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Flourishing Trusts Network 2023/24 Programme Overview

The Church of England’s Flourishing Trusts Network is open to MAT CEOs and senior leaders within school trusts, offering a collaborative space to listen, engage and discuss insights, to be challenged and supported with peers and other experts sharing educational, business and Christian perspectives.

It is open to all MATs, including (but not limited to) those with Church of England schools in them. We welcome membership from MATs of all kinds.

The foundation of the network is the intention to deepen our MAT visions to flourish together – enabling us to best sustain our own leadership, grow our next generation of leaders, face the future with confidence and ultimately empower all our children/young people to thrive. The Flourishing Trusts Network will stimulate our thinking to bring a fresh perspective to our own learning and that of others, connecting MAT leaders right across the country.

The network is also offered in close collaboration with a range of other key sector partners, including the Confederation of School Trusts.

We will focus on a range of trust-specific topics, all of which benefit from the collective wisdom of colleagues and experts through:

  • Termly in-person national gatherings, to be inspired and challenged through a range of innovative speakers from both within and external to education.
  • 8 regular webinar briefings throughout the year with senior staff from the national Church of England Education Office team, giving key policy updates and shaping collective voice
  • Annual leadership development review conversation to explore how CEFEL can collaborate with you to achieve your vision at both MAT and personal level
  • One place at our National Conference taking place in London on Thursday, 1 February 2024.

These network sessions offer the opportunity for leaders to reflect on current shared challenges and benefit from one another’s experience.

Our termly themes for both the face to face and webinars are:

Event 2: Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership National Conference 2024: 

10:30 - 3:30pm  on Thursday 1st February 2024 at SAINT Church, Hackney    

This annual centrepiece gathering is being hosted at St John’s Hackney, the birthplace of the Church of England’s education work in 1811, where our founder Joshua Watson was based. This historic setting will be the location for our next national conference, which will feature keynote input from a range of high-profile leaders including:

  • The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Plus a range of other inspirational keynote speakers to be confirmed.

EVENT 3: Friday 2nd February 2024 – 10.30-3.30 SAINT, HACKNEY CHURCH HOUSE, Lower Clapton Road, London E5 0PD

Excellent Organisational Leadership – developing our work together in finance, operational leadership, governance, and systems design

This event will be highly relevant to CEOs, but will also be a great networking opportunity for COOs, Business Directors etc. and those with strategic responsibility for operational leadership

Keynote inputs TBC

EVENT 4: Tuesday 30th April – 10.30-3.30, Venue to be Confirmed as Lambeth Palace is undergoing refurbishment

Life in all its Fullness – a Vision for Belonging and Inclusion across your MAT 

This event will focus on what it means to prioritise the needs of a wide range of groups of students, with a particular focus on SEND and Alternative Provision, and also a detailed unpacking of the Church of England’s wider EDI work, with a particular focus on racial justice.

Keynote inputs TBC

This will be highly relevant to pastoral leaders across your MAT along with the CEO.

Online Briefings:

Session 1/8 - Tuesday 10th October – 8.30-9.30am

Session 2/8 - Wednesday 22nd November – 3.00-4.00pm

Session 3/8 - Wednesday 10th January – 8.30-9.30am

Session 4/8 - Monday 4th March – 3.00-4.00pm

Session 5/8 - Tuesday 21st May – 8.30-9.30am

Session 6/8 - Wednesday 19th June – 3.00-4.00pm

Plus, two further meeting (7/8 & 8/8) to be held and used in response to yet unspecified need.

Network Membership Costs

Full Membership subscription is: £1250+VAT for the 2023/24 academic year for all the provision stated above for 1 place at the Network.

If you would like additional persons to have access to some of the specific events or / and the webinars then this is also possible at an additional cost but it excludes the National Conference.

Additional Senior Trust Leaders to attend some or all of the 8 X Webinars – FREE

Additional Senior Trust Leaders to attend any or all of Events 1, 3 & 4 ( NOT event 2:  the National Conference) - this will attract an additional cost of £100 + VAT per additional person per Event. These tickets can be booked and purchased on a case by case basis depending on availability as long as the event is not oversubscribed as places will be limited by venue

For further information and questions, please contact Graeme Robins, National MAT Partnerships Lead at graeme.robins@churchofengland.org