The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services found that federations that brought together high and low performing schools saw improvements in English and maths results.
Other types of school grouping – for example where small schools came together to create a larger group, special schools combined with mainstream schools or primary and secondary schools linked together – did not show any impact on attainment.
Researchers said it was too early to draw conclusions as many federations had formed relatively recently.
The research found no evidence that a federation led to better or worse Ofsted grades.
Steve Munby, chief executive of the National College, said: This research is fascinating and encouraging in equal measure. Fascinating because it provides a snapshot of how quickly schools are adopting and adapting different models of leadership – encouraging because it provides the first evidence that when schools collaborate in this way it really can make a difference.
Federations are groups of schools that share some or all of their governing body between them.
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