Browse our programme below. Please note programme details are subject to change.
Welcome remarks from CST's Chief Executive Leora Cruddas CBE and Tamsin Frances, Executive Director, People, Infrastructure & Innovations, Ted Wragg Trust and Chair of CST's People and culture professional community.
Chief Executive, CST
Leora Cruddas is the founding Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts – the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. She has advised successive governments and sits on several Department for Education advisory bodies. She was recently the vice chair of the Head Teacher Standards Review Group, a member of the external advisory group for the Schools White Paper, SEND National Implementation Board and the Regulatory and Commissioning Review.
Prior to founding CST, she was Director of Policy and Public Relations for the Association of School and College Leaders. Leora has six years of experience as a director of education in two London local authorities. She is a visiting professor at UCL Institute of Education. Leora was made a CBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.
Executive Director, People, Infrastructure & Innovations, Ted Wragg Trust
Tamsin has combined the skills and experience from a career in primary leadership and then in business and operations in secondary schools to now lead on operations and innovations at the Ted Wragg Trust. She loves working with leaders in education to create organisational cultures where staff feel valued, included and empowered to transform lives and strengthen communities to make the world a better place. Growing up in Torbay and having lived most of her life across the region of Devon and Cornwall she is passionate about making the South West the best place in the country to go to school and to go on to have a life of opportunity.
Sal will share his experience on high profile misconduct cases during his time as Regional Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He will explore how the education sector can understand the importance of moral courage in creating the conditions for a culture which is founded on psychological safety, inclusion, and ‘speaking-up’. Sal will discuss how trusts can draw upon insights from external sector investigations to improve practice, whilst engineering a culture where staff feel able to safely surface their issues from the beginning.
Bestselling author of True North: A story of racism, resilience and resisting systems of denial
Sal Naseem is the former Regional Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, where he spent the best part of a decade working in the police accountability framework in England and Wales. Sal is currently Assistant Director of Insight, Policy & Strategy at Birmingham City Council, and an independent panel member at the National Fire Chiefs Council, supporting its work on culture and inclusion. Sal has worked on some of the most high profile misconduct cases featuring the Metropolitan Police Service in recent years.
As the strategic lead on discrimination, his work focused on stop and search, racism, misogyny, and police culture. Sal sat on the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Police Race Action Plan Board, and the NPCC National Diversity Equality and Inclusion Board as an independent member. Sal has a law degree from the University of Glasgow and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is the winner of the national Equality Diversity and Inclusion Award from the FDA Union in 2023 and was named as one of the top 50 UK changemakers in the Diversity PowerList in 2024.
Choose from a selection of workshops delivered by trust leaders and sector experts. Topics include working cultures, the employer policy landscape and performance management.
There will be a two minute silence held at 11:00 to mark Remembrance Day followed by our morning break.
As the world of work continues to evolve at pace, the education sector finds itself at a critical crossroads. Schools are no longer competing for talent solely within their traditional boundaries - they’re now part of a wider labour market shaped by hybrid models, shifting values, and the pursuit of purpose-driven work. Peter will explore the future of work in education through this wider lens, asking: How do we need to change to remain attractive, adaptive and resilient? Other sectors are also experiencing the implementation of flexible working, office vs home strategies, AI technology, and the employment of many professionals that are now undertaking a non-linear approach to career paths. Where does the education sector fit into this changing landscape of career reinvention?
Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Peter is the CEO of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. He is also Chair of Engage for Success, was Chair of What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and sits on the board of the College of Policing. He sits on many forums linked to wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, routes in to work and skills, flexible working, and corporate governance.
Peter writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, the future of work, and the key issues of leadership, culture and organisation, people and skills. In 2021, his second book ‘The New World of Work’ was published, exploring the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives, and the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies.
Prior to joining the CIPD in 2012 Peter was Chair of the Institute of Leadership and Management, an Executive Fellow at London Business School, and held a number of board level roles. He had a long career in consulting at Accenture working with organisations around the world, and in his last seven years there was global managing director for the firm’s human capital and organisation consulting practice.
