Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: introduction of multi-academy trust inspections

In the run-up to the 2024 general election, Labour's plan for schools set out an intention to "create a better system for inspecting and improving our schools". As part of this, it committed to introducing inspections of multi-academy trusts in addition to the current inspections of individual schools. The government has now tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill ('the Bill') to introduce this proposal.

How will multi-academy trust inspections work?

The amendment to the Bill provides that multi-academy trusts will be inspected at intervals to be set out in regulations, and that a written report must be prepared following each inspection. 

When conducting an inspection, there will be a general duty on the inspector to report on the quality and effectiveness of leadership, management and governance of the trust. In particular, inspections must cover the quality and effectiveness of: 

• activities undertaken to secure the provision of a quality education
• governance and executive leadership
• activities to promote the wellbeing of children and young persons
• activities to secure improvements of its academies
• management of its resources
• any other matters specified in regulations

The amendment also requires the development of a common set of principles to apply to all inspections.

If, following an inspection, a trust is found to be failing to lead, manage or govern to an acceptable standard, there will be new powers of intervention. These include the ability to transfer academies to other trusts.

Why are multi-academy trust inspections being introduced?

According to the government's press release, the inspection of multi-academy trusts will give parents and communities greater confidence that schools belong to strong, supportive trusts focused on improving outcomes for every child. The government emphasises that high-quality trusts play a vital role in raising standards and widening opportunities for children. Given that trusts oversee key decisions that shape children's education - from curriculum to staffing - trust inspections will ensure those decisions are subject to clear and independent scrutiny. 

During the report stage debate in the House of Lords on 28 January 2026, Baroness Spielman explained that the current system inspects only individual schools with a separate regulatory approach for trusts, meaning that concerns at trust-level are usually addressed privately. She noted that many trusts centralise some functions, yet inspections judge aspects of school quality that may fall outside of a head teacher's control, which she described as unfair to heads. She also highlighted that the present model makes it difficult for the government to intervene when a multi-academy trust is underperforming across the board but no one individual school is severely failing. She states that, "a refresh is sorely needed".

When will it take effect?

It's not yet clear when these changes will take effect. The Bill is currently at report stage in the House of Lords. Once that stage is complete, it will move to a third reading in the Lords before returning to the House of Commons for consideration of the Lords' amendments. It may therefore be some time before the Bill becomes law. In addition, some aspects of the multi-trust inspection regime will be set out in regulations, which must be drafted and approved by parliament before they can take effect.

What does this mean for multi-academy trusts?

Once in force, trusts will face greater scrutiny as inspectors will assess how the trust is governed and managed as a whole. For example, if there was a pattern of high numbers of children with SEND being moved from mainstream schools to an alternative provision within the same trust, inspectors could analyse whether trust leaders were doing enough to secure quality education for all children. By focusing on trust-level decision making, the new system is likely to bring these kinds of processes under much closer examination. 

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