Michael Pain, Forum Strategy
The growing emphasis on community-centred trusts in recent months (given significant impetus by Forum Strategy’s National CEO conference last year, and – at least, so far, in theory, by the white paper of early 2026) is cause for encouragement.
Since 2019, Forum Strategy has been committed to our ‘new narrative for a new decade’ – shaped with our trust leader members—and firmly championing and making the case for academy trusts at the heart of their communities.
Why this is so important is well-documented elsewhere. In summary, we know the biggest challenges (and opportunities) of our time require us to reignite localism, connection, partnership, participation, and aspiration in communities – many of which are struggling during times of social change and economic turbulence. It is also becoming more and more apparent that ‘efficiency through scale’ has its limitations. To avoid creating ‘big but brittle’ trusts, we also need trusts to focus on resourcefulness through genuinely impactful collaboration – internally and externally. This, in reality, requires high degrees of proximity and togetherness across schools and institutions, as well as significant public participation and support.
A big question in all of this, however, is how to make it a reality in practice? For the most part, it begins not with government policies or white papers, but with trust boards themselves.
How are trust boards enabling community-centred leadership and building academy trusts at the heart of their communities? Here’s 7 potential ‘big moves’ boards can make…
