Congratulations to our 2023 shortlist
CEO of the year
Alex Russell, Bourne Education Trust
Alex is a highly driven, passionate leader who inspires huge loyalty from others. His moral purpose and real commitment to inclusive practice underpins everything the Trust has achieved and permeates through the organisation at all levels. Alex rightly prides himself on his relationships with colleagues and this means they are highly committed to the work of the Trust.
Darren Holmes, The Enquire Learning Trust
Quite simply, Darren deserves this award. Not only to acknowledge his absolute passion and commitment for providing the best education to our pupils, but for his will to improve their lives in any way we can. He leads with extraordinary botheredness, and inspires this in everyone he contacts.
Mark Wilson, Wellspring Academy Trust
Mark is a true visionary, a leader with big ideas and the bravery to make them happen. His determination to develop Wellspring as a substantial force for social good is having impacts at every level, from enabling all children from all backgrounds to reach their unique potential to creating outstanding, joyful environments for children and young people to learn in.
Tina Lovey, Rivermead Inclusive Trust
Tina Lovey is the heartbeat of the Rivermead Inclusive Trust. When she says that her decision making always centralises around our learners and that we do things for the ‘greater good of our children’, she certainly means it! Whatever she is involved in, her strong sense of moral purpose and commitment in the pursuit of excellence is at the forefront.
Will Smith, Greenshaw Learning Trust
Will combines kindness, bravery, wisdom and ambition in equal measure. These allow him to run a highly successful MAT which prides itself on changing children’s lives. More than this, with its freely available outreach projects, GLT impacts on children and adults beyond its own doors. Will’s leadership has permeated the organisation so that his values are absolutely what drives this success.
CFO of the year - sponsored by School Business Services
Benedicte Yue, River Learning Trust
Benedicte transformed the finance function from a pure accounting role to a strategic function with more focus on financial management, helping redirect resources to support educational priorities and ensure financial stability and resilience. She has strong leadership skills, working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams, building a cohesive central finance team and improving schools’ support, while strengthening our processes leading to excellent audit outcomes.
Gary Mizler, The LEARNERs’ Trust
In 2021 our Trust was served a Notice to Improve: we had an unclear strategy and very little capacity. We desperately needed to turn around the focus, feeling and effectiveness of finance. In January 2022, we employed our new CFO: Gary Mizler. From the moment he walked through our doors he has transformed our fortunes both physically and metaphorically!
Kate Sanders, Bourne Education Trust
Kate Sanders is an outstanding, driven CFO. She is, without exception, a highly regarded leader with specialised skills in all areas of finance and operations. Kate ensures back-office excellence and high-quality service that allows the Trust to shine and pupils to thrive. Modest to a fault, Kate is the rock on which this Trust is built.
Mark Ratcliffe, Activate Learning Education Trust
Mark has brought stability, accuracy and high performance to our financial system, moving the Trust from £1.8m deficit in 2019 to its current cumulative surplus position. He ensures our schools consistently make the most of their budgets, make effective investments and continue to grow, while making sure the public purse we receive is spent wisely for the communities we serve.
Community trust of the year
Bridge Academy Trust
Community is a core value of our Trust. Its definition is clear and varied. We do much work in this area, with much to see; a key feature now is our trust-wide Community Award for every child in the trust to focus on and develop their community work and their ethical approach; understanding on helping others, the environment and community.
CORE Education Trust
CORE Education Trust has gone above and beyond to welcome refugee and migrant students and their families – creating a bespoke language programme to help students integrate, feel part of the community and thrive. We are proud that CORE Hello has had a highly positive impact on students’ progress in English, improved their wellbeing and supported wider families to settle.
E-ACT
E-ACT is a national cross-phase trust rooted in community action and support. We provide care for not only the children we teach, but for their families acting as a bridge between a range of charities, agencies, and interventions to support those most in need. We help families help themselves with dignity and respect.
