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...
Read moreFollowing 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...
Read moreCognitive 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...
Read moreWith schools spanning from the Isle of Wight to Middlesbrough, Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) has one of the largest national footprints when it comes...
Read moreDigital transformation and the digital maturity journey that it represents are ideas that have percolated into many public sector organisations. Steps...
Read moreCaroline Whitty, Editor of Trust Journal, talks to Luke Sparkes about Dixons Academies Trust’s approach to professional growth.
Read moreThe 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...
Read more‘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...
Read moreRecently 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...
Read moreFor 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...
Read moreAs 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...
Read moreAs 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...
Read moreWelcome to this latest edition of Trust. It is the final edition of 2021 and provides a useful opportunity for us to take stock.
Read moreOne of the world’s most popular educationalists, the late Sir Ken Robinson, said: "We’re all born with immense, natural, creative abilities. Children...
Read moreRecovery. 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?...
Read moreResults 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...
Read moreOrchard Hill College and Academy Trust (OHC&AT;) exists to support, enable and champion the talents, skills and rights of the most complex and vulnerable...
Read moreThere is no escaping the fact that the pandemic has caused significant disruption to the education of all of our pupils but particularly to the most vulnerable...
Read moreWith increasing pressures on budgets, and staff absences increasing due to COVID, Nick Hurn discusses how we can support our schools with an ethical staff...
Read moreThe Dasgupta Review, an independent review into The Economics of Biodiversity commissioned by the HM Treasury, was published on 2nd February 2021.
Read moreAt CST’s recent Annual Conference, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson promoted Trust Partnerships, an opportunity for schools to have an informal relationship...
Read moreFor those of you who were not able to attend the CST Virtual Conference last month, one of the many powerful keynote contributions was about the Tham Lung...
Read more‘The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.’ Stephen Covey
Read moreAt the recent CST virtual conference, we were delighted to co-present a Masterclass session with Renaissance, one of our key suppliers. In this session,...
Read moreIt can be too easy to be critical of the fragmented, sometimes fractious state of English education and take our children’s right to universal state...
Read moreDigital technologies have been a saviour for many Trusts and their schools throughout the pandemic. With lessons over Zoom, collaboration work via Google...
Read moreThe pandemic, and successive lockdowns, will have impacted on children and young people’s mental health in a number of significant ways. They may have...
Read moreIt’s a privilege to welcome you to this latest version of Trust Journal. As you will see, once again we have another edition packed full of thoughtful...
Read moreThis is a significant moment in the history of education in England. The policy reforms that are about to be implemented will shift the strategic picture....
Read moreWhilst COVID-19 caused us all to pause and radically changed our lives, many people rediscovered the power of being outside in nature.
Read moreThe Compass Partnership is a group of seven schools; six primaries and one all-through special school. As a group, we have existed since 2011 and have...
Read more‘This school is not the million bricks, but the thousand hearts who carry more dreams than the night sky has stars.’ Anonna, Year 7, January 2021 taken...
Read moreThis edition of Trust is about building the future together.
Read moreIn the wake of the pandemic, wellbeing has become something of a buzzword. This may seem paradoxical given the circumstances seem to be shrinking the possibility...
Read moreWelcome to this December edition of Trust, which is the final edition of 2020. In some ways it would be nice to describe this as a bookend to what has...
Read more40 years ago, I received an A-grade for my Y5 school holiday project on "The Solar System”, which reflected my early promise as a knowledge-rich analyst...
Read moreStarting a new leadership role is an exciting challenge at any time – but how does it feel to have taken up a new CEO role during lockdown and the subsequent...
Read moreBack in February this year, I was physically present at a meeting with several HR colleagues from academy trusts. We were discussing the challenge of...
Read moreIt would be fair to say that Covid-19 has turned education on its head.
Read moreNow that we are adjusting to the new normal, this edition of Trust builds on the last by offering examples of approaches to strategic planning to mitigate...
Read moreSince March, schools have risen swiftly to extraordinary challenges, including logistical, cultural and emotional challenges – to support pupils and...
Read moreWe have seen some magnificent examples of civic leadership exercised by local authorities, schools and trusts during COVID-19 – leaders acting with professional...
Read moreIn this edition of Trust, as you would anticipate, we continue to focus on the impact and longer-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on our sec...
Read moreTrust boards discover they have a leadership vacancy in one of two ways. But whether planned or unexpected, it’s a supremely valuable moment, where the...
Read moreWelcome to the new edition of Trust. With the ever present backdrop of some of the key challenges facing the sector, not least the issue of teacher recruitment...
Read moreAt the beginning of the original Academies Programme many curious school leaders looked across the Atlantic to learn from the US Charter schools movement,...
Read moreLike every organisation, school trusts are made up of lots of different teams. Whilst the board and the executive are teams within their own right, they...
Read moreIn June 2019, I was delighted to lead alongside Leora Cruddas, the CEO of the Confederation of School Trusts, (CST) a short series of roadshows with CEOs...
Read moreWelcome to the May edition of Trust. I am pleased to provide my synopsis of the topics covered in this issue.
Read moreThere is so much that has been written on the subject of clarity of purpose and vision and how that should shape and drive everything done in an organisation...
Read moreWelcome to the April edition of Trust. I am pleased to provide my taster of the range of topics we address in this issue.
Read moreNot a day goes by when there isn’t something in the press about executive pay. Whether it’s a piece urging ethical governance or a piece challenging...
Read moreWhat gives us character? What makes us resilient? These are two of the questions I look forward to grappling with as I chair the group announced by the...
Read moreWelcome to the third edition of Trust the digital professional journal for executive and governance leaders. This publication is one of the many outcomes...
Read moreOne of my favourite phrases in leadership is when the CEO of an organisation brushes away the ‘executive’ part of their job title and replaces it with...
Read moreMATs are still new, complex and evolving in the education sector, which means leaders can often find themselves reacting to what is happening around them;...
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