Thriving Trusts Thinkpiece 4; Reflecting on the culture, capacity and systems that make school improvement at scale an organisational habit

Thriving Trusts have a clear view of what ‘success’ for learners looks like, together with clearly theorised and articulated models of school improvement which can be successfully scaled up (as the trust expands), along with the necessary agility to respond to multifarious school and community contexts.” Thriving Trusts; Think-piece 4

Thriving Trusts; Thinkpiece 4. Reflecting on the culture, capacity and systems that make improvement at scale an organisational habit

Forum Strategy has now published three thinkpieces on the emerging concept of Thriving Trusts, with this, being the fourth in the series. This fourth thinkpiece (below) builds on the first three thinkpieces in that it explores one of the key principles of thriving trusts – namely, ‘the culture, capacity and systems that make school to school improvement at scale an organisational habit’.

This thinkpiece is written by Debbie Clinton, Forum Strategy Associate and former CEO of two multi-academy trusts. During her tenure, both saw significant improvement in educational outcomes, people development and financial/operational performance. In addition, as a former HMI and before that, the Principal of Nunthorpe Academy, Middlesbrough, Debbie draws on a wide range of experience in leadership development and school improvement, and has supported national projects, conferences and working parties/groups for the DfE, the Institute of Education (London) and many others. Debbie reflects on the vital elements of school improvement at scale, using her extensive experience of this in practice, to illustrate how this should be a fundamental underpinning of trusts that thrive.

You can download the full thinkpiece, together with the reflective questions, below.