East Midlands Academy Trust
Each school is the sum of its communities – its pupils, staff, families, governors, volunteers, neighbours, as well as local organisations and groups. At East Midlands Academy Trust, we recognise the benefits that can be achieved by having a two-way relationship with each of these, and across all our schools strive to find effective ways to engage with all our communities.
Ormiston Academies Trust
OAT’s #Wewill project has engaged 9,000 young people across England in high quality youth social action projects, with the aim to create a new generation informed about issues, skilled in terms of leadership and oracy skills, and empowered to contribute and be the change they want to see within their communities.
The Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust
We are proud of our strong community presence, within the south of the London Borough of Hillingdon. With absolute passion, dedication and commitment, our solution-focused aspirations continue to empower us to work in partnership in our community and local businesses. We are embarking even further on our journey, so we can embrace and maximise our service offer. Together, we provide the best educational, developmental, and learning environments for all our community stakeholders, from 0 to 90!
Digital innovation award
Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust
We are exceptionally proud of our online offer to students across, and beyond, our MAT. Through our ‘Get Ahead’ programme, we have harnessed the power of online teaching and devised a way to teach hundreds of children, online, across 15 weekly, live sessions.
LEO Academy Trust
LEO Academy Trust serves over 3,800 pupils across seven high-performing primary schools in Sutton. The Trust is committed to high-quality learning, excellence and opportunity for all children and staff. With this vision and dedication to lifelong learning opportunities, all our teachers and staff provide a safe, inspiring learning environment where every child is equipped to realise their full potential.
Shaw Education Trust
Our trust wants each individual pupil to reach their full potential by offering tailored learning experiences with the help of a one-to-one iPad/device program. James has revolutionised our work across the trust. We have gone from iPads in one school to now 21 schools. Technology is now at the beating heart of the trust.
The Park Federation Academy Trust
Last year, The Park Federation Academy Trust began to lay down a foundation for a robust digital strategy. We focused on three areas to do this: building buy-in, building capacity and building good digital practice. The impact in achieving these outcomes was measured using: teacher participation, teacher and student feedback and content creation. Innovative use of technology to enhance good practice is at the heart of our digital strategy.
Employer of the year
Beacon Multi-Academy Trust
BMAT is an exceptional employer – we run schools our staff love working in. Staff are well supported, they have access to great career development and they receive superb benefits. We are imaginative in our approach to supporting staff – and we do the things that matter to them – manageable workload, an on-site nursery, cost-of-living support, private healthcare and more.
Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust
Ensuring ‘Every Child Achieves’ is only possible because we recruit fantastic candidates who strive for the greatest outcomes for young people. In a sector that has never been tougher, we recognise the importance of being valued - once with us, we develop, support and reward our colleagues in many different ways so that we remain their employer of choice.
Excelsior Multi Academy Trust
Excelsior MAT puts its staff at the forefront of all it does. We believe that for us to be successful then our staff have to be successful as well. Our purpose is to create an environment where staff want to come to work, contribute to something bigger than themselves, feel safe and valued and go home happy.
New Collaborative Learning Trust
NCLT is an employer of choice for educational professionals in Yorkshire because it puts staff wellbeing at the heart of its strategy. Whether that’s thinking through staff workload and deadlines, finding new ways to reward staff or setting aside time for Trust wellbeing days, NCLT works hard at recognising and rewarding the hard work of all its employees.
Environmental trust of the year
Abbey Multi Academy Trust
With over 4700 students and 700 staff across eight sites in Leeds and Calderdale, we recognise the potential impact and influence that we have on our environment. Through a whole Trust approach, driven by a desire to educate, nurture and empower our staff and students to be sustainable citizens, we are embedding sustainability into everything we do.
Bellevue Place Education Trust
In the space of just 12 months, BPET has cut energy consumption by 25%, saved 59 tonnes of carbon and created a lighter, brighter learning environment. We have installed solar in all the roof space possible and, through eco-champions in every school, we are driving behavioural change to give an immediate positive impact on environmental responsibility and energy consumption.
