Multi-Academy Trusts
A free, practical self-assessment for MAT leaders who want a clearer view of moderation across their schools.
Most school and MAT leaders know moderation matters. Few can say, with confidence, that it's working the same way in every school.
This free self-assessment gives you a clear, structured way to find out, across consistency, confidence, collaboration and leadership visibility. It takes ten minutes and gives you a practical snapshot of where things feel secure, and where closer attention may be needed.
Moderation can quietly become something that happens rather than something that works. Sessions stay in the calendar. Conversations take place. But the question of whether those conversations are actually building consistency across the trust often goes unasked.
That's a problem, because the gaps don't announce themselves.
They show up when two schools assess the same piece of writing differently and neither realises. When a new school joins the trust, and nobody is sure how to align expectations quickly. When a governor asks about writing standards, the answer relies on individual school reports rather than a trust-wide picture.
None of this means moderation has failed. It means it hasn't been looked at as a whole - across schools, across year groups, across contexts.
And for MAT leaders, that's the bit that matters most. Not whether moderation is happening, but whether it's doing what it needs to do everywhere.
This isn't a training resource or a policy document. It's a diagnostic tool designed to help you step back and honestly assess how well moderation is working across your trust right now.
It focuses on the questions that matter most, from aligned expectations and confident teacher judgements to meaningful collaboration and trust-wide visibility.
For each area, you assess your trust-wide position: securely in place, partly in place, or not yet in place. No scoring. No ranking. Just a clear, honest snapshot that helps you see where things are strong and where they need attention.
A ten-minute diagnostic that most MAT leaders wish they'd done sooner.
Inside the self-assessment, you'll find:
This resource was written for the people who carry the weight of trust-wide consistency.
If you're a MAT leader trying to get a clearer view of writing standards across your schools, this gives you a structured way to do that. If you're an English lead supporting moderation practice across multiple settings, it helps you see where the gaps are. If you're in SLT or governance and you need meaningful insight into writing outcomes - not just data, but real understanding - this is a practical place to start.
Pobble works with schools and multi-academy trusts to support high-quality writing and more accurate, consistent assessment.
Through moderation subscriptions, external validation, training and statutory assessment support, we help trusts build the kind of shared understanding that makes moderation purposeful - not performative.
This self-assessment was developed by Laura Bailey, Pobble's Head of Moderation and Assessment, who works closely with MATs to strengthen practice, develop confidence and support leaders in building consistency across their schools.
.png?width=290&height=376&name=Laura%20(3).png "Laura (3)")
Emily Ferris
Headteacher, Beaufort Primary, Swan Trust
Pobble Education Ltd,
Rosehay,
Tremorvah Wood Lane,
Truro, TR1 1PZ,
Cornwall, UK
