Children and Wellbeing Bill: Proposed MAT-Level inspections and expanded intervention powers

A new statutory basis for MAT-level inspection

The Bill would require Ofsted to inspect MATs at a central organisational level, and to develop an inspection framework, having regard to guidance published by the Secretary of State, and including any matters she might specify in Regulations.

This reflects the Government’s view that trust-wide governance, leadership and operational systems play a decisive role in shaping educational outcomes across groups of schools and seeks to close a 'gap in accountability' which it had previously identified.

Trust inspections would consider five core areas:

Quality of education
Governance and executive leadership
Promoting well-being
Securing improvement of academies
Management of resources.

Inspectors would be required to reach an overall judgment on whether the MAT is being led to an “acceptable standard”. Where that threshold is not met, Ofsted must also determine whether the MAT nonetheless has sufficient capacity to secure the required improvements.

The provisions are expected to provide for these routine inspections as well as urgent inspections (where concerns are identified which need prompt attention) and thematic inspections (to inform how the sector is performing in particular areas). Inspections can be instigated by Ofsted, the Secretary of State or the MAT itself.

The Department for Education (“DfE”) has confirmed that it will consult the sector on the policy framework supporting MAT inspections, including the development of the Trust Quality Descriptors which will inform the Ofsted inspection framework. It is also indicated that inspectors will be recruited from within the trust sector, with the intention of grounding inspections in current operational experience.

Expanded intervention powers for the Secretary of State

At present, the Secretary of State’s formal intervention powers in relation to academy trusts (as distinct from specific schools in the group) are largely engaged where concerns arise around financial management or governance. In practice, intervention is most commonly exercised through the funding agreement, including by way of a notice to improve.

The proposed clauses would extend this position by bringing educational performance within the scope of intervention, where a trust is found not to be meeting the 'acceptable standard' following inspection.

The Bill would operate by inserting provisions into academy funding agreements enabling the Secretary of State to issue a termination warning notice in these circumstances. This would represent a material expansion of central oversight and establish a clearer statutory route to intervention based on educational matters at trust level.

More broadly, the Bill also introduces a power for the Secretary of State to secure an academy trust's compliance with its legal duties. The power enables the Secretary of State to issue a direction where a trust is failing to comply with statutory obligations, or is acting, or proposing to act, unreasonably. The power is intended to mirror the intervention powers available in the maintained school sector.

Identifying strong trusts and supporting system improvement

A key policy objective underpinning the new proposals is to enable the DfE to identify trusts which are performing strongly and have the capacity to support improvement across the wider system. Trust-level inspection outcomes are intended to inform decisions about which trusts are best placed to take on weaker schools or to assume a broader system leadership role.

The framework is also intended to provide all trusts with clearer and more consistent feedback on organisational strengths and areas for development, rather than relying solely on the aggregation of individual school inspection judgments.

Collaboration, SEND and place-based working

The inspection regime is also expected to recognise trusts which take on a wider role in improving provision for children beyond their own academies. Government policy statements indicate that the strongest trusts will be those that collaborate meaningfully in system improvement initiatives, including programmes such as Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE), and engage constructively on issues requiring coordination across multiple services such as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Inspection will consider how effectively trusts work with local partners, including local authorities, health services and other trusts and schools, to support positive outcomes for children in their area as a whole, and not solely those attending the schools within the trust. This reflects a broader shift towards place-based accountability and shared responsibility for vulnerable cohorts.

DfE principles and sector consultation

The Government has published a further set of principles, set out at page 172 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: policy summary notes, which will inform the development of the trust inspection regime. These emphasise clarity of expectations, proportionality, and the use of inspection and intervention as mechanisms to support improvement rather than simply to sanction failure.

Further engagement with the sector is anticipated, particularly in relation to the trust quality descriptors and the interaction between trust-level inspection outcomes and existing accountability arrangements.

We will continue to monitor the progress of the Children and Wellbeing Bill and the associated consultation process, and will provide further updates as the detail of the regime develops.