Episode 7 - When Ofsted Knocks and Things Go Wrong: Jo Harper on Rebuilding Culture, Capacity and Trust
In this episode of The MAT Unpacked, Ed Nell and Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory visit Activate Learning Education Trust to meet CEO Jo Harper - a leader with a frank and powerful story to tell.
Jo talks openly about the 2023 Ofsted inspection at UTC Reading, the personal and professional weight of that moment, and the deliberate, long term approach to rebuilding.
Key Takeaways
Culture is the single most important element in any organisation.
Jo is clear on this from the start. Everything else - systems, structures, finances - sits beneath it. When culture fractures, as it did at UTC Reading, the repair work has to start there before anything else can follow.
Building leadership capacity means empowering people, not centralising control.
Pulling resource and authority into the centre disempowers the leaders who need it most. The better approach is investing in people across the whole organisation and trusting them to lead their communities.
A challenging Ofsted judgement can be the making of a trust - if you respond well.
Jo describes the 2023 inspection as possibly the single most important turning point for Activate Learning. Accepting responsibility, getting on the ground immediately and communicating honestly with stakeholders was what changed the trajectory.
You can't stay in depth in one school while running a trust.
The discipline of knowing when to pull back is as important as knowing when to dive in. Staying too close to one problem for too long means something else quietly goes wrong somewhere else.
Key Moments
\"On day two of the Ofsted inspection, we were already in day one of the improvement plan.\"
\"That may well have been the single most important turning point for this multi academy trust.\"
\"You've got to back it up with action. Saying sorry is only the beginning.\"
About The MAT Unpacked
The MAT Unpacked explores what effective leadership and governance look like inside Multi Academy Trusts. Hosted by Ed Nell and featuring regular co-host Chris Whiting from Academy Advisory, each episode brings together trust leaders and sector specialists to share practical insights, real experiences and lessons learned from across the education system.
The aim is simple - to open up conversations about how trusts can operate more effectively and ultimately improve outcomes for learners.
How to Get in Touch
To learn more about Academy Advisory or connect with the team:
Website: academyadvisory.com
LinkedIn: Academy Advisory
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