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VIEWS & OPINION


Trusts are determined to grow this year, despite multitude


of barriers Comment by NICOLA WEST JONES, Head of market research at The Key


Trust growth has long been complex for leaders to manage. Add to this the pressures of a global pandemic, along with some reluctance among schools to convert, and the situation has become even trickier to navigate over the past 2 years. However, it seems this isn’t deterring trust leaders from pursuing their


growth plans this year. Our recent survey of trust leaders* revealed that a significant 78% of trusts are planning to grow in the next 12 months - demonstrating there is a clear appetite for expansion. The process is proving far from straightforward though, with only 9%


of respondents reporting that their trust has not faced any barriers to expansion over the last 12 months. In fact, a third (33%) of leaders surveyed reported they are finding it ‘difficult’ (25%) or ‘very difficult’ (8%) to attract new schools. When asked about barriers to growth, trust leaders most commonly


cited ‘reluctance of schools to academise’ (48%), ‘schools needing to prioritise dealing with the impact of the pandemic’ (42%) and ‘lack of capacity in the central team’ (35%). This diverse set of barriers reinforces the complexity of the landscape that trust leaders are having to navigate in a bid to push forward with their growth plans. However, while we might assume that the pandemic has negatively


impacted trusts’ plans to grow, this hasn’t necessarily been the case. While 40% of survey respondents did tell us the pandemic has disrupted growth plans, 42% said it hasn’t. Indeed, one trust leader told us that the pandemic “has accelerated school interest in joining a trust and being part of a community. So for us, it has been a catalyst for growth.” This likely reflects the fact that many trusts have fared well during the


pandemic, and the benefits they deliver for schools have really been brought to the forefront. For those trusts who want to grow, this has created a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm, with leaders resolute in their desire to help more pupils. This also came out strongly in our findings around their motivation for


growth. When asked about their top 3 reasons for wanting to grow, leaders most commonly cited ‘to allow more children to benefit from our work’ (chosen by 76%) and ‘to be able to provide more opportunities for staff development’ (32%). Interestingly, this also highlights a shift in the driving force behind expansion plans compared to pre-pandemic – when similar research found that growth was primarily driven by the quest for financial viability. ‘To reach economies of scale’ also featured among the most common


reasons for growth (chosen by 59%) – which, broader than cost savings, demonstrates that things such as workload efficiencies and the ability to employ specialists across the trust, have been highly valued by trusts and their schools. While the pandemic has clearly highlighted that joining a trust can


provide many benefits for schools, it’s important to recognise that school leaders still have a lot on their plate from dealing with COVID-19. Therefore many potential schools will not yet be ready to engage with trusts in a meaningful way. Trust leaders will undoubtedly need to show resolve, patience and flexibility over the coming year - in order to continue to thrive and see their growth plans come to fruition.


* https://thekeysupport.com/press/trust-leaders-determined-to-grow-this- year-despite-multitude-of-barriers/


Why we must leapfrog to progress


Comment by BEN SLACK, former teacher & now Education Success Partner, Whizz Education


Covid has disrupted and continues to affect the education of children on an unprecedented scale. Prior to the Pandemic, teachers were already under incredible pressure to tailor lessons within large mixed ability classes. Our research has been able to quantify


the attainment gap in classes between students across the globe. We use a metric called Maths Age which is similar to Reading Age. Based on data from thousands of students and schools, we have found the average Maths Age gap between the lowest and highest attainers in any classroom is an average of four years. However, the recent disruptions have exacerbated the issue further.


Anecdotally in the UK, we know that the average ability gap has grown even bigger over the past two years. For one school, we recently analysed the 31 children in Year 6 and found a 7.7 year difference in Maths Age from the lowest to the highest attainers. Of course, like in most classes there were outliers. However, even the middle ability students in that class demonstrated a Maths Age ability gap of greater than four years. It is clear that teachers face an almost impossible task to ensure every


student makes progress. The National Tutoring Programme has offered help but has been hindered by lack of resources. There are simply not enough human tutors to deliver the support needed. It is also not standardised. Nore has there been assessment to determine the success of


April 2022


the individual tutoring that has been undertaken. It leaves teachers unsupported and in a desperate situation. They can’t


simply power ahead with the curriculum at the risk of leaving children behind, and for others not achieving the necessary topic fluency. So, what is the answer? In the same way as technology has been


increasingly adopted for many aspects of our lives over the past two years, technology in the form of virtual tutors offers a potential answer. A virtual tutor is an automated online system that simulates the most


effective instructional behaviours of a human tutor. Virtual tutors have been shown to be as effective as human tutors and far more scalable. Virtual tutors may be perceived as expensive but are a fraction of the cost


of a human tutor. Of course, they will never replace human interaction and teaching but they have many benefits which mean they can work successfully alongside teachers without additional burden. For teachers, its simply not possible to give 30 individual lessons. This is


why virtual tutors were developed. They can offer a highly individualised learning experience at scale, so can naturally address the inevitable learning gap found within mixed ability classes, stretching more able students and supporting those which are struggling. By their nature, virtual tutors also generate data. This means they can


provide valuable real-time assessment to help teachers identify and address learning gaps. With regular use, virtual tutors have been proven to accelerate progress


(for example Maths-Whizz students can make 18 months’ progress in one year with just 60 minutes use per week). I believe that if we continue to play catch-up, only making incremental


gains in relation to our children’s learning, it will have a detrimental effect on their education and life prospects over the long term. Now is time to act, to take advantage of the latest advances in technology and to leapfrog ahead. Technology must be used to complement face-to-face teaching and as an enabler, empowering teachers to be able to offer inclusion and ensure every student can progress.


www.education-today.co.uk 23


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