In the face of rising demands, funding pressures, and workforce challenges, schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) in England are under immense pressure to deliver more with less. While policy reforms and structural changes often dominate the headlines, a new paper by Stephen Morales offers a compelling alternative.
Titled “Driving productivity and effectiveness in schools and trusts: Why organisational ingredients matter most”, the paper highlights five essential organisational ingredients – culture, people, processes, systems, and data – as the true drivers of sustainable improvement.
Drawing on organisational theory, case studies, and sector research, Morales argues that productivity is not a product of external reform but of internal strength. Schools that invest in their people, streamline their processes, and build data-informed cultures consistently outperform those that rely solely on structural change.
For school and trust leaders, this paper is a call to action: focus inward, build organisational health, and unlock the full potential of your teams.
You can download the paper here.
Stephen Morales
