Welcome remarks by Steve Rollett, Deputy Chief Executive, CST, and Chair of CST’s School improvement professional community.
Deputy Chief Executive, CST
Steve Rollett is Deputy Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. Before joining CST, he was Curriculum and Inspection Specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders. Steve has sat on a range of advisory bodies, including Ofsted’s curriculum advisory group. Most recently he has supported Oak National Academy and the Department for Education’s remote learning advisory group. Originally trained as a history teacher, Steve was a vice principal of one of England’s most improved secondary schools before moving into a career in education policy.
Keynote address from Steve Rollett.
Deputy Chief Executive, CST
Steve Rollett is Deputy Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. Before joining CST, he was Curriculum and Inspection Specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders. Steve has sat on a range of advisory bodies, including Ofsted’s curriculum advisory group. Most recently he has supported Oak National Academy and the Department for Education’s remote learning advisory group. Originally trained as a history teacher, Steve was a vice principal of one of England’s most improved secondary schools before moving into a career in education policy.
In this session, Sufian will look at Chiltern Learning Trust's creative approaches to help create and build greater connection amongst staff. He will also explore how they are going about creating 'Good Eggs' in Chiltern Learning Trust, which is a key focus in their explicit culture and approach to leadership.
Director of Teaching School, Chiltern Learning Trust
Sufian Sadiq is the Director of Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust, with responsibility for overseeing two regional hub areas in the Southeast of England. Chiltern Teaching School are one of the largest providers of CPD to the sector nationally. He is a passionate activist within the educational landscape around race, equity and inclusion. He is a Fellow and Board Member of the Chartered College of Teaching, as well as a Fellow for the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors. He plays an active role in numerous charitable organisations as a trustee and holds key governance roles within educational organisations.
The first of two facilitated networking sessions where we will delve into aspects of trust-led school improvement highlighted by our new report, Lessons in trust-led school improvement. Through collaborative discussions and feedback, participants will explore effective strategies and practices, and build connections with fellow leaders committed to driving positive change in education.
Choose from a selection of insightful workshops led by trust leaders and sector experts, which relate directly to the three strands of the conceptual model. Topics will include implementing high-impact professional development to enhance teaching across multiple schools, aligning curriculum and assessment through creative collaboration, and navigating large-scale organisational transformation.
Choose from a range of insightful workshops led by trust leaders and sector experts, which relate directly to the three strands of the conceptual model. Topics include leveraging development cycles to enhance teacher growth, harnessing collective intelligence for trust-wide improvement, and embedding a culture of collaboration and capacity-building. Through the exploration of real-world case studies, you will learn innovative and actionable approaches to drive meaningful change in your trust.
Becky Francis is leading the Government’s independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, seconded from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) where she has been CEO since January 2020.
Chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, Department for Education
Professor Becky Francis CBE is presently leading the Government’s independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, seconded from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) where she has been CEO since January 2020. Before this, Becky was Director of the UCL Institute of Education (IOE), which is ranked #1 in the world for education in the international QS rankings. Her prior roles include Professor of Education and Social Justice at King’s College London and Standing Advisor to the Parliamentary Education Select Committee.
Throughout her career, Becky has sought to maximise the impact of academic research by working closely with teachers and policymakers. She has spearheaded high-profile research programmes assessing the impact of major reforms in the English school system on educational inequalities and is sought out internationally as an advisor to Governments on education policy.
Becky was the inaugural Charles Yidan Global Fellow at Harvard University. Her academic expertise and extensive publications centre on social identities and inequalities in educational contexts. She is best known for her body of research on social identities and educational attainment, including gender, race and social class.
Final reflections on the conference with the formal close at 16:05.
Deputy Chief Executive, CST
Steve Rollett is Deputy Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. Before joining CST, he was Curriculum and Inspection Specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders. Steve has sat on a range of advisory bodies, including Ofsted’s curriculum advisory group. Most recently he has supported Oak National Academy and the Department for Education’s remote learning advisory group. Originally trained as a history teacher, Steve was a vice principal of one of England’s most improved secondary schools before moving into a career in education policy.
