Establishing central services within the MAT
One of the key benefits of establishing a MAT is the ability to align ‘back office’ functions and to develop Trust wide offers linked to essential services such as HR, Facilities management, Finance, CPD and ICT. Clearly, this is a complex process and it is important that any developments are managed carefully so that change is both manageable and productive. During the first 4 months of the Shires MAT we have started to align a number of systems and we wanted to provide a summary of progress so far.
In terms of the Finance function across the MAT, Carol Williams has taken on the interim role of Chief Financial Officer. The complex work associated with this role when establishing a Trust, has been supported by external finance consultants MLG.
As of November, we are now in the position where we have one finance software package working across the Trust. We also have budgets for each school, managed by business managers and Headteachers. Each month within each school a set of management accounts are produced so that senior staff can review and discuss budget spend and any forecasts. This developed significantly during November and we are optimistic that Trust financial processes will be fully operational by the end of term.
We have secured some capacity development funding from the DfE so there will be further roles advertised before the end of term to support HR and Finance functions.
In terms of HR we currently have all schools working with the same HR provider, as prior to MAT formation. The aim is that once we have developed policies and processes that can align across the Trust, we will select one HR provider to support the Trust. This will not only ensure consistency of approach but it will also allow all staff in the Trusts to access HR through a known person who will know support and guide as appropriate. We also aim to have a set of effective, concise policies linked to HR and education so that everyone has clarity about Trust policy. In order to make this a completely transparent process we are working closely with all major unions to create the suite of policies prior to ratification and will present all policies to staff through a consultation phase. The aim of aligning policies is to simplify, streamline and consolidate a central policy collection so that we can make the most of working as a MAT. Part of our vision as a Trust, is to establish a reputation as an excellent employer where staff feel valued, supported and part of an organisation where they can contribute to excellent provision in all areas.
In terms of ICT provision across the Trust we are working closely with Lourdes IT in order that they support the strategic development of ICT across the Trust. We are currently developing a strategic plan with costings to enable us to deliver high quality hardware and IT infrastructure across the MAT. Part of being a larger organization means that we are able to explore a range of options linked to acquiring the very latest technology to support learning in the classroom as well as to support staff in doing their job. Michelle Dudley and Andy Price are leading the development of the planning with Lourdes IT, feeding back to the Headteacher group. We will keep you updated as plans unfold.
Facilities management is a key aspect of school life and in order to establish a framework for site management across the MAT, we have appointed Andy Pitt. Andy works across all 3 sites with his principal site management role at Webheath. Andy is working closely with our Health and Safety consultants, Ellis Wittam, to ensure compliance. Once we are able to align all aspects of site compliance through one system we will start to see savings in terms of aligning multiple contracts, sharing site staff across sites when required and also through better contract management. This will enable further investment in resources and school infrastructure.
We are also establishing our online CPD offer. Having completed health and safety audits across all 3 sites we now need to work towards improving provision and practice in all schools. One area we can utilize online learning for staff, is through the completion of CPD linked to compliance. We will be setting 4-5 courses for staff to complete when convenient to them in lieu of an INSET twilight. Staff will be allocated courses such as fire safety, DSE training, homeworking etc. so that we can support staff in their development whilst utilising the flexibility of online learning.
Clearly, none of this development will be without its challenges. We are in a transition phase between working as 3 separate schools and trying to coordinate our resources, current staffing responsibilities and identifying and recruiting to new roles as required.
