This report marks an important milestone in our journey to understand and grow the evidence around how school trusts effectively lead improvement across groups of schools. What emerges is that trusts, each with distinctive contexts and challenges, have shown considerable innovation, creativity, and adaptability in their approaches. This report seeks not to prescribe rigid methods but rather to capture common themes and promising practices, laying a foundation for shared learning across the sector.
A striking finding is the emphasis on the necessity of curating clear goals, starting with a shared definition of quality that aligns strategic direction with operational realities. We see that alignment – whether constant or adaptive – depends on nuanced decision-making and collaborative processes. Importantly, evidence-informed practice and rigorous, supportive evaluation processes appear to be central in guiding these decisions, underscoring the importance of internal and external evidence integration tailored to each trust’s unique circumstances.
Building capability and capacity has similarly emerged as pivotal, with trusts prioritising professional development, strategic identification of effective practice within the trust, and intentional cultivation of culture and leadership. The strength of subject and specialist networks across trusts highlights the powerful role of collective expertise, not only among teaching staff but increasingly extending across support staff, enriching the wider educational culture and environment.
In many trusts implementing improvement initiatives relies on establishing clear, cyclical processes. Proactive anticipation and management of potential challenges, coupled with thoughtful de-implementation practices, further illustrate the dynamic and reflective nature of successful trust-led improvement.
This report affirms that while there is no single "recipe" for trust-led school improvement, the conceptual model developed by CST offers a robust framework for understanding, comparing, and evolving improvement practices across the sector. It invites us all – leaders, practitioners, and policymakers – to continue contributing to a shared knowledge base, supporting each other to enhance educational opportunities for every child, in every school.
