Discussion and policy papers

Our education system needs a clear and compelling narrative around which to build over the coming years and decades. A collective purpose, a shared vision and a uniting concept towards which we focus our time, resources, leadership, energy, expertise and wisdom.
Flourishing together: A collection vision for the education system sets out a joint vision from CST, the Church of England, and the Catholic Education Service.

This discussion paper sets out why and how trust governance can evolve to focus more on forward strategy than compliance, engaging a broader range of voices and better serving our communities.

CST’s response to Ofqual’s proposed changes to the assessment of mathematics, physics and combined science GCSEs in 2025, 2026 and 2027

What might we expect from the government’s curriculum and assessment review, and what might we hope for?

The mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for all children is important. It is an enduring common ground shared by government and the profession.

In the next instalment of our Funding Futures series, we look at beginning to build a reliable evidence base through introducing a Schools' Costs Index, and set out why key formulae - per pupil, disadvantage and SEND - should be protected and uprated in real terms. This paper formed part of CST's representation to the 2024 Autumn Budget.

An overview of the outcomes of Ofsted's Big Listen consultation exercise

CST's response to the review of the RSHE statutory guidance

CST's discussion paper on encouraging diversity of staff working in the education sector.

CST's response to the Department for Education's call for evidence on safeguarding children in schools and colleges.

Confederation of School Trusts response to the Centre for Young Lives Call for Evidence on Inclusive Schools

Confederation of School Trusts' response to Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation exercise.

CST believes all parties must place the needs of children, families and schools at the heart of their vision for this country.

Research by the Confederation of School Trusts has found that the current complex system of school funding falls short of what is needed to support pupils. Funding is too unpredictable, is not calculated against the actual costs facing schools, and has failed to keep up with moves to a trust-led system. Following extensive consultation with academy trust leaders - who now run more than half of the country’s schools – CST is calling for significant reforms.

CST's response to the Department for Education's consultation on the Advanced British Standard

CST's response to the Department for Education's consultation on draft Gender Question Children guidance.

CST has made a submission to HM Treasury on behalf of the sector ahead of the upcoming Spring Budget.

This paper proposes an evolution of the existing accountability, regulatory and support architecture in the school system in order to provide a more sophisticated, effective and proportionate approach that will, together, better support sustained school improvement.

Safeguarding will always be an issue of critical importance in education. From boards, through trust leaders, Designated Safeguarding Leads, and on to all frontline staff, everyone has a role to play. We all need to be clear on its importance, and to recognise the growing complexity of safeguarding issues and the pressures that can come with attempting to deliver excellence in safeguarding without a considered, strategic approach.
Updated January 2024.

CST's response to the Department of Education's consultation on the introduction of minimum service levels in education during industrial action.

CST's response to the Department for Education's consultation on the proposed changes to the non-statutory elective home education guidance for local authorities and parents.

Slides from the CST member engagement call on 10 January 2024, setting out CST's draft priorities for the upcoming general election.

CST’s response to Ofqual’s proposed changes to the assessment of mathematics, physics and combined science GCSEs in 2024.

This discussion paper builds on the paper A good life: Towards greater dignity for people with learning disability to offer five principles for inclusion, to improve the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

CST's response to Ofsted’s proposals for post-inspection arrangements and complaints handling.

Early years funding - extension of the entitlements

This discussion paper looks at the process of setting high-level national curriculum expectations.

In February 2022, CST published an influential discussion paper asking the question, ‘What is a strong trust?’ Since then, we have engaged in a sector-wide discussion to understand how our proposed domains of organisational strength and resilience aligned with sector thinking and the emerging evidence base. This paper sets out our current policy position.

CST's response to the National Audit Office examination of the school estate and sustainability.

In January 2023 CST published a discussion paper, ‘Navigating uncertainty: a future direction for Ofsted’. We set out some key concepts that inspection must navigate, including autonomy and control, validity and reliability, and inference and consistency. In this paper we build on this initial conceptual framing to offer some policy ideas which might be considered in relation to inspection. Again, these are offered as a stimulus for discussion at this stage rather than being firm CST positions.

In this pamphlet, CST chief executive Leora Cruddas CBE sets out the case for the school trust, and a trust-based system. It attempts to set out why a trust-based system might be our best bet, and explains why a group of schools working together in a school trust is so much more than simply the changing of the legal structure of the school.

