Ed Vainker OBE

Managing Director, The Reach Foundation

Ed is the Managing Director of the Reach Foundation. He was the Founding Headteacher of Reach Academy Feltham and developed a Cradle to Career model around the school in Feltham. Now, the Reach Foundation supports more than 70 clusters of schools around the country to take a Cradle to Career approach. The Reach Foundation developed a model of support in the first 1,001 days and were commissioned by Hounslow Borough to deliver the Start for Life offer for the Family Hub service and have also developed a Foundation Degree in Early Years to support the local workforce.

Debate

1 Breakout sessions: Series one

What leadership does education need now – and by 2036?

In the first of our three conference debate sessions, the BBC’s Education and Family Editor Branwen Jeffreys will be joined by a panel of leaders from across the sector to ask what they – and their successors – need to do help trusts continue to improve over the next 10 years. Who are the leaders of the future? How do we find and develop them?

13:05

1 13 July

The partnership dividend

Drawing on CST and The Reach Foundation’s joint paper, The Partnership Dividend, this session will set out a vision for the trust sector that is rooted in a cultivation of a partnership mindset, for the educational benefit of the children we serve. This approach involves an integrator’ mindset. It is not intended to create further burdens on schools or expect schools to take on the remit of other services. Rather, it invites system leaders operating at a level of scale while drawing on local knowledge, experience and relationships to create real and tangible change.

15:15

1 Main programme

Panel: Place based partnership – how can we mobilise effective support for the best start in life

How do we build local partnerships that genuinely shift outcomes for children in the early years? And what is the role of schools and early years settings in making these partnerships work? This session explores how place-based approaches can strengthen early identification, join up support across health, education and early help, and reduce the barriers that prevent families from accessing what they need. We look beyond traditional notions of “parental engagement” to understand how multi-agency relationships, shared priorities, and community-level collaboration can create the conditions for children to thrive from birth to five. This session focuses on what is practical, realistic and doable in typical settings. Attendees will take away a clearer understanding of their role within local partnerships, examples of what works, and actionable steps to strengthen collaboration in their own communities.