Improving teaching across multiple schools is hard. This workshop explores how to implement professional development that improves teaching and drives school improvement at scale. We’ll share models from trusts across the country who are leading and delivering impactful context-specific professional development programmes trust-wide. This workshop relates to the 'build capability and capacity' strand of the conceptual model.
Director of Implementation, Steplab
Rachel is Steplab's Director of Implementation, supporting Steplab's community of schools with the design and delivery of impactful professional development and instructional coaching programmes. Rachel is a former English teacher, vice principal, and has led professional development across a large multi academy trust.
Director of Training, Steplab
Harry spent nine years teaching, then got increasingly interested in how teachers could get better at what they do. That question drove seven years of research and training, and three books. More broadly, he’s fascinated by how we can make things better, and the social, psychological and structural changes this requires.
Director of Professional Growth, Orion Education
Olivia Page is Director of Professional Growth at Orion Education, a multi academy trust of four primary schools and four secondary schools based in London and the Southeast. Orion implemented instructional coaching at scale across its eight schools three years ago and has been a Steplab hub since September 2024. Olivia has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, middle and senior leader in London secondary schools and is driven by enabling social mobility through securing high achievement in its broadest sense for the pupils. Olivia is passionate about teacher and leader development, unlocking potential and developing a research-informed approach to professional growth. Olivia has current experience as an Ofsted inspector and holds an MA in school development.
Director of Institute, Academy Transformation Trust
Cat Rushton serves as the Director of the Institute at Academy Transformation Trust, leading the professional development offer for a broad and diverse network of academies. In her role, Cat plays a pivotal part in driving school improvement by leading large-scale professional development initiatives. Under her leadership, the Institute extends its impact beyond the trust, forming key strategic partnerships, delivering accredited programs, and working on innovative projects that support ongoing progress in professional development across the sector. Previously, Cat worked as a science teacher and advanced through various leadership roles, where she led curriculum and pedagogy at department, whole school, and trust levels.
Siobhan will explore the realities of building capability and capacity within the Ted Wragg Trust - where leadership isn't about individual heroics but about empowering teams, fostering connection and growing great people. By reflecting on real-world leadership challenges, she will share how trust leaders can develop expertise, empower horizontal improvement and create the conditions for sustainable success. This session will explore the power of connection in leadership and the essential leadership qualities that drive lasting impact, focusing on self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the ability to foster joy in others. Leaders will reflect on how developing expertise, empowering teams and growing a strong leadership culture can create the conditions for sustainable school improvement. Drawing from the Ted Wragg Standard and the 'build capability and capacity strand of the CST's conceptual model for school improvement, Siobhan will share principles that trust leaders can apply in their own settings. This workshop relates to the 'build capability and capacity' strand of the conceptual model.
Executive Director of Education, Ted Wragg Trust
Siobhan grew up in Plymouth where from an early age she experienced the profound positive impact teachers could have on young people’s lives. She began her career as a SENDCo and senior leader in primary schools across Cornwall and Plymouth, before becoming headteacher of Marine Academy Primary School at the age of just 27, leading the school to a double "Outstanding” judgement by Ofsted, most recently in 2022. Under her leadership, the school was the first free school to receive an outstanding judgement in the whole of the south west region.
With experience in every leadership level and having been an integral part of the success the Ted Wragg Trust has achieved to date, Siobhan continues to strive for excellence across the trust's schools as Executive Director of Education. Through her leadership, Siobhan embodies the trust's strategic anchors of having the highest standards, being relentlessly positive in her collaboration and growing great people. Siobhan also supports schools outside the trust as a National Leader of Education, Pupil Premium Reviewer and lead for the trust's Steplab Coaching Hub and DfE Behaviour Hub at Marine Academy Primary.
