Hannah Jackson, Head of CST Professional Development
Governance is the first of the five pillars of our definition of what it means to be a strong trust, and we know that expert governance ensures that a trust’s values, ethos and strategy underpin everything it does, that executives are held to account for the educational outcomes of pupils, and that public money is well spent. To deliver on this, trustees need training, guidance, and support.
Trust governance is a fundamentally different proposition from maintained school governance. The increased accountability for school trust boards means that all trustees, no matter how experienced in education, need to reflect on this different context. Many trustees bring with them incredibly valuable knowledge from other sectors, but are less familiar with the unique operating environment of education and the layers of regulation and compliance that come with it.
At CST we have developed a range of training and development for trustees at all stages of their journey, specifically focused on these unique circumstances. We keep these under regular review to reflect the evolving challenges and changing regulations trusts need to navigate.
Our refreshed Essential Trustee programme starts again in the Summer Term. This nine-part weekly course is designed to take newer and less experienced trustees through a high-level overview of their responsibilities. The programme expands on our Governing a school trust members’ guidance, embedding a strong understanding of compliance and accountability frameworks and providing a solid grounding in the behaviours required to be a trustee and the structures that support trust governance.
With a respected roster of speakers bringing their expertise, the programme leader, Dawn Carman- Jones, uses her experience as chair of a growing trust with schools across two counties to guide delegates through this introductory programme, encouraging attendees to reflect on their new knowledge in the context of their own trust. Past delegates have called it a "very useful and informative programme to enhance understanding, especially for those new to being a trustee.”
Our Explained seminars are open to all trustees and offer an expert perspective on topics of strategic importance. From quality of education to estates management, from executive reviews to cybersecurity, these seminars cover the many areas that today’s trustees need to be on top of. As the series title suggests, these seminars ‘explain’ why these subjects matter for trusts, and how trustees should approach them without getting involved in the day-to-day operations of the trust.
These sessions are appropriate both for trustees without a background in the specific subject and those keen to refresh their knowledge and get up to date with the latest guidance and legislation. All Explained seminars are delivered by our expert partners and consultants, making their in-depth knowledge and experience available to trustees.
Trustees ready to take on a stronger leadership role will benefit from our Chairs Development Programme, which will next run from May and September. The course is led by governance consultant Jackie Eason; Jackie is an experienced board chair and was made an MBE in 2022 for services to education. This programme is designed for new and aspiring chairs, and equips delegates with the skills they require to lead a board to deliver its duties effectively. The course is highly rated, with a recent delegate describing the course as being "a combination of reassuring me I know something and lots of new learnings, in the company of great leaders, facilitators, programme leader and colleagues.” Structured over seven sessions, the course features expert speakers drawn from trusts, government, and our professional partners, along with plenty of opportunities for networking and discussions of the common challenges chairs face.
Jackie says: "Our attendees come from a range of backgrounds, some with extensive knowledge of chairing, and others who are completely new to the role. The cohort really appreciate the input from our experts, but it’s the networking and discussions which happen in the breakout rooms which really brings the learning to life for them.”
Alongside our timetabled courses, CST can also provide bespoke consultancy and external reviews to help trust boards understand and meet their development needs. Together, they are a crucial part of our mission to support our members and the wider education community.
Finally, trustees can join us at our Trustee and Governance Leaders conference in June, for an inspiring day of discussions and creating connections.
By enabling effective, expert governance, we can better unlock all our colleagues’ potential to make schools great places in which to work, learn and thrive.
