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Ellie is an experienced Improvement Champion, having taken part in multiple peer review cycles, and here she reflects on her experience of the role. She highlights how rewarding it has been to collaborate with teachers across Trust schools, learn new approaches to running CPD, and see how shared expertise strengthens her own practice. She was pleasantly surprised by the level of trust leaders place in Improvement Champions, handing over staff for workshops with confidence in their expertise.
Ellie emphasises that the most successful strategies are those that empower staff to generate their own discussions and solutions, building engagement, trust and rapport. She explains that preparation involves understanding the review focus and approaching feedback with an open mind, while practical organisation – such as planning workshops onsite and protecting dedicated time – helps her manage the role alongside school duties.
Her final advice is not to overthink the role: it’s less about having all the answers and more about confidently facilitating meaningful conversations and supporting collective school improvement.
Sharon Jenner, Deputy CEO of The Osborne Co‑operative Academy Trust, reflects on the Trust’s experience as it reaches the end of the first two years of the Schools Partnership Programme. Having completed the BUILD and EMBED phases, the Trust is now focused on how it will SUSTAIN its approach moving forward.
In her interview, Sharon explains how the Schools Partnership Programme has significantly strengthened collaboration, professional relationships and a sense of belonging across the Trust’s 12 schools. She highlights the impact of focused improvement projects – including developing global citizenship in primary schools and strengthening inclusion and transition processes in secondary schools – which have delivered tangible benefits for curriculum design, pupil engagement and staff understanding of learners’ needs.
Sharon also reflects on the programme’s role in fostering growth mindsets, developing leadership capability and building confidence among staff, supporting both retention and progression. Central to this has been a ‘done with, not done to’ approach to school improvement. Overall, she emphasises the programme’s cost effectiveness, its positive impact on whole‑trust improvement, and its success in developing leaders who collaborate effectively within and beyond their own schools.