2021 / 2022 articles

Introduction

We publish this latest edition of Trust ahead of the imminent arrival of a Schools White Paper. Many of the headlines have already emerged, with the government...

Introduction

Welcome to this issue of Trust journal. As ever, it is the product of a range of voices in the school system, from School Trusts to partners offering commercial...

School Improvement: The NET Result

It’s twelve months since I wrote my first article for Trust journal and it’s just over twelve months that I’ve had the privilege of being Deputy...

Preparing for Change

The last ten years has seen massive reform. We now educate more than half of children and young people in the Trust sector. In 2010, there were just 203...

The Power of Communities

"There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

Introduction

I wish you a warm welcome to this special 2022 conference edition of Trust, which is drawn from CST’s Annual Conference and its theme of ‘Truly Civic’....

Introduction

We are proud to publish this most recent edition of Trust – our journal for executive and governance leaders.

Introduction

Welcome to this latest edition of Trust. It is the final edition of 2021 and provides a useful opportunity for us to take stock.

Understanding what Makes a Strong Trust

With a white paper nearing, expected to include more detail on the government’s ambition for all schools to be part of a strong Trust, there is a pressing...

Staff and Pupils’ Wellbeing – a CEO perspective

For Trust CEOs, Daniel Pink’s theory of intrinsic motivation based on autonomy, mastery and purpose may resonate in terms of our own wellbeing [1]. Many...

Trust Growth in 2022: Barriers and Opportunities

Trust growth has long been complex for leaders to manage. However the pressures of the pandemic, coupled with some ongoing reluctance among remaining schools...

Building Back with Equity

The past two years have been incredibly challenging for our sector. There is a focus now placed on the gaps in learning for our young people and the mental...

Tackling Energy Price Inflation – What can Trusts do?

Everyone wants to take action on climate change but the recent and unprecedented rises in electricity and gas prices have added further urgency to this...

Reflections on Governance in the Academy Sector

Coming into the education governance sector as a relative outsider, having previously worked in the NHS, I was interested to find so much of my work really...

Changed Public Procurement Thresholds and Procurement Top Tips

At the beginning of the year, the Department for Education updated its guidance to schools in relation to Buying Procedures and Procurement Law for Schools....

My Day as a Teaching Assistant

‘Are you new?’ A pair of Year 3 eyes looked up at me as I attempted to help with lunchtime duty last week in my local primary school. It was a reminder...

Building Leadership Capacity in the Post-pandemic Landscape

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted our sector in ways that would have been impossible to predict two years ago. It has been a test of resilience and of...

Priorities for your Trust People Strategy in these Challenging Times

Recently a Headteacher told me that many of her staff are now on their second, and in some cases even third, Covid-19 infection and absence is a critical...

Growing Your Own Talent

Just to be clear, this is not some sort of “weird science” Sci-Fi article that involves cryo-chambers and inordinate amounts of dry-ice. Nor is it...

The EdTech Demonstrator Programme

For many years the debate in educational technology was too often a debate of the deliberately deaf. On the one hand, the uncritical lovers who saw in...

By Caroline Whitty and Luke Sparkes

An Interview with Luke Sparkes

Caroline Whitty, Editor of Trust Journal, talks to Luke Sparkes about Dixons Academies Trust’s approach to professional growth.

Learning from ECF Implementation

The Early Career Framework (ECF) is a huge opportunity to invest in teacher professional development across the school system. This is a big step forward...

The Benefits of Executive Salary Benchmarking

The summer of 2021 heralded the start of a new partnership between the CST and HR intelligence specialists XpertHR, who came together to launch a salary...

Never has the Wellbeing of Leaders been more Important

Twenty months of Covid-19 is a long time for people to operate in ‘crisis response.’

Reflections on a Duty of Care

In this conference edition of Trust, I wanted to reflect further on the themes of my conference speech. As I said in my speech, I am thinking hard at the...

Policy, Practice and Avoiding Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is a term first coined by Leon Festinger in the 1950s and is used to describe the mental discomfort an individual feels when they...

By Steve Rollett and Jon Severs

An Interview with Jon Severs

The education press is a significant actor in our education system. Against a backdrop of speculation about the forthcoming government White Paper, Steve...

The Benefits of a Nominations Committee

“Another committee,” I sighed as my Chair announced that our tried, tested and efficient means of Trustee recruitment needed to be swept away in favour...

Our Community – Feeling Truly Connected

Warren Carratt, Chief Executive Officer of the Nexus Multi Academy Trust and CST member, offers his reflections as a delegate at the recent CST Annual...

Rethinking Governance: A Place-Based Design

With schools spanning from the Isle of Wight to Middlesbrough, Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) has one of the largest national footprints when it comes...

(Don’t) look up!

Adam McKay’s recent disaster satire movie 'Don’t Look Up' has certainly divided critics and audiences, perhaps by trying to say and do too much. The...

The School Trust System: Where are we at, and what can Trusts do next?

Our recent PLMR state-of-the-nation report looked at the current state of the school system in England as it is now on the cusp of its 10,000th academ...

