In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Becky Francis CBE, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and one of the leading voices in England on educational inequality and the attainment gap.

Across her career in research, policy and education leadership, Becky has focused on one central question: why do educational outcomes remain so closely tied to disadvantage – and what would it actually take to change that?

In this conversation, Becky reflects on what first drew her to this work, why the attainment gap remains so stubborn, and what it would mean for the system to genuinely treat closing it as its “north star”. She explains why high-quality teaching remains the single biggest lever schools have to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, but also why schools cannot tackle educational inequality alone when poverty, attendance, language development and wider family hardship sit outside the school gates.

We also explore the Curriculum and Assessment Review that Becky chaired, including the idea of “high standards for all”, the challenge of curriculum overload, and why England needs an education system that offers both excellence and equity.

We explore:

This is a thoughtful and timely conversation for trust leaders, school leaders and anyone interested in what the evidence really tells us about educational inequality and what it will take to build a system that delivers both excellence and equity for every child.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport 

Subscribe to our newsletter, Trust Matters: key.sc/trustmatters 

Connect with Becky on LinkedIn.

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

In this episode, we're joined by Michael Kane, Policy Manager at Public First and one of the lead researchers behind the Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools.

Drawing on new national research with pupils, parents and teachers, Michael explores the growing spread of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy beliefs among young people, and what this means for schools.

From deepfakes and AI-generated content to online conspiracy theories and extremist narratives, schools are increasingly finding themselves on the front line of a rapidly changing digital landscape. As smartphones become more common at younger ages and social media continues to shape how young people consume information, teachers are being asked to navigate complex conversations that many feel underprepared for.

Michael shares insights from the Commission's latest report, including the impact misinformation is having on classrooms, the challenges teachers face when responding to false or misleading content, and why media literacy is becoming an increasingly important part of education.

We explore:

This is a timely and thought-provoking conversation for trust leaders, school leaders and anyone interested in helping young people navigate an increasingly complex digital world.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport 

Subscribe to our newsletter, Trust Matters: key.sc/trustmatters 

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

In this episode, we're joined by John Yarham, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, the national organisation working to help every young person access high-quality careers education, employer experiences and pathways into future employment.

With more than 25 years' experience across education, skills and careers, John shares his perspective on one of the biggest challenges facing schools today: preparing young people for a future of work that is changing faster than ever.

We discuss why traditional work experience placements are becoming harder to sustain, what a modern approach to work experience could look like, and how schools can help prevent more young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).

John also explores the growing importance of essential skills, the role of confidence in career success, and how schools should respond to the opportunities and challenges created by AI.

We explore:

This is a practical and thought-provoking conversation for trust leaders, school leaders, careers leaders and anyone interested in helping young people make successful transitions into education, employment and future careers.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport 

Subscribe to our newsletter, Trust Matters: key.sc/trustmatters 

Connect with John on LinkedIn.

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

In this episode, we’re joined by Cathie Paine CBE, Chief Executive of REAch2 Academy Trust, the largest primary-only trust in England.

Cathie has been part of REAch2 since the very beginning, joining as the trust’s first employee in 2012. Since then, she has helped grow the organisation from 4 schools to a national organisation of 65 schools across 20 local authorities, many of which joined the trust after experiencing significant challenges.

Drawing on more than 30 years in education, Cathie reflects on what it takes to scale a trust while maintaining a strong culture, clear purpose and unwavering focus on children. She shares lessons from leading school improvement at scale, why leadership remains the most important lever for transformation, and how Reach2 is working to ensure every child receives the best possible start in life.

We explore:

This is a thoughtful and inspiring conversation for trust leaders, school leaders and anyone interested in culture, school improvement, inclusion and what it takes to build a trust where every school can thrive.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport 

Subscribe to our newsletter, Trust Matters: key.sc/trustmatters 

Connect with Cathie on LinkedIn.

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

In this episode, we’re joined by Robyn Ellis, school and college trust leader at Dixons Academies Trust, whose career spans both global corporate leadership and education system transformation.

