Setting

Simon Marriott – Chief Executive Officer Kaleidoscope Multi- Academy Trust St Martin’s Church of England Primary School Spring Hill Worle Weston-super-Mare BS22 9BQ

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Summary evaluation of Kaleidoscope Multi-Academy Trust

Following the summary evaluation of Kaleidoscope Multi-Academy Trust or ‘the trust’ in July 2022, when I was accompanied by Dale Burr, Her Majesty’s Inspector, I am writing on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the findings.

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Summary evaluation of Kaleidoscope Multi-Academy Trust

Thank you for your cooperation during our visit to the trust on 4 to 6 July 2022. Please pass on our thanks to your staff and other stakeholders who kindly gave up their time to meet us.

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Summary evaluation of Kaleidoscope Multi-Academy Trust

The findings from the summary evaluation and a wider consideration of the trust’s overall performance are set out below.

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Summary of evidence gathering activities

For stage 1 of this summary evaluation, six schools were inspected between January and February 2022. All these inspections were carried out under either section 5 or 8 of the Education Act 2005 (the Act), as amended.

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Summary of evidence gathering activities

◼ One school had its first section 5 inspection as a converter academy and was judged to require improvement ◼ Five schools had section 8 inspections. All five remain good but some concerns were identified with one school, and its next inspection will be held under section 5. Ofsted

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Summary of evidence gathering activities

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 Textphone 0161 618 8524 MAT@ofsted.gov.uk www.gov.uk.ofsted Over the course of the on-site visit to the trust, discussions were held with you and other senior and operational staff. We met with three representatives of the board of trustees, including the chair of the board. Discussions were also held with three members of the trust and seven members of the executive leadership team, which comprises of the headteacher of each academy. We visited one trust school that had not been inspected during stage 1 of the summary evaluation process. In this school, we met with the two co-headteachers, senior and curriculum leaders, pupils, staff and two members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors.

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Context

Kaleidoscope Multi-Academy Trust is a primary phase trust comprising seven schools. The schools are located in North Somerset local authority. Six schools are located in Weston-super-Mare and one is in Pill. The trust was established in 2017.

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Context

The trust’s schools vary in size from around 182 pupils in Worle Village Primary to around 611 pupils in Ashcombe Primary School.

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Context

Four of the seven schools are Church of England schools and are part of the diocese of Bath and Wells.

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Context

The trust board is made up of seven trustees. This group is responsible for the strategic oversight and performance of the trust and its schools.

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Main findings

Currently, the inspection outcomes for the trust’s schools, including the most recent inspections, are as follows:

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Main findings

◼ Six schools are judged to be good ◼ One school is judged to require improvement.

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Impact of the trust on its academies – governance and delegation

◼ The trust’s vision, shared by all of the schools, is one that fosters collaboration while valuing the distinctiveness of each. As a primary school trust based in and around Weston-super-Mare, schools work closely on shared trust priorities. ◼ The chief executive officer (CEO), alongside the executive leadership team (ELT), has high expectations and aspirations for all pupils. The trust’s strategic plan has clearly defined priority areas. Each priority area is monitored closely against key performance indicators. ◼ Through a rigorous process of monitoring, the CEO and some of the ELT are able to identify strengths and weaknesses across the trust. The trust provides support both specific to the needs of individual schools and trust wide. ◼ There is a clear scheme of delegation that outlines the roles and responsibilities of members, trustees and governors. The trust views its role as ‘walking alongside’ schools through providing support while enabling

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Impact of the trust on its academies – governance and delegation

schools to tailor approaches to suit their local need. The trust provides standardised policies while delegating responsibility to schools to produce additional information bespoke to their context. ◼ The CEO holds the ELT and schools robustly to account for the impact of their work. However, the trustees do not fully comprehend the roles and responsibilities and some of the priorities of the ELT. As a result, the trust board does not pose sufficient challenge about the impact of school improvement work on groups of vulnerable pupils, such as pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of pupil premium funding.

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Impact of the trust on its academies – leadership and management

◼ The trust ensures that school improvement work and the development of policies are ‘done with’ academy leaders rather than ‘done to’. As the trust evolves, leaders have introduced greater alignment regarding policies and strategies. For example, trust-wide SEND policies have been implemented to ensure a more cohesive approach. ◼ To develop the capacity of the trust to drive improvement across the schools, leaders have established networks for each of the priority areas they have identified. Through auditing the quality of provision, leaders have been able to identify gaps and collaboratively devise targeted strategies to improve these areas. The English network is a strong example of the ways in which school leaders are facilitated to work closely and effectively together. However, some priority areas are not as far advanced. The trust strategy for the most effective use of pupil premium funding is still in its infancy.

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Impact of the trust on its academies – leadership and management

◼ The trust invests in its staff to ensure strong retention and recruitment. Staff have many opportunities to develop professionally. For example, informal coaching has been established to support the implementation of the trust’s early years foundation stage curriculum. In addition, leaders have developed a trust-wide approach to well-being. Early career teachers are very positive about the support they receive working for the trust. ◼ Governors understand their delegated responsibilities well. They are able to hold their respective headteachers to account. The headteachers are all members of the ELT, which also reports to the CEO, who, in turn, reports to the board of trustees. Information about most areas of school improvement is disseminated effectively at both school and trust level.