Nicole and Nimish will openly and transparently talk through their learnings at Creative Education Trust as they worked through multiple projects aligning curriculum, assessment and approaches to teaching, underpinned by the principle of creative collaboration. By reflecting on their journey over the last five years, they will share the tensions and success of driving school improvement at scale through trust-wide alignment. They will also share the principles for trust leaders to consider when grappling with alignment in their own settings. Can you do this in an established multi academy trust? Yes, you can. This workshop relates to the 'curate clear goals' strand of the conceptual model.
Head of Curriculum Development, Creative Education Trust
Nimish Lad is Head of Curriculum Development for a Creative Education Trust, working on developing teachers' understanding of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. Having previously been a vice principal for curriculum and assessment in a large secondary school, Nimish has a history of helping teachers better understand why they are teaching, what they are teaching, and how they can ensure that knowledge has been learned. Nimish is the author of Shimamura’s MARGE model of Learning In Action (2021) and can be found on X @nlad84.
CEO Designate, Creative Education Trust
Nicole McCartney has been working with academies since 2007 in both small, local trusts and large, national multi-academy trusts. She was designated a National Leader of Education in 2014 and has a wealth of school improvement experience, gained through academy leadership, executive principalships and executive roles within school trusts.
In 2020, the Astrea Academy Trust faced an urgent need to move from being a disparate and disconnected group of 26 schools with a collection of attainment, cultural and/or financial challenges, to being a coherent, collaborative and financially stable system pointing in the same direction. The challenge was to achieve transformation at pace and at scale without a strong anchor school or existing capacity to leverage, and very little in reserves to lean on. Rowena will discuss the importance of recruiting for fit, as well as fearless consistency, accountability and good management in the face of some countervailing sector narratives - the grunt work of organisational transformation. By joining this workshop, participants will learn from both the successes and mistakes of the process, including what was compromised by the need to move at pace. This workshop relates to the 'implement improvement initiatives' strand of the conceptual model.
CEO, Astrea Academy Trust
This workshop will connect theory and practice of implementation, bringing to life evidence-informed principles with adaptable approaches that can be deployed at scale in trusts. Stuart will guide participants through a comparison of different implementation cycles, with the aim of highlighting their underpinning common principles. With this evidence-informed foundation set, participants will then look at one kind of cycle - the Development Cycle developed by Evidence Based Education - examining how it is designed for the specific purpose of teacher growth, and what kinds of behaviours it drives when used. Delegates will have a go at using the Development Cycle and receive Stuart's recommendations for further reading and resources to help continuous development post-workshop. This workshop relates to the 'implement improvement initiatives' strand of the conceptual model.
Director of Education, Evidence Based Education
Stuart is Director of Education at Evidence Based Education, and one of the team behind the great teaching toolkit - the personalised professional growth platform to help teachers flourish. He is a qualified teacher himself, who has worked in both middle and senior leadership roles in schools. Currently, Stuart serves on the advisory boards of lernen: digital (a German teacher development project) and Impact. He is a co-author of the EEF's Implementation Guide, as well as the EEF's DIY evaluation guide, and EBE's 'great teaching toolkit: evidence review'. He is fascinated by finding sustainable ways to help teachers flourish and belong in their professional lives.
This interactive workshop explores how E-ACT is transforming school improvement by leveraging the collective expertise and experience across its network of schools. Drawing on James Surowiecki's ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ principles, delegates will discover how structured approaches to gathering and synthesising diverse perspectives can lead to more effective and sustainable school improvement strategies. Tom will examine how E-ACT practically enables schools to tap into their collective intelligence, moving beyond traditional top-down improvement models and building internal capacity in the process. Participants will leave with actionable insights and strategies they can adapt for their own trust contexts, along with frameworks for evaluating the impact of collective intelligence approaches on school improvement outcomes. This workshop relates to the 'build capability and capacity' strand of the conceptual model.
