CEO and Education Directors Connect Day

Leading Through System Change

The September CEO & Education Director Connect Day brings together trust leaders and school improvement leads to explore the strategic challenges shaping education over the coming years.

The day has been designed around one central question:

How do we build resilient, collaborative and future-ready trusts in a rapidly changing education system?

Delegates will hear from regional leaders and trust colleagues, exploring developments in education policy, trust growth, school improvement and leadership at scale.

• We are delighted to invite Nigel Minns, Regional Director for the East Midlands, who will provide an update on regional priorities, the RISE programme and the wider direction of travel for education across the region, followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion.

• James Brown, MD at Inspiring Leaders will share findings from his recent research into MAT mergers and acquisitions, highlighting what trust leaders can learn about organisational growth, leadership, culture and strategic integration from MATs that have successfully expanded via this pathway.

• The morning concludes with reflections from colleagues Kate Green, Interim CEO at Spencer Academies Trust and Ros Hopkins, Director SEND and Inclusion at Discovery Trust, who recently participated in our Lift Schools Study Visit, sharing insights into leadership at scale, trust-wide school improvement and digital strategy, and considering what these lessons might mean for trusts across our partnership.

The afternoon will move from input to dialogue through a series of facilitated strategic roundtables. 

Together, CEOs and Education Directors will explore some of the most significant issues facing the sector, including:

• The future direction of national education policy and regional devolution - with new political leadership due in the Summer

• The emerging MAT inspection and accountability framework

• SEND, inclusion and place-based leadership;

• And how AI and digital transformation are reshaping trust leadership.

These discussions will help identify collective priorities for the partnership and shape future Inspiring Leaders activity, ensuring our work continues to reflect the issues that matter most to MAT leaders.

As always, the conference is designed to provide a trusted space for strategic thinking, professional challenge and collaborative leadership, enabling trusts to learn from one another while helping shape the future of education across our region.

Please book your place now. We would love to see you all there.