Public policy making, especially in modern times, places a premium on consultation and engagement with the sector or profession or area of the public and private realm which the government department is charged with overseeing. This is both for theoretical reasons – because much of what government does is effectively done by consent and there is prima facie need for some element of collaborative discussion – and also because on a practical basis, much of the information which government requires in order to conduct policymaking is held by the wider environment. Governments need to understand what the scale is of the issue they are addressing; the impact of what they are proposing to do or stop doing; and to hear views as to the achievability and feasibility of proposals.

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.

This paper, part of our 'Bridge to the Future' series, sets out the vital role of trusts as employers and how to build sustainable people strategies in our sector. It argues that policy makers need to engage more with trusts as employers and better connect with the HR profession. The paper argues firmly that trusts themselves are the key enablers of quality people management in our sector and will play a vital role in building a sustainable education workforce.

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.

In this paper, we look back over the last ten years since the 2010 Academies Act to see what we can learn about policymaking with hindsight. It builds on the narrative of our prior publications, and in particular our overarching policy document, our sector-led white paper on the future shape of the education system in England

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.