John Dickens

I’m responsible for ensuring children in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country have the best educational experiences. For years, our trust has taken pride in being inclusive – keeping children others might exclude, working with familie... See more

Lynsey Holzer on why trust CEOs need more accountability, how she brought business leadership to the MAT boardroom and why she tells her staff she loves them … “More accountability” was not the answer I was expecting from a question to a trust CEO about t... See more

Across the country, falling rolls, rising Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) demand, and tightening budgets are making it harder for schools to stand entirely alone. As the government prepares its much-anticipated schools white paper, it fa... See more

School leaders will have their fingers crossed that chancellor Rachel Reeves pulls a rabbit from her Budget hat, but the mood music isn’t promising. With budgets already stretched and the government’s position on teacher pay rises suggesting that the bulk... See more

When I was appointed CEO in 2021, the most pressing issue I wanted to address was consistency. As a headteacher, you want consistency in every classroom. As a trust leader, you want consistency across your schools. I wanted to create the conditions so eve... See more