He is a Fellow of the CIPD, a Fellow of AHRI (the Australian HR Institute), the Royal Society of Arts, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He’s also a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, the Chartered Management Institute, and the British Academy of Management. He holds honorary doctorates from Bath University, Kingston University and Birmingham City University, and is a Visiting Professor at Aston University, and at Unitar University, Malaysia.
The panel will discuss strategies for attracting the next generation of educators. How can the trust sector create the supportive environment necessary within their schools to help emerging talent thrive? Together, they’ll explore how culture can be intentionally shaped to meet the expectations and values of new professionals entering education.
Founder, Talent Architects
Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Peter is the CEO of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. He is also Chair of Engage for Success, was Chair of What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and sits on the board of the College of Policing. He sits on many forums linked to wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, routes in to work and skills, flexible working, and corporate governance.
Peter writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, the future of work, and the key issues of leadership, culture and organisation, people and skills. In 2021, his second book ‘The New World of Work’ was published, exploring the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives, and the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies.
Prior to joining the CIPD in 2012 Peter was Chair of the Institute of Leadership and Management, an Executive Fellow at London Business School, and held a number of board level roles. He had a long career in consulting at Accenture working with organisations around the world, and in his last seven years there was global managing director for the firm’s human capital and organisation consulting practice.
He is a Fellow of the CIPD, a Fellow of AHRI (the Australian HR Institute), the Royal Society of Arts, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He’s also a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, the Chartered Management Institute, and the British Academy of Management. He holds honorary doctorates from Bath University, Kingston University and Birmingham City University, and is a Visiting Professor at Aston University, and at Unitar University, Malaysia.
School and College Trust Leader, Dixons Academies Trust
Faizal has over 20 years’ experience in HR, change, and organisational development, previously working at ALDI, the Co-op and the NHS. He brings a deep understanding of what it takes to build cultures where people feel valued, included and empowered. He is a Chartered member of the CIPD with an MA in Human Resource Management.
Since joining the education sector in 2016 with Star Academies, and moving to Dixons in 2022, Faizal has run a wide range of sector-leading initiatives including equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I), professional growth coaching, flexible working (nine day fortnights) and business services transformations.
Executive Director, People, Infrastructure & Innovations, Ted Wragg Trust
Tamsin has combined the skills and experience from a career in primary leadership and then in business and operations in secondary schools to now lead on operations and innovations at the Ted Wragg Trust. She loves working with leaders in education to create organisational cultures where staff feel valued, included and empowered to transform lives and strengthen communities to make the world a better place. Growing up in Torbay and having lived most of her life across the region of Devon and Cornwall she is passionate about making the South West the best place in the country to go to school and to go on to have a life of opportunity.
Guided networking discussion, facilitated by Tamsin Frances.
Executive Director, People, Infrastructure & Innovations, Ted Wragg Trust
Tamsin has combined the skills and experience from a career in primary leadership and then in business and operations in secondary schools to now lead on operations and innovations at the Ted Wragg Trust. She loves working with leaders in education to create organisational cultures where staff feel valued, included and empowered to transform lives and strengthen communities to make the world a better place. Growing up in Torbay and having lived most of her life across the region of Devon and Cornwall she is passionate about making the South West the best place in the country to go to school and to go on to have a life of opportunity.
Choose from a selection of workshops delivered by trust leaders and sector experts. Topics include inclusive leadership, professional development, and effective leadership during mergers and growth.
Sinéad will explore the critical link between human connection, relational trust, and wellbeing. Drawing on evidence-based insights, she will highlight what truly works to foster meaningful connection, alongside practical strategies to support wellbeing and prevent burnout among staff.
Chief Executive Officer, Education Support
Sinéad Mc Brearty is CEO at Education Support, the mental health and wellbeing charity for the education workforce across the UK. She advocates for a systemic approach to wellbeing for the education workforce, attending to the individual, the workplace and the wider policy environment.
