We are delighted to announce a monthly podcast for Forum Strategy network members – #TrustLeaders In The Loop.

These monthly podcasts are presented by Frank Norris, former CEO of the Co-op Academies Trust and an adviser to the Northern Powerhouse Partnership on education and skills matters. Frank will be joined each month by Sarah Ginns, Forum Strategy’s Research Manager, who has been with Forum Strategy for nearly seven years and prior to that was Policy Manager at the National College for School Leadership. Frank and Sarah look back on some significant issues over the previous weeks and also to look forward to some important matters that lie ahead.

In this first episode, Frank and Sarah discussed:

  • the recent COP26 Summit in Glasgow and the DfE’s new draft Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy and its implications for schools and academy trusts
  • the differing skills the current and future cohorts of pupils and students are likely to need to be able to work in new roles in the technology, renewable energy and sustainability sectors, and the implications for careers advice
  • the ongoing challenges around cyber security – and the ‘Members’ Masterclass’ on this subject which Frank is hosting for Forum members on Monday 13 December
  • the renewed and accelerated focus on mental health and wellbeing in schools – of both pupils and staff – and the role of the new Mental Health Support Teams
  • the need for openness and transparency in public life and the lessons that can be learned from both within and beyond the academy trust sector