Drawing on her experience leading leadership development at Booking.com and now working across a major multi-academy trust, Robyn shares what education can learn from the corporate world, and where schools must lead differently. She explores how leadership systems, culture and organisational design shape staff experience, and why bold decisions — including removing job titles, introducing coaching-led performance development, and implementing a 9-day fortnight — can transform how organisations operate.

We explore:

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation for trust and school leaders thinking about leadership development, flexible working, culture and building sustainable organisations where both staff and pupils can thrive.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

Only around 1% of headteachers in the UK are Black. What will it take to change that and what does leadership really look like when you’re one of the few?

In this episode, we’re joined by Nadine Bernard, headteacher, author and founder of Aspiring Heads, and a national voice on inclusive leadership, representation and belonging in education.

Nadine reflects on her journey to becoming one of the youngest Black headteachers in the UK, sharing the realities of stepping into leadership early, navigating visibility and bias, and leading a school through significant transformation to achieve strong outcomes. Drawing on her experience turning around a previously closed school, she explores how high expectations, inclusive culture and relationship-centred leadership can work together to deliver both belonging and achievement.

We explore:

This is a powerful and reflective conversation for trust and school leaders who want to build inclusive cultures, support diverse leadership pathways and create schools where both staff and pupils can thrive.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

In this episode, we’re joined by Bradley Busch, co-founder of InnerDrive and a leading voice on the science of learning, memory and evidence-informed practice in education.

Bradley draws on his background in elite sport and educational psychology to unpack why so much of what feels like good learning often isn’t, and how understanding memory, cognitive load and thinking can radically improve classroom practice. He also explores some of the biggest and most contested issues facing schools right now, including mobile phones, AI, behaviour and assessment, through a research-informed lens.

We explore:

This is a thoughtful, evidence-rich conversation for trust and school leaders who want to cut through noise and want to make more confident, evidence-informed decisions about teaching and learning.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

In this episode, we’re joined by Sufian Sadiq, Director of Talent and Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust, and a national voice on equity, diversity and inclusion in education.

Sufian shares his journey from growing up in Luton to leading teacher development, recruitment and retention across a trust that has bucked national trends - and explains why the “secret” isn’t a single perk or policy. It’s people. Specifically, the everyday behaviours of leaders and line managers, and whether staff feel they belong, are supported, and are treated well.

We explore:

This is a powerful conversation about leadership as service, building belonging, and creating cultures where talented people want to stay and thrive.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

Welcome to Series 3 of Trust Matters: Lessons in Leadership - the podcast where we explore the big ideas, challenges and lived experiences shaping the future of trust and school leadership.

We’re opening the series with a powerful and timely conversation about one of the most urgent issues facing education today: how we make teaching an attractive, sustainable profession again.

Joining us is Baroness Mary Bousted, Chair of The Teaching Commission and one of the most influential voices in education. Mary began her career as an English teacher before moving into teacher training and, ultimately, union leadership. She went on to serve as Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, representing more than half a million members, and has been a tireless advocate for teachers’ working lives, professional autonomy and wellbeing.

In this episode, we explore the findings of the Teaching Commission’s Shaping the Future of Teaching report, which reveals the scale of the recruitment and retention crisis - including the fact that 40% of teachers leave the profession within 10 years, and that it now takes 10 new teachers to replace every 7 who leave.

Mary reflects on her leadership journey, what she learned leading one of the UK’s largest unions, and what continues to drive her sense of purpose. We dig into the roots of excessive workload, the role of leadership culture in staff wellbeing, the impact of poverty and shrinking public services on schools, and why flexible working must become a serious part of the conversation.

This is a thoughtful, challenging and deeply informed conversation about leadership, trust, and what it will really take to rebuild teaching as a profession people want to stay in.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport

Read Mary’s book: Support Not Surveillance: How to solve the teacher retention crisis

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

Ofsted’s new inspection framework marks one of the biggest shifts in education in a generation – but what does it really mean for schools and trusts?

In this special bonus episode of Trust Matters: Lessons in Leadership, Ellie speaks to Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, about his ambition to build, in his words, “the most human version of Ofsted yet.”

Together, they explore:

This is a rare chance to step inside the thinking of the person leading Ofsted’s reform and to hear, in his own words, why “Ofsted must help, it mustn’t hinder” if the system is to serve all children, especially the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.