a role

Task 2: A personal task Consider each of the roles and attributes and assess how confident you are in your capacity to undertake the role: 1 = Not at all confident 2 = Lacking some confidence 3 = Quite confident 4 = Very confident Identify the five areas where through the Executive Educators programme or another means you are looking to develop experience, expertise and confidence Time allowed: 15 minutes