Northern Star Academies Trust
Northern Star Academies Trust places environmental sustainability as a core trust value and strategic priority. Through the Trust vision, ethos, and strategy we exemplify what it means to be environmentally conscious educators. By creating a leadership environment and school climate that is conducive to effective sustainability we make a remarkable and impactful difference to children’s lives and the wider community.
Ormiston Academies Trust
OAT has a low carbon footprint as a result of the action taken to understand consumption, change cultural behaviour to reduce consumption, and use green technology to be more efficient with building and operational systems. The Trust is committed to furthering sustainability through educational activities and implementing measures to meet environmental legislation, reduce carbon footprint and protect our natural resources.
Windsor Academy Trust
Windsor Academy Trust is committed to leaving the world in a better place for generations to come. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and this is ensuring we drive meaningful progress towards a greener future. We do this not because we have to, but because we believe it is the right thing to do.
Governance professional of the year - sponsored by CST
Heledd Walker, Activate Learning Education Trust
Heledd provides robust, accurate guidance to each school’s Local Governing Committee (LGA) and to ALET’s trustees. She is knowledgeable and always on hand to provide guidance to ensure governance is of the highest standard, having impact and is compliant. She nurtures relationships, always putting others first. Her calm, trusted approach means our governance is always in a positive position.
Rebecca Rafferty , Changing Lives In Collaboration (CLIC) Trust
Beccy is an exceptional Governance Support Officer (GSO) and has been transformational in her role. Her hard work and passion are an inspiration and have resulted in rapid improvements in the quality and impact of governance. Beccy is wholly committed to ensuring that all governors are supported and developed to govern to the highest possible standard.
Melanie Humphreys, The Mast Academy Trust
Mel is quite simply exceptional. Mel has revolutionised Governance within our trust. She has high expectations - ensuring we can harness the expertise of our boards to the maximum benefit of our pupils. All this done by relentlessly upskilling herself; setting up robust systems and processes and ensuring those responsible for Governance are empowered to make a real difference.
Growth and impact award
Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
In 2019 we were a Trust of three Catholic schools, by July 2022 we had grown to 39. Located in the Northeast, we serve a large, deprived area. Yet our schools are thriving and are bound by the principles that, ‘A great education has the power to transform lives’ and ‘we must be greater than the sum of our parts’.
Greenshaw Learning Trust
Greenshaw Learning Trust was recently named by Schools Week as the ‘open source academy trust’. We are extremely proud of the impact we have had, both in our own schools and communities and across the education sector more widely.
Ormiston Academies Trust
OAT recently grew recently by accepting four London Alternative Provision (AP) academies that were in financial, reputational and operational difficulties. These challenges were impacting on their future sustainability. Over the first year of operation, OAT have worked with the APs, DFE, LAs and other stakeholders to ensure they are sustainable into the future delivering quality provision for the most vulnerable learners.
Rise Multi Academy Trust
Rise has combined both rapid growth and significant impact. Alongside almost doubling in size, our schools are showing huge improvements at every level. Most joined the trust rated in a less than good Ofsted category, but 100% of children now learn in a good or better school and our outcomes are now at or above nearly all national measures.
Inclusivity award
Birmingham Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust
BDMAT has been working extensively over the last few years to ensure that our diverse staff and pupils feel truly valued, they are not discriminated against, and their needs are met. Our school curricular have also been rewritten to decolonise what we teach and promote diversity across a range of subjects. Our recruitment processes have also been revamped.
Bourne Education Trust
Equality, diversity and inclusion (‘EDI’) are fundamental to our core values. Across BET, we strive to embed EDI and a sense of belonging into everything that we do. We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive organisation, committed to continually raising awareness of equality and diversity matters and minimising discrimination and prejudice so that everyone can thrive.
Excelsior Multi Academy Trust
At Excelsior, we proactively teach children to feel confident and speak about difference and diversity. Our mission statement calls on all schools in our Trust to be, “Outstanding beacons of equality where pupils succeed in a safe, innovative and vibrant community.” The No Outsiders ethos, today, used in hundreds of schools across the UK, was written and developed here.