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Impact of the trust on its academies – curriculum and quality of education

◼ Through close collaboration between schools, the trust has developed a standardised, evidence-based approach to teaching the curriculum. The ELT, together with the CEO, has been pivotal in driving improvements and sharing good practice. Through the subject networks, subject leaders have developed well-sequenced curriculums. For example, leaders of mathematics collaborate on curriculum planning. Monitoring processes are robust and ensure that strengths are disseminated and weaknesses are acted upon. ◼ The ELT leads the strategic development of the curriculum while the associated networks focus on the implementation and impact of approaches. The trust has prioritised the strategic development of SEND provision across the trust, and the network is currently implementing the approaches. It is, however, too early to judge the impact of this work. ◼ Schools have delegated responsibility to develop their own curriculum in line

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Impact of the trust on its academies – curriculum and quality of education

with the national curriculum. However, the trust is developing greater alignment through the strategic role of the ELT and the networks. For example, the English network has established very effective trust-wide approaches to the design of the English curriculum. ◼ The trust has strong systems which enable leaders to identify issues and put in place the most appropriate support. Peer reviews, paired coaching, networks and CEO-led reviews ensure that the trust gathers robust information about the strengths and weaknesses of the quality of education across the trust. ◼ The trust has established a centralised assessment data collection system which helps with teacher workload as it streamlines the process. The CEO, trustees and the ELT have access to assessment information from each of the schools. This allows leaders to identify successes and areas of concern quickly.

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Impact of the trust on its academies – Behaviour and Attitudes

◼ The trust has enabled schools to develop their own distinctive approaches to behaviour management dependent on their specific context. This delegated responsibility is understood by all stakeholders. The number of suspensions and exclusions has reduced. Inspectors judged behaviour and attitudes to be good in five of the six inspections conducted during phase 1 of this summary evaluation. ◼ The trust has established a standardised system for recording behaviour incidents which can be accessed by all stakeholders. The CEO and trustees are able to analyse patterns and address issues effectively as they arise. ◼ Trust leaders regularly monitor behaviour through formal and informal reviews and visits. The trust has used external expertise to support the behaviour of individual pupils when needed. Trustees and the CEO monitor the effectiveness of this support. ◼ The trust has established a standardised approach to developing the

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Impact of the trust on its academies – Behaviour and Attitudes

emotional well-being of pupils, families and staff who require support. All schools have been trained as ‘trauma-informed schools’ and apply this approach to the management of behaviour. The trust has introduced senior mental health first-aid officers in all schools to enhance support. ◼ A very small number of pupils are on a part-time timetable. Trust leaders closely monitor their progress and review the provision. Part-time timetables are not viewed as a long-term solution for pupils. ◼ Trust leaders review suspensions and exclusions across the trust regularly. The trust has established an effective approach to reintegrating pupils. The trust prioritises developing the emotional well-being of pupils and families to pre-empt behavioural issues, which has resulted in a reduction in the number of suspensions.

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Safeguarding

The trust prioritises the physical and emotional safeguarding of pupils across each school. The strategic lead for safeguarding has completed a robust audit of safeguarding arrangements across the trust. Headteachers value the scrutiny and support offered by the trust. Inspectors confirmed that safeguarding arrangements were effective in the six inspections conducted during phase 1 of this summary evaluation.

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Safeguarding

The trust is vigilant about safeguarding. The trust provides detailed guidance and signposting about safeguarding training to all schools. Across the trust, all staff complete appropriate safeguarding training and are tenacious in making sure that pupils are safe.

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Safeguarding

The trust has established a standardised approach to recruitment with an aligned back office system to support academies. The trust’s recruitment guidelines are adhered to by all schools, ensuring that all safeguarding checks are completed prior to appointing staff.

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Recommendations

◼ Ensure that trustees pose suitable challenge about the impact of school improvement work, particularly on groups of vulnerable pupils. ◼ Implement the trust’s plans to ensure and be assured that the use of pupil premium grant funding is used effectively to help pupils learn well. ◼ Monitor the impact of the early stages of the trust’s SEND strategy on the quality of provision for these pupils and their pastoral support.

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

School Information Most recent inspection URN School name Local Authority Date joined trust Does the inspection relate to the school in its current form? Inspection date OE grade

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

144919 Hutton Church of England Primary School North Somerset 01/09/2017 Yes 10/02/2022 2

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

144920 Christ Church Church of England Primary School North Somerset 01/09/2017 Yes 16/02/2022 2

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

144923 Becket Primary School North Somerset 01/09/2017 Yes 19/01/2022 3 School Information Most recent inspection URN School name Local Authority Date joined trust Does the inspection relate to the school in its current form? Inspection date OE grade

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

144924 Ashcombe Primary School North Somerset 01/09/2017 Yes 17/2/2022 2

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

144928 Worle Village Primary School North Somerset 01/09/2017 Yes 09/02/2022 2

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

143464 Crockerne Church of England Primary School North Somerset 01/02/2019 Yes 18/09/2019 2

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

144921 St Martin’s Church of England Primary School North Somerset 01/09/2017 Yes 11/02/2022 2

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Annex: Academies that are part of the trust

*Schools highlighted received either a section 5 or section 8 inspection in stage 1 of the MAT SE

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