Chris Kirk in conversation with Martina Lecky, CEO Vanguard Learning Trust, and Iona Jackson, Managing Director, Edurio
"It takes a village to raise a child”
To achieve outstanding student outcomes, every role in a trust—whether in education, operations, or leadership—must be valued equally. Teachers can’t teach, and leaders can’t lead, without the support systems behind them.
At first glance, it seems easy to see how operations teams contribute to educational excellence:
- Finance - keeping the trust financially strong, unlocking funding, and making smarter spending choices
- HR - attracting and developing great staff and fostering a positive workplace culture
- Estates - creating safe, inspiring spaces where students can thrive
- IT - powering digital learning for a modern, adaptable education experience.
Mind the gap!
Yet, the reality is more complex, and we have identified four potential lines of fracture:
1. Operational and educational: According to our CJK Trust Research Panel , only half of trust operational leaders feel part of the ‘One team, one mission’ ethos.
2. Leadership and teams: Edurio 's staff survey, collecting views from 70,000 school and trust staff in England last year, highlighted that while trust leadership may believe their trust has a strong shared culture, staff at other levels - both teaching and operational - often feel disconnected from the trust community.
3. Head office and schools: Our CJK Aurora benchmarking data, collected over the last 7 years through the analysis of multiple MAT operating models, reveals that school leaders can perceive head office services to lack the sharp accountability and high perform culture that is demanded of schools.
4. Executive and non-Executive: non-Execs from corporate backgrounds may be used to mature organisations with structured governance, financial buffers, and long-term planning, whereas many trusts are rapidly scaling operations, responding to policy shifts, and ‘building the plane while flying it.’
These four gaps can damage trust-wide cohesion if not carefully managed.
Start with ‘why?’
A unifying vision is the best way to bridge these gaps, and a trust’s vision only becomes real when everyone believes in it, feels part of it, and understands their role in achieving it. Here are four practical tips from trust leaders:
1. Embed a culture of true collaboration
Trusts that successfully implement ‘One Team, One Mission’ create opportunities for collaboration which bridge the lines of fracture. For example, Vanguard Learning Trust, has introduced:
- Trust-wide Wednesdays: a dedicated day each week for cross-school collaboration;
- Horizontal teams : trust-wide functional groups for all roles including data leads, receptionists, PSHE leads and premises staff;
- Lessons learned forums: a platform for all teams to contribute towards continuous improvement;
- Staff recognition programmes: a celebration of contributions that align with the trust's core values: aspiration, community and equity.
2. Clarify accountability and promote transparency
Clear accountability, aligned to the trust’s culture, is essential. Some key initiatives trusts have implemented include:
- Joint competency frameworks : provide clear ‘gives and gets’ for shared services to ensure responsibilities are well-documented and understood;
- Training & development : ensure everyone has the right skills and training to fulfil their roles and responsibilities effectively;
- Transparency in decision-making : share reasoning behind financial and operational decisions openly to build trust and understanding.
3. Develop career pathways for operational staff
In order to retain and develop top talent within trust operations, structured career pathways are essential. Effective strategies include:
- Apprenticeship programmes : ‘grow’ your own talent in IT, finance, HR, and estates;
- Professional qualifications:embed industry-recognised qualifications; ISBL is making great strides in this area;
- Career pathways:establish structured opportunities for operations staff to enhance skills and mobility.
4. Improve communication and engagement
If staff don’t feel informed, valued and involved, they won’t feel part of the trust’s mission. Martina Lecky shares key strategies for effective communication:
- Reinforce the ‘why’:embed the trust’s mission in everything, from staff conferences to internal communications and recognition programmes. In Vanguard Learning Trust, a strong focus on inclusion provides a powerful rallying call to staff;
- Engagement strategies:use biennial staff surveys and regular ‘pulse’ checks to identify and address issues quickly;
- Consistent communication : establish a regular staff communication schedule so staff know what to expect and when. Ensure operational teams have a voice in newsletters and updates on strategic plans such as capital projects. (If you feel like you’re ‘over-communicating’ you’re probably on the right track!).
Measuring progress: how do you know it’s working?
Trusts can track the success of towards ‘One Team, One Mission’ through key indicators:
- Engagement:
- Staff survey results on perceived value and unity
- Attendance and participation rates in trust-wide events
- Collaboration:
- Number of cross-departmental projects completed
- Feedback on cross-role initiatives
- Recognition and inclusion:
- Percentage of staff recognised through formal programs
- Diversity of staff included in decision-making groups
- Communication reach and effectiveness:
- Frequency and reach of communication channels
- Satisfaction scores on internal communications.
By tracking these metrics, trusts can move beyond vision statements and ensure that One Team, One Mission isn’t just an aspiration but a lived experience for every member of the trust.
The CST Blog welcomes perspectives from a diverse range of guest contributors. The opinions expressed in blogs are the views of the author(s), and should not be read as CST guidance or CST’s position.