Lionheart Educational Trust
Lionheart Educational Trust have taken a multi-faceted approach to driving forward diversity and inclusivity to ensure our people from all aspects of society have a voice at the table. Our approach means all individuals, both students and staff, are able to thrive in our organisation. Our approach is both strategic and creative and is already having impact.
The Golden Thread Alliance
The Golden Thread Alliance, a Trust of nine Primary Schools in Kent, has Inclusion at its heart. Its six values of Respect, Equality, Courage, Integrity, Ambition and Kindness have Inclusion as its core purpose. Every child, every adult, working together regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, social background or SEND need. We are a happy Trust that welcomes EVERYONE.
Transform Trust
In 2018, a school SENCO presented an innovative plan to enhance our inclusive provision. In 2020, fuelled by the murder of George Floyd, a teacher implored us to rethink our Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging commitment. Both ignited creative thinking, challenging conversations, huge amounts of learning/unlearning, and a positive gear change in our culture and conviction that every voice counts.
MAT of the year - sponsored by Edurio
Agate Momentum Trust
Agate Momentum Trust should be recognised as MAT of the year because of what it achieves for its community. It delivers a world class education to create world class citizens. The Trust is creative and innovative, researching and implementing best practice from around the world. The Trust’s outcomes are remarkable against the backdrop of the disadvantaged communities it serves.
Bourne Education Trust
We are defined by social justice and inclusion. Community centred, we pride ourselves on delivering a high-quality education, whatever the circumstances. As a multi-faceted trust we ‘learn without borders’ and offer seamless movement between different phases and specialisms. We transform schools characterised by institutional failure to become vibrant places of learning that enhance the life chances of our learners.
E-ACT
E-ACT is a national cross-phase trust focused on developing the whole child, working closely with our communities. We believe inclusion and the wider needs of our students are essential to great learning and combine this with a rigorous school improvement model to deliver great outcomes for our students through our Opening Minds Opening Doors strategy.
Star Academies
Star Academies embeds outstanding practice across its strategic business areas: educational excellence, operational excellence and service to communities. Star’s approach combines high support and high challenge for pupils in its 31 schools. Outcomes show reduction in attainment gaps, spurring social mobility. Innovative partnerships maintain the trust at the forefront of sector development, keeping Star’s contribution to system leadership compelling and relevant.
Victorious Academies Trust
Victorious Academies Trust is an intelligent, innovative, collaborative, caring, highly aspirational Trust that values and capitalises upon the unique talents and ‘selling points’ of all its schools. We have civic awareness and a holistic focus for stakeholders at all levels on becoming and achieving their very ‘best’ in every way, led with strength, compassion and integrity.
Wellspring Academy Trust
Wellspring dares to do things differently. Whether through its commitment to relational practice, or innovations such as its Communicolour project bringing art to disadvantaged communities, Wellspring is brave, bold and optimistic. Its growing community of 28 academies and associated support services continually prove that ‘We Make A Difference’ is a statement of fact, not just its slogan.
Trust executive team of the year - sponsored by The Education Space
Lionheart Educational Trust
Lionheart Executive Team are a group of positive, solution focused and pupil centred professionals who lead by example by going above and beyond for the communities they serve. They are research-focused and dedicated to excellent standards whilst working in a collegiate way with humility to drive forward an inclusive culture.
Rivermead Inclusive Trust
The RIT Executive Team ensure that the best life chances are given to all children in our Trust plus a lot more children through our Rivermead Solutions work. They are an exceptional team who work tirelessly to promote the best education, through proven methods and research, is at the heart of all our schools. They employ and work with strong, dynamic leaders who are given the autonomy to drive standards in their schools. The RIT team are caring, passionate, always available to support and promote the Trust values of inclusion.
