Please note: Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) is now Lift Schools, this post may reference the name of the trust at time of posting.
In 2021, I was Principal of a primary academy located in Torquay. It was a three-form entry school, my second tenure as a head, and I was surrounded by an extraordinary group of staff and students who continually surpassed expectations, defying the limitations associated with a coastal school in an area of high socio-economic deprivation.
Then, with the advent of a new regional model, I managed to convince AET’s new CEO that I was up to the task of leading educational transformation at scale as a Regional Education Director. My region, the South West, is formed of four primary schools from Swindon to the school where I was Principal in Torquay.
At the launch of the Regional Education Director team in September 2021, I found myself amidst some formidable peers – leaders whose professionalism commanded my utmost respect and a hint of trepidation. It caused a brief flicker of self-doubt.
How could I encourage geographically distant groups of schools to unite?
How significant was the context?
How could we rise above our individual capacities?
Was I alone in grappling with this imposter syndrome?
As Regional Education Directors at AET, we have a mission dubbed AET490. For all the schools in our region and indeed our network to achieve 90%+ of pupils meeting the KS2 Expected Standard; 90%+ of KS1 reaching the Expected Standard in phonics; 90%+ achieving the chronological reading age; and 90% of KS4 level 4+ KS4 English and Maths.
No organisation has ever achieved this at scale. It is uncharted territory. When AET490 was set, it was especially daunting for the South West.
Post-lockdown assessment data painted a challenging picture; our region faced the longest journey among all the newly formed AET regions. Principals were steadfast in their faith in their own methods and strategies, but other regions were clearly outperforming us. This reality check drove us to question our beliefs and approach, ultimately leading to embracing humility - one of the founding aims of Project H.
Reviewing the ways of working in another AET region - Midlands - we were able to gain valuable insights. We studied the reading approaches of several schools, which were driving impressive results despite the area's high socio-economic deprivation. Their Reading Spine, CPD, oracy, quality of discrete lessons, and the impact on SAT cohorts was an eye-opener, reminding us that there is always room to learn.
And so I set up individual and team meetings, including challenging 'sparring sessions'. We have learned to appreciate the importance of 'alignment', a word that, at AET, has traditionally struck fear into the hearts of our principals.
We realised that a shared understanding, common language, and consistent model were essential for meaningful collaboration and impact. Our focus has been on implementation at scale - this is the key to ensuring all academies achieve the AET490 ambition.
The region’s greatest strength has been the readiness of our seasoned leaders to abandon rigid beliefs and embrace the potential of collective thinking.
Considering the vast geographical spread (310 miles round trip) of our schools, collaboration could have been difficult. But it wasn't. The urge to closely observe teaching, establish meaningful support, and prevent the loneliness often associated with headship was a powerful motivator.
As a leader of this group, I’ve looked to guide our leaders with five principles in mind:
Pupils first: our work must get close to the action, develop teaching, share excellence and improve classrooms.
Trust: we ‘bat’ for our academies. We are part of the team and are accountable alongside school leaders, as opposed to an uninvested advisor.
Entitlement to challenge and support: a known agenda, straight-talking, data-driven and actionable follow-up.
Excellence is a habit: our expectations are unapologetically high; we check the basics and notice the impact all through the process.
Team: we are building a sense of being part of something bigger, a way of thinking - ‘this is how we act in this team’, of making decisions that benefit all and with pride that fuels us to get the work done.
As with any school leadership team, we have learned to identify these principles that guide our collaboration, to work on the factors that enable excellence, and to spend time with individuals to understand the nuances of context. Indeed, our contexts vary, but the elements that enable effective teaching are the same - whether in a two-form entry in Gloucestershire, a one-form entry in Swindon, or elsewhere.
Over the past two years, I’m hopeful that we have laid the groundwork for the continuous improvement that is needed to reach these unprecedented levels of achievement. As a region, we have already seen the benefits of this way of working in our standing with Ofsted.
We've certainly experienced a steep learning curve, but these past two years are just the beginning. There is much more work to do.
Given how ambitious our AET490 goal is, our approach as a region has to be more evolutionary than revolutionary. But with a continued focus to look beyond our existing knowledge, embrace alignment, and balance year-on-year planning with sustainable change, the future is bright indeed.
Our region now stands at the threshold of something extraordinary, I’m sure.
This is part of a series that takes an honest look at the priorities of each of the five regions at AET.
For more on our priorities in the South West, Karl Sampson, shares his vision for breaking down regional barriers on the journey to educational excellence.
As an introduction for this series, Rebecca Boomer-Clark, AET CEO, explains why we have revised our operating model and established five distinct regions.
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