Sinéad began her career at KPMG before moving to leadership roles in the not-for-profit sector. She has worked as an organisational development consultant and a lecturer and has been a trustee at a number of charities including Kaleidoscope Trust and Groundswell. She is a currently a governor of a south London primary school.
Final reflections with the conference formally closing at 15:45.
Executive Director, People, Infrastructure & Innovations, Ted Wragg Trust
Tamsin has combined the skills and experience from a career in primary leadership and then in business and operations in secondary schools to now lead on operations and innovations at the Ted Wragg Trust. She loves working with leaders in education to create organisational cultures where staff feel valued, included and empowered to transform lives and strengthen communities to make the world a better place. Growing up in Torbay and having lived most of her life across the region of Devon and Cornwall she is passionate about making the South West the best place in the country to go to school and to go on to have a life of opportunity.
Chief Executive, CST
Leora Cruddas is the founding Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts – the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. She has advised successive governments and sits on several Department for Education advisory bodies. She was recently the vice chair of the Head Teacher Standards Review Group, a member of the external advisory group for the Schools White Paper, SEND National Implementation Board and the Regulatory and Commissioning Review.
Prior to founding CST, she was Director of Policy and Public Relations for the Association of School and College Leaders. Leora has six years of experience as a director of education in two London local authorities. She is a visiting professor at UCL Institute of Education. Leora was made a CBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.
With almost 9 in 10 school leaders reviewing staffing structures and with financial confidence at a low, school trusts are under intense pressure to make tough choices. But in the face of restructures, cost-cutting and uncertainty, how can we protect staff wellbeing, live out our values, and avoid unintended harm to equity and inclusion? This practical session explores how strong organisational development practice can help trusts respond to financial challenges without compromising their people or principles. We will equip delegates with frameworks to support thoughtful, human-centred and strategic workforce decisions that align with the mission to help both adults and children flourish - even through change.
Partner & Head of HR Services, Browne Jacobson LLP
Employment Education Partner, Browne Jacobson
Heather has dedicated her 15 year career to advising schools and academies. She leads the education team's employment practice. Her pragmatic style and experience as an academy Governor herself means she works in partnership with boards and leadership teams to manage strategically and sensitively the most high stakes of cases.
Her areas of expertise include high profile employment matters, large scale restructures, managing industrial action, claims of sexual harassment against senior staff, complex race discrimination tribunal claims and advising on complex TUPE outsourcings (including the pensions implications).
This session explores how trust-wide culture can be intentionally built to support staff voice, wellbeing, and belonging. Drawing on the journey of the Pinnacle Learning Trust, participants will examine how leadership visibility, transparent communication, and small, meaningful gestures contribute to a climate of trust. The workshop will highlight Pinnacle’s practical strategies to ensure staff feel heard, supported, and valued. We'll consider how language, values, and distributed leadership shape inclusive staff experiences and retention. Through reflection and discussion in the room, attendees will identify actionable steps to strengthen psychological safety, enable honest feedback loops, and create structures where staff thrive. This session is ideal for leaders looking to move beyond reactive wellbeing offers, towards a whole-trust culture of mutual respect and empowerment.
Managing Director, Edurio
Iona runs the insights team at Edurio, responsible for the creation of new surveys and analysis of the national datasets on staff, pupil and parent experience. Since joining Edurio in 2021, Iona has worked on national reports focused on topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion and staff retention. Iona brings over 10 years of research experience, previously working in fields from technology, to food waste, to finance.
Chief Operating Officer, Pinnacle Learning Trust
Pam McIlroy is Chief Operating Officer of the Pinnacle Learning Trust, based in Oldham in the North West. She joined Oldham Sixth Form College in its opening year, 1992, working in the student services team and in 2013 became vice principal. When the college established the Pinnacle Learning Trust, together with a local secondary school in 2017, Pam took on trust responsibilities for HR, IT/MIS and data protection. As trust grew to also include one junior and two primary schools, Pam was appointed COO. Together with the CFO, Pam leads the central services for the trust. Pam is passionate about creating a culture of support and belonging, to enable the trust to achieve its mission of 'transforming the lives of all our young people'.
