Labour is pushing ahead with a plan to introduce inspections of multi-academy trusts, which could start in the 2027-28 academic year.

The Department for Education will add an amendment to the existing Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a new trust inspections regime, Tes can reveal.

Ofsted will pilot and test new approaches before the MAT inspections start.

Introducing trust inspections

Writing exclusively for Tes, education secretary Bridget Phillipson says these inspections will give trusts and the government a “clear, independent view of what they are doing well and where they need to strengthen”.

She adds: “It will also recognise and celebrate trusts where quality is high, including those that take a wider system role, support improvement beyond their own schools and play an active role in their community.

“And when standards are not being met, we will step in. Because children - especially those with the greatest needs - cannot afford a system that looks the other way.”

The education secretary says the government expects that trust inspections would not start before the 2027-28 academic year.

Ms Phillipson also signals that the role of school groups will be a focus for the government as part of its wider schools White Paper, due to be published early this year.

Labour had pledged “to bring MATs into the inspection system and introduce a new annual review of safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling” in its election manifesto in 2024.

The DfE has now said that trust inspection will focus on leadership, governance and impact - including how effectively trusts improve schools, provide high-quality education, support staff, use resources and promote pupil wellbeing.

The department said the Bill will also introduce “new powers of intervention to step in when trusts are not meeting acceptable standards”. Trust inspection findings could be used to allow the education secretary to exercise the power to terminate funding agreements and move academies to stronger trusts.

Questions over purpose of inspections

The Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the sector body for MATs, previously raised concerns about the purpose of trust inspections.

The CST has also said it should not be assumed that trust inspections should be graded “simply because these [inspection grades] exist at school level”.

Reacting to today’s news, CST deputy chief executive Steve Rollett said: “It is appropriate trusts are accountable, as indeed they already are. Any new checks must, however, have a clear purpose and not duplicate or conflict with school inspections or regulation by the Department for Education.

“Trust inspection will also need a really clear and evidence-based concept of what quality looks like, while allowing for the diversity of approaches that is a key strength of the trust system.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the introduction of academy trust inspection.

But he added: “Careful consideration needs to be given to the framework under which [MATs] would be inspected, particularly to ensure that this does not add to already onerous workloads for school leaders.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said it was understandable that the DfE was looking to introduce MAT inspections, given the role of trusts in the sector. He added: “It will be vital that the policy is developed with great care and consideration as there are risks attached to it. Foremost in the government’s mind must be the need to avoid adding any additional pressure or burdens on to individual schools that are already highly accountable in multiple ways.”

The government previously announced that Ofsted would receive £20 million over the next two years to develop and implement MAT inspections.

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver previously told MPs that he had a “lot of work to do” to employ more inspectors with trust experience.

Ofsted recently launched a new school inspection framework, based on report cards, which grades schools in at least six evaluation areas using a new five-point scale.

Cathie Paine, CEO of REAch2 trust, which runs 62 primary schools, welcomed the move towards trust‑level inspections. “Trusts play a huge role in improving education and driving greater equity, so it makes sense to look at how they work as a whole,” she said. “The key will be making sure this is done proportionately and in a way that reflects the different sizes and approaches across the system.”

Tom Campbell, CEO of E-ACT, which runs 37 academies comprising 20 primaries, 14 secondaries, two all-through schools and a special school, said that if done well, MAT inspections could reduce pressure on schools.

However, he added: “MATs are complex organisations and no two are the same. Inspectors will need a deep understanding of how trusts operate and where accountability genuinely sits at local, regional and national level.”

He also said that there are “legitimate questions about whether the system currently has an inspection workforce with the right expertise to do this well”.

David Hatchett, CEO of Anthem Schools Trust, which runs 11 primaries and four secondaries, said: “The move to introduce MAT inspections is a very welcome step forward - MATs are responsible for significant amounts of public money to educate young people, and it’s right that they are held properly to account. That said, it will be very important that any inspection framework captures the diversity of models that exist in the sector. ”

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