A case study based on an interview with Dr Nic Crossley, CEO of Liberty Academy Trust
Liberty Academy Trust is a family of special schools with expertise in SEND and Autism. It is made up of three schools and one Satellite provision, Thames Valley School in Reading, Hill Brow Satellite in Reading, Church Lawton School in Cheshire, and Vanguard School in Lambeth, South London.
The trust’s inclusion story begins with a small but powerful linguistic shift: from EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) to EDIB – (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging). That extra word – belonging – threads through every part of Liberty’s story. The trust, formed in 2022, has built its EDIB strategy around a moral imperative: to create a culture where every child, every family, and every colleague feels seen, valued, and represented.
For Nic, this is not theoretical work. It’s personal, rooted in lived experience. She leads as an openly autistic woman, navigating both mental health challenges and the menopause. “I talk about these things because they’re part of who I am”, she explains. “They don’t detract from me as a leader. They make me human. And I hope that authenticity gives others the psychological safety to bring their true selves to work too. After all, if I can’t do it, how can I ask anyone else to?”
“I talk about these things because they’re part of who I am… they don’t detract from me as a leader. They make me human. And I hope that authenticity gives others the psychological safety to bring their true selves to work too.”