CEO, E-ACT
Tom Campbell is Chief Executive at E-ACT, a large national multi-academy trust. Tom brings extensive experience of 24 years in education, teaching and leading in schools serving some of the most disadvantaged young people in the country. Tom is also a non-executive director of Olex.AI, an edtech company bringing innovation and creativity to teaching and learning. A psychology and computing graduate, Tom also holds a Cambridge MBA and is an alumni of the Oxford High Performance programme. Tom is also a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and of the RSA.
Emma, Sara and Dominic of The Black Pear Trust will share their trust’s journey of school improvement both within their family of schools and externally. They will highlight their reflections on their successes, challenges, and the need to remain committed to the ‘3C’s’ while being agile to respond to changing contexts. This workshop relates to the 'build capability and capacity' strand of the conceptual model.
CEO, The Black Pear Trust
Emma Pritchard was appointed as CEO of The Black Pear Trust in 2021; a successful executive leader who has worked in a diverse range of educational establishments and is deeply committed to education and the entire Trust community.
Emma has a proven track record of driving effective and rapid school improvement within and outside of The Black Pear Trust. The Black Pear Trust originally grew through the sponsorship of schools; by implementing robust school improvement strategies, creating and developing capacity, fostering a culture of high expectations and a shared commitment to positive change Emma has been able to ensure schools achieve rapid and sustained progress. This approach coupled with a commitment to collaboration across the trust has enabled schools to share best practice, access effective support and deliver significant improvement in teaching and learning for the benefit of children and young people.
Working alongside local authorities Emma has built effective strategic networks to enable trust growth and to support other schools to drive improved education. Through creating capacity to deliver school-to-school support Emma has ensured the trust is able to support and develop other local schools in challenging circumstances – always with a view to developing a quality education offer that supports all learners.
Emma has built strong relationships with local authority partners, further and higher education providers, the DFE, community organisations such as housing trusts and other key organisations with knowledge of local area to best support the children and families within the trust, but also to positively influence education and the communities the trust serves.
Professional Development Lead, The Black Pear Trust
Dom Davis is Professional Development Lead for The Black Pear Trust - a Worcestershire based trust with seven primary schools and a secondary school. He has experience of leadership in a range of settings, especially those with high levels of disadvantage. As an evidence lead in education, he has a particular interest in developing and implementing evidence-based strategies and using these to inform professional development. He is a school improvement advisor for schools across the West Midlands.
Director of School Improvement, The Black Pear Trust
Sara is a dynamic leader responsible for spearheading school improvement and quality assurance strategies across the trust. She plays a pivotal role, both strategically and operationally, providing support, advice, and guidance to ensure the success of each school and the consistent delivery of the BPT curriculum and values.
With over a decade of senior leadership experience, Sara has previously served as a headteacher within the trust and held various leadership roles in multiple schools. Her extensive experience includes leading school-to-school support using a range of coaching and mentoring strategies, significantly impacting education across Worcestershire.
Unity Schools Partnership is rooted in a commitment to building a sustainable legacy of excellence, both for the communities that our schools serve and more broadly within the education sector. This workshop will explore the principles that underpin its school improvement strategy and how these are exemplified in some of its key initiatives. Lauren will explore the idea of education as a generative entity and unpack how Unity Schools Partnership has harnessed the power of horizontal working within its own family of schools and connecting with hundreds of other schools nationwide to achieve a genuine step-change in educational standards. This workshop relates to the 'build capability and capacity' strand of the conceptual model.
Curriculum Lead, Unity Schools Partnership
Lauren Meadows works as a Curriculum Lead for Unity Schools Partnership, serving over 40 schools in the East of England and several hundred schools as part of their international curriculum partnership. Lauren has worked with a wide range of national organisations, advising on curriculum and assessment design and strategic school improvement, including partnering with Alex Bedford to co-author Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership (CUSP). She has dedicated her life to improving educational outcomes for children across the sector. Driven by her servitude to children and the belief that it is possible for every child to receive an excellent education, she has worked with primary, secondary, special and alternative provision settings across the country. She also works with the Research Schools Network, delivers NPQs and is currently studying assessment design at Cambridge University.