This session looks at the critical importance of developing inclusive leaders - those who create environments where everyone can thrive. Participants will explore how inclusive recruitment, people development, performance management, and supportive wellbeing can support our leaders to be successful for the benefit of the adults and children in their care. You’ll also have the opportunity to consider how a strategic focus on flourishing adults can have a tangible impact on teacher retainment, creating the powerful argument for investing in this area. Following this session, delegates will be able to answer two key questions: What does inclusive leadership mean? And, how do we model it?
Founder, Talent Architects
Co-Founder & Director, Trust Inclusion
Johan Jensen is a diversity and inclusion expert. Johan has worked with major financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, charity sector and public sector organisations. In 2017 he founded All-in Education and is now working with a range of education institutions. Johan was previously a director at Teaching Leaders (now Ambition Institute). Johan led stakeholder management at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) between 2009-2012. He is a first-class honours graduate in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Birmingham, with an MA in Research Methods. Johan is a Founding Trustee of Create Foundation, a charity that supports young entrepreneurs in Brixton, Peckham and Hackney.
Co-Founder & Director, Trust Inclusion
A founding director of Trust Inclusion, Linbert Spencer OBE has been helping organisations and individuals to transform themselves for more than 30 years. An author, skilled and experienced learning and development facilitator, consultant and keynote speaker specialising in inclusion, leadership, performance management, personal development and coaching, he has facilitated learning and development seminars and workshops in more than twenty countries and across the UK.
Linbert is active in Bedford where he lives and is Trustee of the HEART Academies Trust and the Harpur Trust – a grant making trust with responsibility for four independent schools.
A former professional actor, international athlete, television presenter and CEO of a national not-for-profit organisation, Linbert has appeared in many documentary television and radio programmes including two appearances on BBC’s Question Time. He authored Inclusive Leadership and Why it Matters; The Diversity Pocketbook; How to Build a Multi-Ethnic Church and has co-authored several other publications.
The employer policy landscape is evolving rapidly. This session will focus on how trusts can successfully navigate the implications of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and the Employment Rights Bill, as well as how to cultivate and maintain positive relationships with unions. Join this interactive workshop to gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of current policy on your teams and wider trust.
Partner, Stone King LLP
Jean is Head of the Employment, HR, Immigration teams and Joint Head of the Education sector at Stone King LLP. With nearly 20 years post qualification experience, Jean is an accomplished employment lawyer who specialises in acting for those in the education sector.
Legal Director, Just People HR
Having worked as a solicitor in private legal practice for over 20 years, Natalie now manages a business providing HR and legal support for the education sector across northern England. In this role, Natalie works closely and collaboratively with trade unions in the sector, chairing a consultation group for academies. She sits as a director on the board of a multi academy trust and as the vice chair of a primary school interim executive board. Most recently she has been appointed to the Confederation of School Trusts as Director of Employer Policy, working to represent the interests of trusts as employers.
According to the Edurio National CST School Trust Report 2025, one in six trusts (15%) report considering merging with another trust, and 59% of CEOs report that they expect to open or add schools to their trust in the next year. This session will explore how strong leadership and positive culture underpin the entire merger process, and are essential to its success. Join colleagues from Edwin People in an exploration with three CEOs that are at different stages of this journey to understand the human and strategic sides of merger and trust growth. Delegates will learn from key lessons encountered through the merger process, and the impact on how adult wellbeing drives sustained outcomes for children. Join this workshop to hear where the role of a Chief People Officer/People Director fits into the overall merger strategy, and understand both the challenges and opportunities at play.
Chief Executive, Spark Education Trust
Louise is CEO of the newly formed Spark Education Trust, a merger of The 1590 Trust and Vision Academy Learning Trust.
