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.

This guidance has been withdrawn due to operational, funding, and policy changes since publication.

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 short paper, part of our 'Bridge to the Future' series, Tim Oates CBE sets out the case for utilising evidence and the ways we should think about future policy reform to avoid walking straight into long-term trouble.

In this 'A Bridge to the Future' series paper, Dixons Academies Trust's Funmilola Stewart and Jenny Thompson argue that while the application and delivery of powerful knowledge within schools is recognised as a tool for social justice, for this to be truly consequential our focus must shift from a broad consideration of the disparities between the elite and the disadvantaged, and towards an acknowledgement of the intersectionality underpinning social disadvantage.

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

This document should be read alongside the Department for Education’s guidance for maintained schools applying to join a school. It provides an overview of good practice on public engagement and consultation at each step of the process.

Eight years on from David Hargreaves' first think pieces on a self-improving school system, this paper, written in collaboration with Teaching Schools Council and Browne Jacobson, dives into what may be next for the future of the school system.