Alice Gregson, CEO Forum Strategy
For me though, as much as I am an avid reader and reflector, I also derive a lot of value from seeing things in practice. As I said in my speech to the National CEO conference back in September, this is why my visits to trusts have been (and remain) a really vital part of my leadership of Forum Strategy. They allow me to see trusts in their own context and to really appreciate some of those more localised challenges and opportunities and how these influence and impact trust leadership.
Over September and October, I’ve visited five trusts – four in the South West and one in Nottingham – and as ever, these have proven to be incredibly informative and insightful. My visits to meet Zoe Batten at Plymouth CAST, Tracey Cleverly at the Learning Academy Partnership South West (LAPSW), Jo Evans at St Christopher’s MAT, Donna Tandy at Palladian Academy Trust and Ash Rahman at Nova Education Trust, all came with their unique elements but one feature they absolutely had in common was the hugely warm welcome (including offers of cake and coffee each time, lucky me!) and the absolute pride each had in their trust and the journey they (and their teams) are on.
Every time I set foot in a trust, I am always truly touched by the time and effort the trust leader I am there to visit puts in, particularly because I am all too aware of how busy and incredibly challenging your roles are. Each visit is a balance of the informal and formal – there is always a structure to the conversations but it’s also good to allow the discussion to take its own path as this is often where I will learn things about trust leadership (and the people who choose to take it up) that an overly structured visit might not allow. The focus for me is 100% about learning and providing you with space to share with me your challenges, priorities and the things you are most proud of…as well as, of course, having the opportunity to explore what you value most about your membership of Forum and where you are keen to see more from us in future (continuous improvement is at the very heart of who we are after all).
I’ve picked several short reflections (there are of course more, but I’m conscious not to waffle on!) from my visits, that I have found particularly helpful and I hope resonate with you too:
- Trusts are not only grappling with national issues but have a multitude of area-based elements to take account of too. For example, each area comes with its own politics and often a history of particular relationships and alliances that have been formed over years and years. Understanding the landscape and then navigating it is vital but can be incredibly difficult, particularly where some changes might be needed. Some key skills and attributes that underpin the ability to do this successfully include resilience, persistence, patience and that all important ‘learner’s mindset’. Navigating and changing (where needed) the local landscape can take years – I was incredibly impressed by those I spoke to who were finally starting to see some positive changes in this respect. For example, one CEO talked to me about navigating the politics (with a small p) of a local community that is relatively affluent and had been used to ‘having their say’ over every small decision made by the trust and schools – to the extent where they expected to be consulted and communicated with over every small detail. The CEO had been swift in setting some boundaries and was clear on what would be consulted on and what absolutely wouldn’t be (for example, confidential staffing related issues shouldn’t be influenced by or shared with the local community). What this really underlines for me is the skill it takes to navigate the local landscape and the importance of trust leaders having space to discuss and work together on area-based education issues, alongside the important conversations at a national level.
- Faith based trusts have some distinctive challenges that need acknowledging but there are also many commonalities with non-faith contexts too. My main reflection here was that it’s really important that there is space for trusts in these contexts to explore their distinctive elements with fellow faith trusts (particularly as related to structural and governance related aspects) but crucially, they also have the space to connect with trusts in non-faith settings too because so many issues are not necessarily faith related. It really struck me how when conversations are rooted in the common language of ‘values’, how much common ground can be found. It reminded me yet again of the importance of language in bringing us together. One of the CEOs talked to me about how although many of the staff in her trust have the same faith as the trust itself, there are also staff members with other faiths or indeed no specific faith. Finding ways to ensure the language of the trust is inclusive of all (particularly in relation to vision and mission) she had found had gone a really long way to ensuring all staff felt valued and felt they could identify with the trust’s purpose and vision. The importance here, linked to my first point about locality, is about how trust leaders need access to space for discussion related to their distinctiveness but, crucially, they also need to be able to join wider forums to explore common issues relevant to all settings. And further to this, it’s really important that faith trusts’ distinctiveness is embraced and shines through in all that the trust does while also carefully balancing this with inclusiveness and a sense of belonging for all – something I think so many of our CEOs leading faith trusts are brilliant at.
- Pure accountability doesn’t need to be complicated – in fact it tells a powerful story when it’s made clear and simple. At one of the trusts I visited, the CEO had prepared a Powerpoint presentation, showing how the trust was holding itself accountable across all 15 of its schools. They took me through the story (and storytelling is such a powerful tool in communication), outlining the trust-specific measures they have defined (alongside government driven national measures) and how they go about regularly checking their progress (utilising everything from staff feedback to direct student feedback to the use of data and more). They also went on to tell me about their local business links and partnerships and how this was playing an integral part in helping to raise funds to ensure they could do all of the things they wanted to do across the trust. This structured, organised approach to their own accountability approach reminded me that sometimes we get so caught up in measures and metrics, we don’t tell the ‘story’ of our organisations enough. This storytelling can be incredibly powerful and captivating and can be a skill we could draw on more as trust leaders both in communicating ‘inwards’ to our staff and students and in communicating ‘outwards’ to parents, carers, communities and national organisations.