This paper is intended to support such discussions by exploring key tensions and trade-offs that exist in inspection policy and practice. We think setting these out is an important first step before moving into the ‘nuts and bolts’ of what a future framework should look like. Too often calls are made for Ofsted to focus on X or to look beyond Y, but the broad paradigm – and the concerns sometimes expressed about inspection - remain the same because the issues outlined in this paper are not always properly understood. We think that exploring these tensions as a starting point creates the space to think truly differently and constructively about the future of inspection.

Following the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, CST's Trust and School Funding Policy Specialist, Susan Fielden, reflects on what we learnt from the statement - and poses seven areas of interest for the sector to consider.

CST response to the Department for Education and Ofqual joint consultation on assessment resilience guidance.

CST’s policy position on funding pressures as of September 2022, including action taken over the summer and longer-term work.

CST's response to the Department for Education consultation on implementing the direct National Funding Formula.

CST's response to the Department for Education consultation on the SEND review and Green Paper.

The paper explores ways in which the outcome of the SEND Review and Green Paper consultation could shift the way society thinks about people with learning disability by avoiding deficit language, that suggests people with learning disability are somehow incomplete or worth less, and makes the case for a more ambitious vision of what a good life is - placing greater value on difference, common values, the process of learning and more, to provide a healthy balance to meritocratic values of academics, occupation, and wealth.

The Schools White Paper and SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper together bring the ‘system’ into view. Both papers offer an analysis of the education system and provide firm proposals on matters of system governance. System governance refers to the structures, mechanisms, and processes by which the organisations responsible for delivery are held to account. The White and Green Papers propose to do this largely (but not exclusively) through commissioning and regulation.

This paper sets out six questions that we should consider as part of the regulatory review.

As we move towards a school system in which all schools are part of a trust, it is right that trusts and schools joining them consider the benefits and challenges of integrating groups of schools. Much of this is addressed through the vitally important due diligence processes that Trusts and schools undertake. However, this paper extends the essence of due diligence beyond the legal and business undertaking to consider what it means to integrate professional practices.

CST response to the Department for Education's consultation on behaviour in schools, and suspension and permanent exclusions.

CST response to the Department for Education's 2022 consultation on Keeping Children Safe in Education.

This position paper sets out a number of proposals to help build a a strengthened system of SEND that is built on a social and affirmative model of disability for children with SEND and builds parental confidence.

We are at an exciting point in the history of education in England where, with care and attention, we could become the best system at getting better. If this is to become a reality, we must ask difficult questions, interrogate the evidence, commission more research and put the mission to advance education for public benefit at the heart of all that we do. We offer this narrative discussion paper, summarised in this policy card, for discussion and debate.

This summary provides an overview of CST's proposals on intelligent regulation for school trusts.

This summary outlines a potential new role for local authorities. We believe there is a fundamentally important and legitimate role for local government in education, but it is not synonymous with being a provider. We think there may be merit in thinking about the role of local authorities as protector, convenor, and supporter.

If we are going to build a school system in which schools are part of a group in a single governance and accountability structure, we need to be explicit and eloquent about what constitutes a strong trust. We offer this narrative paper for discussion and debate.

Our response to the Department for Education 'Fair school Funding for all: completing the reforms to the National Funding Formula' consultation.

The pandemic has had an impact on every child’s learning, and for disadvantaged pupils in particular. Research conducted by the University of Nottingham between January and September 2021 looked at how leaders in all types of school in 30 small, medium and large Trusts (many serving disadvantaged and "Red Wall” communities”) responded to the challenge of maintaining progress during a continuing period of considerable disruption.

We believe school trusts are well set up to play a civic role – particularly the larger trusts who may be quite large employers in an area and will have the capability and capacity to act with other civic partners. But even smaller trusts can all play a role – as many already do – as good civic partners to their local authority to advance education as a public good in their community.

Over the past 12 months, CST has been developing a new narrative promoting school trusts as education charities with a single legal and moral purpose – to advance education for public benefit. As part of our work on a new narrative, we have also been developing three ‘nested’ leadership narratives considering trust leadership, civic leadership, and system leadership.

This sector-led paper from CST sets out a direction of travel and calls for all political parties work to together with the sector to agree a long-term plan for education, to complete the reform journey which has its origins with the Labour administration at the turn of the century and has continued through the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and successive Conservative governments.