The opportunity is enormous
Today, 89% of schools in England are rated ‘Good’ or Outstanding’ by Ofsted—up from 68% in 2010.
That’s a big shift and an impressive achievement.
It means that around 5,000 more schools are achieving the top Ofsted grades. Schools have adjusted to demanding curriculum expectations and our understanding of how we can improve the quality of teaching across the system has improved rapidly.
Yet, despite these significant achievements, many children in England feel unsafe in school and dissatisfied with their lives.
The gaps between children experiencing disadvantage and their wealthier peers remain large—and this reality is brought home to us across a wide range of measures, for instance:
The average absence rate for children receiving free school meals was almost double that of their wealthier peers in 2022/23;
One in ten children feel they ‘never’ belong in school;
Children living in the poorest 20% of households are two to three times more likely to develop mental health problems; and,
As the most recent Education Policy Institute Annual Report shows, “Children with a high persistence of poverty were around one year (12.2 months) behind their non-disadvantaged peers by the end of primary school and almost two years (22.7 months) behind by the end of secondary school.”
The opportunity is fragile
With over 4.5 million children now educated in school trusts, there is a significant opportunity for the next generation of leaders to develop the next generation of trust—to ensure these organisations are geared up to ensure that all children can enjoy lives of choice and opportunity.
But this opportunity is fragile.
Only 40% of trusts have a succession plan presently, with many boards struggling to recruit new leaders.
Plus, there are limited opportunities for aspiring and emerging CEOs to develop their thinking—in partnership with others—about how the next iteration of school trusts will need to operate to ensure more equitable outcomes.
Our contribution
LeadingTrusts is our contribution to this end.
In collaboration with a growing coalition of leading school trusts, we are developing a bold new generation of trust CEOs with the vision, knowledge and relationships needed to lead ‘breakthrough’ trusts that enable all children to enjoy lives of choice and opportunity.
Want to hear more?
Click here for more information about the programme.