- Growth without government interference can feel more authentic. Some of the conversations I had were around how trust growth is becoming more difficult, particularly in geographical areas where academisation rates have slowed. This is now being reflected nationally, as set out in a recent blog. Some leaders felt ‘the government foot has been taken off the gas pedal’ of growth, but the positive of this was that it had left room for more authentic discussions about why schools should want to academise and join a trust. As we’ve said for a very long time at Forum Strategy, it’s up to trusts and trust leaders to ‘make the case’ for joining a trust and when this is done well, it creates a backdrop where both sides truly believe it’s the right course of action for the joining school. There was a reflection from one CEO that actually what this drives you to do as a trust leader, is to become very clear about your ‘raison d’etre’ and the role that a joining school can have when they join the trust. That said, she was also keen to see more clarity from the government in terms of how trusts will fit (and contribute to) an overall clear purpose and vision for education as a whole, something Michael Pain wrote about recently in his blog. It will certainly be interesting to see how the growth landscape unfolds without the significant government involvement we’ve seen in recent years.
As I say, there are many more reflections alongside these. Trust visits are a uniquely valuable way to listen with the aim of understanding the realities for you as trust leaders and considering ways in which Forum Strategy can offer value in the spaces where you need it most. It’s an absolute ‘must have’ in my humble option, for any leader offering support and development to the sector and I look forward to undertaking many more in future (indeed, if your trust would welcome a visit, please do reach out to me).
Visits also offer a glimpse into the day-to-day realities when it can be easy to get caught up in the large-scale national issues. This is not to say the national picture doesn’t have a significant bearing of course. My reflection is more one of how important the realities of place-based leadership are alongside the realities of the national landscape and how, as trust leaders you must carve out time to spend on both, and likewise as the CEO of Forum, I must also do the same.
The really impressive trust leaders I’ve met (and I must have met well into the hundreds now) somehow manage to stay connected with and knowledgeable about the national picture whilst also being incredibly well attuned to their local area and landscape too because they recognise that sacrificing one in favour of the other risks having only one part of the overall puzzle. Issues at a national level inevitably impact at a local level and likewise, local issues can very often impact the national landscape too.
Let’s take the recent budget announcements as an example. On the one hand, increased investment at a national level in areas such as breakfast clubs, further education, SEND, teacher recruitment and our buildings appear relatively promising. However, for anyone with a deep understanding of the scale of the challenges in these areas (and more), it doesn’t really represent the ambitious ‘once in a generation’ level of funding needed to turn things around and to truly invest in the futures of our young people. It might, at best, ease some of the pressures that we have currently across the system. And there will need to be some local context considered within at least some of the areas of additional funding.
If we take the additional funding announced to aid teacher recruitment as an example, there are undoubtedly huge variances in the severity of the challenge across different regions and areas. Likewise, there will be variances in the root causes of the challenge (for example in one area it might be the case that teaching has just not been seen by the local community as an aspirational career route but in another, perhaps it is seen as good career option but due to particular issues in the locality, individuals feel it has become too much of a challenge to take on. There are many other examples I could use too). Of course, government officials can’t be expected to have an intricate knowledge and understanding of local areas but, they can listen to those who do and put their trust in leaders who know their locality well, trusting that they will know what will work best in addressing particular challenges.
This balance of national funding and local knowledge will be essential if funding is to reach the areas that need it most and where crucially, it has the potential to make the biggest difference. The future plans for regional improvement teams offer some hope that this balance can be better made in future, providing these teams are humble and open enough to make the relationship a two-way one; one of listening to as well as communicating with school and trust leaders. It will also be really important that this listening and engagement extends out to a wide range of stakeholders, welcoming some new thinking and perspectives into the mix. In fact, I’d go a step further and say this is absolutely essential to setting the right tone and foundations for work in the regions.
Another part of the ‘local picture’ is of course, wider businesses and partners who, like us, will have been watching the recent budget announcements carefully. Some may be better off but many may be worse off, and may struggle over the months and years to come. These organisations play an important part in a locality’s wider ecosystem, often contributing directly or indirectly to education in some way. As great leaders with care and commitment to our localities, reaching out to these organisations and finding ways to collaborate and support one another, absolutely goes to the heart of effective place based leadership.
So, in wrapping up I think I want to leave my final thought as this. True progress in education lies in a very careful blend of national vision and knowledge with local insight and understanding; honouring the wisdom of place while working towards the collective good of the system. This is really what we strive to support and enable at Forum Strategy by opening up these important discussions, provoking deep thought and reflection, and providing a platform to really showcase the impact excellent trust leadership can have locally and nationally. I look forward to sharing with you in the coming weeks some new ways that we intend to delve deeper into place-based leadership whilst continuing our important work at a national level too.
And before I end, you will all likely have seen the press reports about the end of academy conversion grants and that there are no further plans for capacity funding. Here is the statement we’ve given on this: “This reinforces what we have been saying for many weeks now, that there needs to be a clear and compelling vision for the education sector, and within that a clear strategy for the school improvement landscape. It’s difficult to see the vision or strategy that leads to these decisions announced today, or what it means for making the most of the capacity and expertise of the school-led improvement system. Judging by this latest announcement, much more clearly needs to be done to make the case to government around trusts’ potential and to demonstrate how the unique model of shared governance, leadership and resources can – if done well – be so well-placed to identify, mobilise, deliver and quality assure school improvement.”
With best wishes
Alice
Alice Gregson
CEO
Applications are now open for the Being The CEO programme 2025. To find out more about the programme, led by Sir Steve Lancashire and Michael Pain, and to access the application form before the deadline, please visit: www.forumstrategy.org/beingtheceo
