Ofsted has praised the federated school system, saying it leads to dramatic improvement in pupil achievement and behaviour.
In their analysis of schools that join together and share an executive head teacher, inspectors found weaker schools involved saw improvements in the quality of teaching as well as pupils’ work and behaviour.
There was a particular improvement in the quality of schoolwork among pupils from weaker schools involved and those with special needs and disabilities.
Pupil enjoyment of school life and confidence also improves, as the federated structure saw a broadening of the curriculum, range of after-school clubs and gave them "a larger circle of friends".
The main reasons for joining a federation are for high-performing schools to support weaker schools, to strengthen the performance of all schools in an area or when a number of small schools face closure or problems recruiting staff.
Strong leaders, who were flexible and ensured all those involved learned from each other, were central to the success of federated schools.
In only two of the 61 schools across 29 federations visited by inspectors was the leadership considered as only satisfactory. The rest were either good or excellent.
In these schools Ofsted found "insufficient attention had been paid early on to the strategic purpose of the federation beyond protecting schools from closure. Leaders did not have sufficient vision and had not made best use of opportunities, by, for example, using resources flexibly and sharing good practice".
Ofsted chief inspector Miriam Rosen said: "The characteristics of effective leadership of federations are no different from those expected in any school. But what we found noteworthy was the success leaders had when transferring these skills to federations which are larger and more complex to run than single schools."
Another benefit highlighted was when primary and secondary schools were federated. This made the transition between schools easier for pupils and led to the creation of a single system of assessing and tracking pupils’ progress.
The analysis, which is revealed in the report Leadership of More Than One School, included surveys from 111 other federations. There are around 600 schools involved in federations, according to latest Ofsted figures.
There was a particular improvement in the quality of schoolwork among pupils from weaker schools involved and those with special needs and disabilities.
Pupil enjoyment of school life and confidence also improves, as the federated structure saw a broadening of the curriculum, range of after-school clubs and gave them "a larger circle of friends".
The main reasons for joining a federation are for high-performing schools to support weaker schools, to strengthen the performance of all schools in an area or when a number of small schools face closure or problems recruiting staff.
Strong leaders, who were flexible and ensured all those involved learned from each other, were central to the success of federated schools.
In only two of the 61 schools across 29 federations visited by inspectors was the leadership considered as only satisfactory. The rest were either good or excellent.
In these schools Ofsted found "insufficient attention had been paid early on to the strategic purpose of the federation beyond protecting schools from closure. Leaders did not have sufficient vision and had not made best use of opportunities, by, for example, using resources flexibly and sharing good practice".
Ofsted chief inspector Miriam Rosen said: "The characteristics of effective leadership of federations are no different from those expected in any school. But what we found noteworthy was the success leaders had when transferring these skills to federations which are larger and more complex to run than single schools."
Another benefit highlighted was when primary and secondary schools were federated. This made the transition between schools easier for pupils and led to the creation of a single system of assessing and tracking pupils’ progress.
The analysis, which is revealed in the report Leadership of More Than One School, included surveys from 111 other federations. There are around 600 schools involved in federations, according to latest Ofsted figures.