Shaw Education Trust
The Shaw Education Trust Infrastructure and Estates team are simply incredible. They consistently deliver projects which enhance pupils’ opportunities to learn and stay safe. Their dedication to each school site is beyond brilliant!
Staffordshire University Academies Trust
SUAT rapidly grew from the original 3 failing schools at the onset to the current 20 it has today. This was largely due to the CEO, Keith Hollins, who provided inspirational leadership and great vision to lead the Trust to achieve better outcomes. Tragically, in September 2021, Keith died after contracting Covid. The Executive Team and trustees were resolute to continue his legacy and to keep SUAT on track for future growth.
The Mast Academy Trust
The Collaborative Team are simply that… collaborative. They actively listen and respond to the needs of our schools to ensure the work of the trust directly supports high quality education and support services for children. They undertake their work with humility, integrity and never lose sight of our core value which places ‘children at the heart’ of everything we do.
The Priestley Academy Trust
A transformational executive team who have radically improved every element of the work of the central trust including school improvement, finance and operations. New and improved structures, systems and processes have led to schools being able to concentrate on education which has seen an incredible increase in progress and outcomes for children through a transformational educational offer.
Wellspring Academy Trust
Wellspring’s executive team is dynamic, ambitious and highly effective. These five exceptional education leaders have created and sustained a unique MAT that dares to do things differently. From 100-year plans to transformational community art initiatives, Wellspring’s executive team has the creativity to develop sector-changing ideas, and the expertise and capabilities to put those ideas into practice.
Windsor Academy Trust
Windsor Academy Trust’s Executive Team is made up of a range of inspirational leaders that are united by a shared moral purpose to unlock the academic and personal potential of young people across our family of nine schools. We are guided by our values of respect, responsibility, collaboration, innovation and pride in excellence, and these values underpin everything we do.
Wellbeing trust of the year - sponsored by Thrive
Excelsior Multi Academy Trust
Excelsior has a supportive working culture which is designed to enable employees to achieve their full potential. We understand that our schools are communities; promoting and supporting employee wellbeing is at the heart of our purpose to champion better working lives because, we believe, an effective workplace wellbeing programme will benefit our people, our organisational outcomes, and our communities. We live and breathe our Excelsior Core Values.
Hampton Academies Trust
The Hampton Academies Trust places pupil, staff and family wellbeing at the centre of its mission. There are a wide range of programmes to support the well-being of all, some hard-wired into how provision is structured and some as part of a broad offer of additional activities. Family support and outreach is a very strong feature of the trust’s work.
Meridian Trust
The development of a whole-Trust mental health and wellbeing policy has been integral to supporting 17,000 pupils, 2,100 staff across 29 schools. Our ‘pyramids’ closely align to the NHS 5 Steps to Wellbeing, our schools are working to the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Award and we have embedded ‘The Thrive Approach’ to support our pupils.
New Collaborative Learning Trust
NCLT has, from its creation in 2016, built wellbeing into its cultural DNA. As one of its four strategic priorities, student and staff wellbeing is enshrined as a key objective, an approach reflected in our distinctive staff culture, in our close ties to the community, and in the exceptional student experience that our young people enjoy whilst studying with us.
TEAM Education Trust
We launched TEAM Education Trust in the darkest days of the pandemic; focusing on the wellbeing of our staff to facilitate the delivery of great learning was vital. Nurturing student wellbeing, resilience and confidence through shared purpose, kindness and excellent learning is at the heart of everything we do.
The Laurus Trust
Employee wellbeing and mental health is at the heart of everything we do. Proactive management of employee wellbeing is therefore a priority for us. We aim to support staff to make positive choices for their own wellbeing and encourage a collegiate culture across all roles in our Trust. We are committed to developing a long-term strategy for improving staff wellbeing.
The Park Academies Trust
We aim to build an ethos of emotional awareness and understanding (emotional quotient/EQ). This ensures a student is in a position to develop their intellectual quotient, in order to promote relevant and sustained development of the ‘whole child’. This facilitates the growth of a community of nurtured, valued, and productive individuals.
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