A team of high-profile educationalists are teaming up to help support and better inform how senior leaders in the education sector are recruited.
It is hoped that the Advisory Group, who have been brought together by Satis Education, will draw together their collective experience to help provide guidance to Directors, Trustees and Governors of education institutions around how to identify, recruit and secure the leaders who will drive the sector forward.
Michael Pain, executive leadership expert, author of ‘Being The CEO’, and the Chair of the Advisory Group, said: “There is no secret in the fact that leadership recruitment and retention is one of the biggest challenges facing the education sector right now.
“A huge amount of work is being done by trusts and schools themselves to try and increase the numbers of people who progress and are ready to thrive as leaders and make a big difference to future generations of children and young people. Where we do feel there is a gap, is in ensuring there is consistency, right across the sector, in ensuring the necessary knowledge, skills and capacity for achieving high quality executive leadership recruitment, and ultimately, securing retention.
“Recruiting a new CEO, for example, is something that most Trusts may only have to do once every cycle of trustees. It is very hard to build any organisational expertise in recruitment at the highest level, which is problematic given that leadership recruitment is one of the most crucial decisions any group of trustees has to make. We also need to develop even greater awareness about keeps leaders supported and sustained in post, in what are highly demanding and accountable roles.
“That is why we have brought this group of very experienced sector leaders together – we want to help to build that knowledge and understanding further, where we can. These are individuals who have helped shaped our current education system are now want to provide further guidance in a crucial area moving forward.
The Satis Education Advisory Group consists of:
- Michael Pain, an author and expert in executive leadership, and chair of the Advisory Group
- Sir Steve Lancashire, the former CEO of the largest primary Trust in England
- Ann Palmer, founder of Gig Tree international
- Sir David Carter, former National Schools Commissioner at the Department for Education
- Yvonne Salter Wright, governance consultant with extensive experience of the Catholic education sector
The group has been brought together by Satis Education, who are responsible for more Trust CEO appointments in the education sector than any other organisation since Covid.
Helen Stevenson, co-founder of Satis Education, said: “Ultimately good recruitment is about listening. It is about hearing the values and ambition of a candidate and listening to the needs and ethos of the employer.
“The understanding to help bring the right people together with the right organisations is, however, more challenging – and one where directors and trustees real value expertise and insight. It is not just about a process, it is about a genuine understanding of how values and aspirations align.
“There is why we feel this Advisory Group can play such an important role. Their experience not just in their formal roles, but for some also as volunteers and Trustees themselves, is invaluable and something that we feel we can harness and share to benefit others.”
The Group’s will meet quarterly to look at themes and trends that Satis is seeing through their recruitment work and discussions.
Laura McGunigle added: “Satis is about bringing good people together, and this Advisory Group is the perfect example of that.
“They are also individuals who underpin our approach and ethos. As a value for money organisation, we wholly respect the pressures that school budgets are under. We don’t want recruitment companies to be seen as something only the large MATs can afford, where we can, we want to help schools and Trusts at every level.”
