New guidance provides a clearer sense of what the DfE and Regions Group will be looking for in order for trusts to grow. This Breakfast Briefing is an opportunity to consider the guidance and the implications for trusts and trust leaders.

In July of this year, the Department for Education published further guidance and information on it’s approach to trust growth: Guidance on the role of the Department for Education in making commissioning decisions about academy trusts providing greater transparency around the decision making process for permitting trust growth and the taking on of more schools as well as more clarity about what is expected from trusts in order to grow.

One of the most important aspects of the documentation for trust leaders is Annex B, which focuses on Trust Quality Evidence. The document aligns with and underpins the Department’s five pillars of trust quality, and will be used to determine a trust’s ability to take a school(s) on and to grow. It is therefore a crucial document in planning for trust development and growth. In this breakfast briefing for members we will take a deeper look at the five pillars of trust quality and discuss the evidence (data, intelligence and other types of information) needed to demonstrate progress against each. We will explore and discuss the evidence that trust leaders will need to be generating, not only to satisfy DfE expectations but more importantly, to inform your own strategy for growth and development now and in future. We will also share how you can further engage with Forum Strategy to help develop your approach at this stage, especially in those areas in the DfE guidance that currently lack detail.

The Forum Strategy team will also be joined by Owen Carter, Co-Founder & Managing Director of ImpactEd, a social enterprise organisation working with schools and trusts to identify the best evidence to guide decision making, helping them to understand which interventions, activities and CPD sessions are having the most impact on young people’s lives. ImpactEd will draw on their work with trusts so far in this area, using a recent example to demonstrate how trust leaders can best gather the evidence needed for each of the five pillars, in a simple and structured way. As usual, we will also allow plenty of time for discussion and ideas sharing amongst you as members of our three national networks.

Before joining this session, you might also like to read Michael Pain’s article delving into the new guidance and quality descriptors and the evidence needed for demonstrating progress: Making the case for trust growth; the pillars, the evidence you’ll need, and not losing sight of the bigger story

To book onto this event, you will need to be a member of one of Forum Strategy’s three networks for CEOs, COOs and Education Executives – please use the form below to book your place:

Booking Form