The Importance of Being Ambitious for Every Child

It was inspiring to be amongst so many people at the recent CST Annual Conference who are dedicated to making the world a better place for our childre...

2022-2030: Beyond the White Paper

When the White Paper was released, many commentators were quick to suppose a lack of real vision and ambition from Whitehall. Cries of ‘there’s nothing...

Trusts: Networks of knowledge exchange and intellectual challenge

The rock tumbler smooths the stone by way of tumbling it against other rocks that enter the chasm with rough edges. The stone leaves the tumbler shiny...

By Dave Thomson and Katie Beynon

Pupil Absence Since the Start of the Pandemic

We are all only too aware that Covid-19 led to unprecedented disruption for schools. Pupil absence has been, and continues to be, far higher than before...

Knowledge-building for School Improvement: Exploring the roles of School Trusts and the School Trust community

In his paper Communities of Improvement: School Trusts as Fields of Practice, Steve Rollett notes that:

The Changing Face of Performance Management

Anyone who is responsible for supporting trust or academy improvement on the ground will know that quality of teaching is central to the success of an...

How Strategic Communications can Supercharge your Civic Leadership Initiatives

As reflected in the theme of the recent CST Annual Conference #Truly Civic, the civic leadership role of School Trusts has never been more evident than...

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022

The 2022 version of Keeping Children Safe in Education landed on 20 May 2022. Along with some tweaks around the edges and an expansion of Part 5, there...

CEO Core Responsibilities

As the sector body for School Trusts, CST developed a draft set of Core Responsibilities for School Trust CEOs earlier this term. This was done following...

Safeguarding: What Trusts need to know about managing low-level concerns

Stone King was delighted to be at the CST Annual Conference in June, which was bustling throughout the two days. Alongside the host of eminent speakers...

Managing the Changing Risk Profile of Academy Trusts

It has long been a requirement for Academy Trusts to formally manage their risks through a risk management policy and system and maintenance of a risk...

Teaching and Tech: How can schools manage the use and misuse of social media?

It is very likely that a high percentage of your teachers and pupils will have social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. Terms...

Trusts as Civic Leaders in Sustainability

Reflections on the CST Conference - #TrulyCivic

Why we Must Harness the Power of Real-time Data Across School Trusts

Findings from the Edurio Pupil Learning Experience and Wellbeing Survey

At Edurio, we conducted a large-scale survey focusing on issues relating to overall wellbeing, safeguarding and the impact on pupils' happiness at sch...

The Importance of Honesty within the Teaching of British History

Funmilola Stewart, Head of History and Anti-Racism Lead at Dixons Trinity Academy shares her reflections on the powerful closing keynote offered by the...

An Interview with John Dickens

Following the publication of the Schools White Paper, Steve Rollett, CST’s Deputy Chief Executive, spoke to John Dickens, Schools Week Editor, about...

Making Education Accessible for all - Learners and Teachers

As more of the curriculum is delivered on a screen, rather than from a textbook or reading from a board, we must look at the barriers that stop learners...

Rethinking Science: Creating an Inclusive Science Curriculum

Following two years of online and remote conferences, it was an absolute pleasure to be attending this year's CST Annual Conference in person. After the...

What do the DfE’s Digital Maturity Research and Technology Standards mean for Trust Leaders?

Digital transformation and the digital maturity journey that it represents are ideas that have percolated into many public sector organisations. Steps...

Opportunities Presented by the Changing Face of Financial Transactions in Schools and Trusts

As our digital landscape continues to evolve, commercial charge cards provide a range of financial efficiencies and risk control opportunities in the education...

Building a Culture of Belonging

The issue of transferability can be problematic in education discourse. Conferences frequently feature voices from other walks of life, from sportsmen...

Impossible

The Big Answers: Building a New Deal for England's Children

Firstly, I want to acknowledge just how extraordinarily hard this year has been for us - for students, for trainee teachers, for leaders – so thank you...

The Education Recovery Plan

School Trusts have been at the forefront of managing the vast disruption of the pandemic. No one in education is under any illusion that recovery from...

Executive Pay Benchmarking

The first national salary benchmarking survey for executive leaders in School Trusts was been published on 13 October 2021. It has been conducted by XpertHR,...

The Moment to put Child Health at the Heart of Recovery

Recovery. It’s on my mind as a head and Multi-academy Trust CEO every minute of every day. How do we ensure that every child gets back-on-track academically?...

A New Season for Teacher Professional Development

I like autumn. It’s a time of transition with fresh winds blowing change through the air. And change is afoot for teachers' professional development....

Modern Careers Education: What it is and Why it Matters

Results days are tricky at the best of times (and that’s an understatement for the last two). Success is measured by letters and grades of course, but...

Educating a Generation of Environmental Inventors, Innovators and Problem-solvers

One of the world’s most popular educationalists, the late Sir Ken Robinson, said: "We’re all born with immense, natural, creative abilities. Children...

Climate Change – Doing Nothing is No Longer an Option

On the eve of COP26 and in the wake of the COVID crisis, the imperative to develop and implement plans for tackling climate change has never been stro...