Louise was CEO of The 1590 Trust from its formation in July 2018 and also Headteacher of Conyers School. A successful leader with 20 years senior leadership experience, Louise was awarded the Lord Glenamara Most Inspiring Headteacher Award for her work at Conyers School.
She believes that excellence is achieved through collaboration and partnership and as such has chaired the Stockton Secondary Heads Group, is a member of the Stockton Strategic Education Board, Redcar and Cleveland Education Board and the Campus Tees Schools Alliance Board. An English teacher by background, Louise knows that improving literacy and communication skills will significantly improve the lives of all children and young people.
Facilitated by Carrie, this session offers insight into building flourishing, human-centred professional development. Karen and Elliot will share how their “one team, one mission, one family” culture builds coherence across six local authorities through evidence-informed, habit-building communities of practice and a simple, values-driven “flight path” for teachers and leaders. Lawrence will explore Future Academies’ cradle-to-career vision, where values-based recruitment, leadership coaching, and storytelling create deep staff investment and discretionary effort. With immersive programmes, alignment tools, and building professional communities, these trusts are rethinking what development means.
CEO, Forward As One Church of England MAT
Karen Bramwell the founding CEO of Forward As One CE multi academy trust, working with the central team and school leaders to provide the very best for children and communities. Karen is passionate about the rights of our children to a fantastic education, developing strong leadership and system leadership – making more of a difference to more children. She became a National Leader of Education in 2011 and has supported significant improvements in a large number of schools across the northwest and beyond. Karen regularly provides training to other headteachers and school leaders across the country and currently facilitates on the NPQEL. In 2019, Karen was awarded the Women in Leadership Award by She Inspires. Most recently, Karen served on the Lancashire and West Yorkshire Advisory Board for six years for the DfE. She currently sits on the Greater Manchester Priority Area Partnership Board. In June 2024, Karen was awarded an OBE for services to education in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
CEO, Future Academies
Lawrence Foley is the Chief Executive of Future Academies, a multi-academy trust with schools across London and Hertfordshire. He leads the trust’s strategic vision, which blends academic excellence with character education and civic responsibility. Lawrence is also a trustee of GAIN (Girls Are Investors), a charity working to improve gender diversity in investment management by inspiring and supporting young women to pursue careers in the field. Prior to his current role, he held senior leadership positions in both schools and central trust teams, with particular focus on curriculum design, educational improvement, and system leadership. He is a passionate advocate for high expectations, inclusive practice, and the transformative power of education.
School Centred Initial Teacher Training Director, Ted Wragg
Carrie McMillan works as the SCITT Director for the Ted Wragg Teacher Training Partnership, which facilitates ITT, ECT and NPQ pathways in the South West of England. She has been a senior leader, a head of English and was a consultant for the National Strategies in Somerset. Additionally, she is a trained yoga and mindfulness teacher.
Director of Learning & Partnerships, Forward As One CE MAT
Elliot Costas-Walker is the Director of Learning and Partnerships with Forward As One CE Multi Academy Trust. He joined the trust in 2018, when the trust had three schools and has seen the growth in the trust over the five years to 13 schools. Elliot previously worked in a Yorkshire based school trust for two years as a Teaching and Learning Lead. Elliot's responsibilities are for school improvement, learning and teaching, professional development and partnerships. He has a proven-track record of supporting schools in various contexts, including special measures and outstanding schools. His passion is driving school improvement work alongside quality first pedagogy within the classroom. Elliot prides himself on being an evidence-informed leader and works as an Evidence Lead in Education (ELE) - he enjoys mobilising the research from the EEF. Elliot is passionate about expertise through high quality professional development and leads the trusts work with Ambition Institute. He is a Visiting Fellow with Ambition Institute and facilitates on a range of programmes. Elliot leads a Challenge Partners Hub, ‘Aspire Hub' across the North West and sits on Challenge Partners, Education Advisory Group.
