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Share Tuesday 15th July | 10am – 2:40pm
What sets high-performing trusts apart – and how can others apply the same strategies to drive sustainable improvement?
Join Edurio for a virtual, half-day event designed specifically for academy trust CEOs, COOs, HR Directors, and Directors of Education. This conference brings together insights from Edurio’s research and award-winning trusts to explore the practical approaches that drive staff wellbeing, pupil engagement, and organisational success.
Sign up for the webinar →On the agenda:
Session 1 – The DNA of High-Performing Trusts
Speakers: Ernest Jenavs from Edurio and Dawn Haywood from Windsor Academy Trust
10:00 – 10:30
An opening look at the defining characteristics of high-performing multi-academy trusts. This session explores what it means to lead with clarity, purpose, and sustained impact across a diverse trust landscape.
Session 2 – Balancing Staff Workload and Strategic Value
Speakers: Iona Jackson from Edurio, David Harris from EEEA and Gavin Booth from Infinity Academies Trust
10:30 – 11:15
How can trusts support staff wellbeing while maintaining high standards and strategic ambition? This session uncovers practical approaches to managing workload and aligning operations with long-term trust goals.
Session 3 – Pupil and Parental Voice in Trust Strategy
Speakers: Imanta Nigals from Edurio, Claire Gething from Windsor Academy Trust and Rob Marsh from Trinity MAT
11:15 – 12:00
Trusts that listen deeply to their pupils and parents are better positioned to drive meaningful change. This session explores how stakeholder feedback can shape everything from classroom practice to central strategy.
Session 4 – Becoming an Employer of Choice
Speakers: Iona Jackson from Edurio, Dan Morrow and Lucy Gambier from Cornwall Education Learning Trust and Jayne Clarke from The Pinnacle Learning Trust.
12:30 – 1:15
Attracting and retaining great staff starts with a strong culture. This session looks at how trusts build environments where people want to work – and stay – through leadership, opportunity, and trust-wide alignment.
Session 5 – Using Feedback for Strategic Impact
Speakers: Imanta Nigals from Edurio and Sally Apps from Cabot Learning Federation
1:15 – 1:45
Feedback isn’t just about reflection – it’s a tool for action. This final session demonstrates how stakeholder insights are being used to inform trust strategy, drive improvement, and strengthen decision-making.
Closing words and reflections
Speakers: Ernest Jenavs from Edurio
1:45 – 2:00
Why attend? You'll gain:
1. A clear view of what “top-performing” looks like:
Hear directly from the trusts that have received awards for staff wellbeing, workload balance, pupil happiness, and more, as they share what has helped them thrive, even in the face of sector-wide challenges.
2. Practical ideas to improve staff, pupil and parent experience:
Learn how top trusts are approaching workload, wellbeing, pupil voice, and parent engagement – without compromising on outcomes.
3. Peer-led inspiration from award recipients:
Hear directly from leaders of trusts recognised in Edurio’s Staff, Pupil and Parent Awards and discover what’s helped them succeed.
4. A chance to dig into what matters to you:
Choose from a multitude of sessions to explore your priorities – whether that’s staff culture, parental involvement, trust strategy, or inclusive leadership.
5. Tools to use stakeholder feedback more strategically:
See how real trusts are using survey insights to inform decision-making, track progress, and strengthen alignment across teams.
Speakers:
Ernest Jenavs
Co-founder and CEO of Edurio
Ernest is the CEO of Edurio, England’s leading stakeholder feedback platform for schools and school trusts. He is a frequent public speaker both in the UK and internationally on the effective use of stakeholder feedback in schools and has published extensive research on stakeholder feedback, staff wellbeing and school improvement.
Iona Jackson
Managing Director of Edurio
Iona leads on turning Edurio’s national datasets into useful and impactful insights for trust and school leaders. Since joining Edurio in 2021, Iona has worked on national reports focused on topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion and staff retention.
Imanta Nigals
Head of Customer Experience at Edurio
Imanta works with the Insights and Content team to build meaningful resources for customers around effective stakeholder feedback. She has developed and implemented guidebooks, seminars and other resources tailored to the needs of customers looking to get the most out of their survey data.
Gavin Booth
CEO of Infinity Academies Trust
Gavin is the founding CEO of Infinity Academies Trust, a growing family of Greater Lincolnshire-based primary schools. The Trust has consistently ranked highly amongst staff in Edurio surveys, receiving two Edurio Top 10 Awards in 2024-25.
Gavin has over 20 years’ experience in primary leadership and has also worked for the LA, leading on education strategy and supporting schools in difficulty.
Jayne Clarke OBE
Chief Executive Officer at The Pinnacle Learning Trust
Jayne has had a long career in the sixth form college sector, as Principal of Oldham Sixth Form College prior to establishing The Pinnacle Learning Trust, which includes primary and secondary academies in addition to OSFC. She is committed to partnership working to transform young peoples’ lives and promoting the application of research evidence in education.
Claire Gething
Executive Leader at Windsor Academy Trust
Claire sits on the trust’s Executive Team and has overall responsibility for marketing and communications across the trust’s family of schools. Claire also has strategic oversight of Civic Leadership – one of the trust’s strategic ‘big moves’ – supporting schools with community engagement, leading civic partnerships and managing the WAT Community Foundation.
Dawn Haywood
Chief Executive of Windsor Academy Trust
Dawn is the chief executive of Windsor Academy Trust, with 15 schools across five local authorities in priority and education investment areas across the West Midlands. She is a member of the Confederation of School Trusts Improvement Inquiry and sits on two DfE Priority Education Investment Area Local Partnership Boards.
Sally Apps
Deputy CEO of Cabot Learning Federation
Sally Apps is Deputy CEO of the Cabot Learning Federation, overseeing education for ages 2–19 across 35 mainstream and specialist settings. A committed system leader, Sally has advised the DfE as a former South West Headteacher Board member and contributes nationally as a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, a National Oracy Commission member, and a governor in other multi-academy trusts.
Dan Morrow
Trust Lead, Cornwall Education Learning Trust
Dan Morrow is a prominent figure in the education sector, known for his transformative leadership and commitment to community-focused education. He currently serves as Trust Lead of Cornwall Education Learning Trust (CELT). His own experiences make him a passionate advocate for social justice, and he works tirelessly to promote vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, to ensure that equity, as well as equality, are at the heart of educational provision.
Subscribe to the Edurio YouTube channel for easy access to on-demand webinars, research insights and conversations with education leaders — practical resources to support your work, whenever you need them.
