Eight Ofsted inspections: Eight great outcomes!

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Transforming Primary Education - The Lion Academy Trust

Eight Ofsted inspections: Eight great outcomes!

By Justin James, CEO - Lion Academy Trust

Since September 2021, the Trust has experienced eight Ofsted inspections - including three in January 2023 alone In every instance, the judgement from the inspection team was not only correct - but highlighted how the Trust's processes and systems are geared to supporting schools to deliver on our mantra of 'good or better, every day' .

We draw on three central pillars to drive the school improvement agenda - take care of these in your school or Trust - and the inspection programme takes care of itself.

The Keys to Success:

Forensic use of data

Consistency of implementation

Pedagogy and the Curriculum

The Trust used the capacity of o Covid period to fully resource an Learning Pathways Curriculumschemes of learning for staff and and sequenced digital lessons ho based platform called MIRO for i delivery

This is the "what" that in every O was singled out as being ambitio and a key element of the success However - the "how" - the Trust's critical.

Based on John Hattie research, a 14 years, our pedagogy is geared acquisition, child-centric collabo through the extensive use of talk-partners and empowering our pupils, right from nursery, to be the owners of their own learning trajectories This is a consistent feature across all our schools and settings.

When every child in every setting can talk confidently about what they are learning and what they need to do to meet their learning goals, inspection teams recognise that teaching and learning are driven by coherent strategies and that leadership and management are

Pupils learn an ambitious curriculum that exceeds the scope of the National Curriculum.

Forensic Use of Data

We are clear that schools cannot address issues of performance, attainment and progress without clear and robust data to work from

The impact of our Trust-wide assessment cycle and extensive use of data capture, moderation and analysis is crystallised by giving teams the time and tools to review the data for each pupil - and adjust provision accordingly.

What does this mean in practic

Firstly, we ensure that time alloca plan and tailor their lessons is m terms of real time in any given we secondly, to make sure that this t and productively.Having a single every Trust setting, our teaching assessing the needs of each child adjusting bespoke lessons in Rea Maths. Moderation and peer-to-pe the impact of these on a six-week the adjustments to ensure pupils they need

Next, we track pupil progress and triangulate all data and internal ju book scrutinies, lesson observati order for this to be effective, all s supported through the Trust's dedicated CPD programmes - delivered through weekly twilight sessions and structured to make sure that senior and middle leaders are using the Trust's strategies and toolkits to drive the best use of data to ensure every lesson is targeted to meet the needs of the children in each setting

Weekly INSET is used for pre-PPA, which gives teachers the time to evaluate the impact of lessons and adjust

Teachers are skilled in making adaptations to learning to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs. Consequently, adults support these pupils very well to access the same curriculum as their peers.

Create the space for success to flourish

These non-contact sessions are solely dedicated to teacher related tasks support workload and personal development We prioritise teacher related tasks - reducing workload and increasing the time and space for professional development to be embedded Give staff the space and resources to be successful and allow them to maintain delivery to the highest standards that our pupils deserve

Once you have lessons and content geared to meet the needs of your pupil cohorts, behaviours for learning are easier to implement - as children from across the ability spectrum are engaged and focussed on their learning.

Consistency of Implementation

One of the biggest risks to manage across a multiacademy trust, increasing as the number of schools and complexity of issues expands, is ensuring that proven systems and practices are consistently applied and quality assured Our experience with Ofsted (or any regulatory process) has shown that our strategies and approaches work - when applied in every setting to the required standard.

So how do we ensure this happens?

Centrally procured, rigorously tested systems and platforms - e.g. MIS, financial and HR management, assessment and performance management tracking, productivity suites and the core IT infrastructureare all vetted and tested before being duplicated in every setting. Eliminate structural variation to simplify the delivery of the required standards; Make sure staff understand what is required - reduce unnecessary administrative burdens e g enforce early-closing on allocated days during the week;

Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the leaders and the support from the MAT. Leaders work hard to ensure staff workload is manageable. Staff say that they feel valued by leaders.

Less complexity - simplify processes

Tailor CPD and training to be frequent and role-specific and ensure that every staff member has access to a mentor within the organisation to provide pastoral and professional support; and Only make changes to core structures once in a cycle - and only once these have been extensively reviewed and challenged - nothing destabilises teams like haphazard or poorly defined change programmes.

Come and see how this works

Our Trust models and approaches are refined and tested for how they achieve one outcome - the best possible primary experience for our pupils. We have seen first-hand how schools adapt and shape their school improvement to meet the challenges they facebut we have also seen how the school improvement imperative can be diluted by having to address multiple critical issues across too many facets of running schools

Whether you are in the Ofsted window or have been through an inspection and are reflecting on how best to proceed, why not come talk to a Trust who has successfully navigated through the new framework and has the proven systems, approaches and solutions to help you and your teams prepare or respond to the best effect?

From a core pedagogy (what does a 'normal' lesson look like in your school?); a fully-resourced and curated curriculum (can you evidence the depth, breadth and ambition for every pupil in every subject?) through to systems and processes of school organisation - we have solutions and support structures for any primary school with the ambition to keep improving and meeting the needs of their pupils and communities

Staff love working at the school and feel valued. They appreciate leaders’ help to manage their workload and promote their well-being.

We are proud of our track record in transforming primary educationcome and see how we can support you achieve the same.