Lift Schools’ leaders meet in Leeds for annual November principals’ conference
November 22, 2024
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We were delighted to kick off our November principals’ conference in Leeds, in our North region this year. With our school leaders travelling from all over the country, it was a truly exciting time for our network.
It was brilliant to be able to reflect on our progress together while also looking to the future and thinking about how we could build on the momentum we had towards Lift 490—our commitment to hitting four key metrics by 2028. With a focus on innovation led by insights, it was an energising few days full of great opportunities for reflection and deep collaboration.
We began with a keynote speech from Rebecca Boomer-Clark, who took us through our ten trust goals for 2028 and our four key organisational health KPIs. Becks emphasised how we were entering our second two-year improvement cycle, focusing on insight-driven improvement and innovation.
The next presentation covered our top trust goals with Eleonore Lewis, Director of Strategy, and Phil Humphreys, Director of Education. They guided us through the ten goals that set the ambition for our mission and measure the success of our network strategy. The discussion turned to how our schools and school leaders could harness the power of our network to support each other in delivering these targets.
We then participated in a session on leadership excellence led by Alison Eynon, Head of Leadership Development at Lift Schools. She discussed how we could develop deep collaboration within and between our schools using the Project H mindsets. The session concluded with insights from leaders from the Midlands and East, followed by a commitment to one action to promote a culture of deep collaboration during the conference.
Hannah Jackson, Community Partnerships Lead, and Unity Jones (Howard), Director of Network Advancement, presented on the Lift maxims and the role of academy councils in governance. They explained how academy councils act as guardians of our ethos and how we could deliver on our entitlement to excellence for our school communities
Hannah Jackson and Unity Jones present on the Lift maxims and academy councils
Phil Humphreys and Maria Rodrigues led a session on our network’s SEND strategy, addressing how we could combat national challenges and continue to develop in-school enhanced provisions across our primary, secondary, and special schools.
The day ended with a session on what excellence in SEND looks like, delivered by Emily Crowther, Senior SENCO at Kingswood Academy. Drawing on brilliant details from her school in Hull, Emily shared how they had worked to create a sense of belonging.
Breakout session on SEN excellence at Kingswood Academy
To conclude the first day, over dinner, special recognition certificates were awarded to school leaders for their brilliant impact in their schools. Categories ranged from highest attendance through to Ofsted improvement and highest percentage of students achieving 4+ in GCSE English and Maths. Principals were delighted to receive the awards on behalf of their schools.
On day two, we tackled a packed agenda with topics ranging from the extended curriculum to the power and impact of AI on our schools.
Johanna Klinsky, Director of Strategic Improvement, Deborah McCarthy, Head of Curriculum, and Ian Taylor, Associate Director 490, began the day with a session on enabling pupil success through the extended curriculum. They explained how the broader body of knowledge, skills, and experiences pupils gain beyond formal learning impacts future wellbeing and life chances. They also explored ways to enhance our existing extended curriculum provision for our school communities.
James Browning, Chief Operating Officer at Lift Schools, led a session on AI, encouraging us to think about how it could transform and enhance our network. He shared our guiding principles for AI, emphasising how it could personalise learning experiences and reduce teacher workload while affirming that teaching will always require human connection. The role of AI, he reminded us, is to support and enhance. We surveyed the possibilities of AI, considering both its current state and the future in which our children will live and work.
Ally Eynon concluded the conference with a presentation on sense-making, allowing our school leaders to reflect on the insights gathered over the two days. She encouraged us to identify what had challenged our usual thinking and to consider new opportunities for deeper and more productive collaboration in the future.
School leaders remarked how they had found the conference ‘thought provoking’ and collaborative, leaving with a renewed energy for the future. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and made it happen.
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