Taking inspiration from England, the Tasmanian Department of Education, Children and Youth reports have proven the model internationally although there is no evidence that the English approach is more effective.
By Stephanie Flower
Tasmania’s student outcomes are the worst in the Northern Territory of any state in Australia. To address this, Tasmania has launched a trial of multi-school organizations (MSOs) in three primary schools in Hobart. This involves running groups of schools led by an executive team, based on an approach developed in England, called multi-academy trusts (MATs). It is where a single organization takes responsibility for managing multiple schools and securing student outcomes.
Taking inspiration from England, Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Youth Despite being there, the model has been proven internationally There is no proof That English method is more effective. It seems Tasmanian decision makers believe the hyperbole and engage too willingly with confirmation bias. They engage in a misguided but popular refrain that aligns with their lofty aspirations Leaders of the nation .
When Tasmanian representatives traveled to England to speak to leaders of some high profile multi-academy trusts (MATs) – organizations whose survival depends on increasing their offerings as evidence of their success – the narrative has been repeatedly positioned as transformative.
Why was this structure chosen?
How successive English governments came to the decision to adopt and impose the structure of multi-academy trusts (MATs) on all publicly-funded schools is questionable. By torpedoing funding for England’s previous structure, namely local authorities, successive English governments paved the way for a model that was given every chance to succeed financially. The next iteration of this was a school grouping model, the multi-academy trust, under the guise of schools managing their own affairs.
Although the requirement for schools to be part of a MAT was primarily dependent on student outcomes, successive political parties have pursued a preferential discourse, requiring all schools to join one despite long-standing objections from educators. Tasmanian educators and unions are now waging a similar battle against MSOs But progress since January 2026 suggests that what started as a pilot in Tasmania was definitely not the case, with all schools now required to work in teams.
Deliberately opaque practice
Tasmanian MSOs allow schools to pool resources, centralize administrative functions and Align practices with curriculum and learning. While sounding like an attractive prospect from a teacher workload and management perspective, England’s approach would provide some real glimpses into Tasmania’s future if it followed this course, with consistency and equity across schools, to include the curriculum, which is being considered. Characteristics of effective practice
While Tasmania maintains that its schools will retain their identity and autonomy, my PhD on the prescriptive and deliberately opaque practice of MATs in England tells a very different story. Relying on the insights of teachers working within this framework, schools are reported to have respect for the various communities (those who lead the MAT). Instead MATs engage in mandated one-size-fits-all curricula and prescribed classroom pedagogy. Indicating that all of this reduced the need for teacher expertise, input and/or advice, teachers spoke of ways in which children’s interests and life experiences were irrelevant to school data, wider organizational outcomes and ultimately survival.
Excellent practice pocket
Finding what I considered pockets of excellent practice, I examined MATs that adopted an opposite way of working. These MATs understood the importance of school diversity and teacher expertise, regardless of proximity to the communities in which the schools operated. Flying under the radar, these MATs didn’t feel compelled to raise their profile, steal the limelight and wax lyrical about their supposed effectiveness, but they were the ones Tasmania should be looking out for.
Sadly, when noise forces you to follow echoes, a colorless vision is never likely to be found. Fueled by the hyperbole and economic efficiency generated by the funding agreement to focus on high levels of accountability, Tasmanian decision-makers have only ever wanted to hear a version of events, electing high profile English MATs to narrate them. One can only hope that the rest of Australia wants to challenge the on-brand commentary, and wherever we are, none of us will ever lose sight of the most important thing in education, namely students.
Stephanie Flower grew up in Tasmania, initially studying for a BA (Hons) degree at the University of Tasmania. He has lived in England since 1996, where he trained as a teacher and worked for three different multi-academy trusts (MATs). He is now a Senior Lecturer in Education at Oxford Brookes University. Her PhD, due in 2025, has shed a much-needed light on some of the deliberately opaque practices of England’s multi-academy trusts and what can be learned from teachers working at the heart of the system. You can find him LinkedIn.
This article was originally published Edu Research Matters. read on Main article.
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