Lisa Griffin is content lead for leadership and governance. An experienced editor and content manager in industries including education and healthcare, Lisa is particularly interested in leadership support and development.
From integrating services into the community to increasing stakeholder engagement and fundraising, several trusts tell us how they’ve made a real difference to their communities. Schools play an important and pivotal role in the community. Providing a range of services, schools have the opportunity...
Looking for ways to go greener in your multi-academy trust? Use these ideas to inspire you to creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly trust. More and more schools are adopting environmental sustainability as a core value and raising awareness of it among staff, pupils, and parents...
We asked MAT leaders what matters to employees and how they can market themselves as an employer of choice. As an employer, you want to foster an attractive and professional environment where staff feel comfortable, happy, valued, and can work to the best of their ability. When it comes to bringing...
Our inaugural MAT Excellence Awards are fast approaching. We spoke to some of our judges who told us the three things they’re most looking forward to at the event. The first Optimus Education MAT Excellence Awards take place on Thursday 29 June in London. The event will give trusts the opportunity...
Thought you’d heard the last of changes to data compliance? Get ready for the new ePrivacy Regulation. The EU have proposed that the current ePrivacy Directive be replaced by the ePrivacy Regulation (ePR) and sit alongside the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in May...
We asked three multi-academy trust CEOs for their views on Ofsted, inspection and how MATs can measure and evaluate their own impact. Ofsted have asked for the power to inspect MATs. What would this mean for trusts? The key issue is not who inspects MATs, but rather how MATs are to be inspected...
We visited Lessness Heath Primary School to congratulate them on their wellbeing provision and present them with the Wellbeing Award for Schools. Sunshine and blue skies set the scene for a day of celebration at Lessness Heath Primary School . The school is the first to achieve the Wellbeing Award...
‘School improvement is strongest when schools work together.' Lisa Griffin reports back from the first day of our multi-academy trust event. Sir David Carter sets out his vision for the future of school improvement School improvement was the theme of the day as the third annual MATs Summit kicked...
Chair of our annual Multi-Academy Trusts Summit and Schools Week editor Laura McInerney talks about the forthcoming event. This is your third year chairing the MATs Summit. What keeps you coming back? Laura: It’s one of the only events that bring CEOs of multi-academy trusts together to think about...
We speak to financial experts about the crucial role played by finance directors in multi-academy trusts. Stephen Morales, executive director of the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL) What are the key skills that a finance director (FD) or chief finance officer (CFO) in a MAT needs? If...
School policies and procedures demonstrate your compliance with statutory requirements but how do you start to write one? These nine tips will help guide you in creating and reviewing a policy. 1. Correct content Cover what needs to be covered in accordance with legal guidance and Ofsted...
The Headteachers Roundtable Summit saw more than 200 attendees come together to focus on key issues including assessment and accountability and recruitment and retention. The summit kicked off with chair of the Headteachers Roundtable core group Stephen Tierney talking about accountability. It was...
Our Establishing or Joining Multi-Academy Trusts conference was a day of debate, thoughtful questions and honest answers. Lisa Griffin highlights some of the key learnings. Autonomy and capacity were the big buzz words of the event. For most of the attendees who were looking for guidance on whether...
With more accountability and greater pressure on school governors, we ask whether it is time this volunteer role became a paid one. Appointing headteachers, legal responsibilities, examining how the school budget is spent, scrutinising results and progress of pupils: these are just a few of the...
At our recent MATs Summit, regional school commissioner Tim Coulson spoke to us about the role of the RSC and developing successful relationships with trusts. What do you think of the suggestion we heard earlier from Dame Dana Ross-Wawrzynski that MAT inspections should be based on an appraisal...
7.6% of state school teachers in England come from BME backgrounds and only 3% are school leaders*. Why is this number so low? Headteacher Marva Rollins talks about the training she does with BME teachers aspiring to leadership. Tell us about your progression to headship and career to date. Marva:...
We spoke to multi-academy trust CEOs to find out their biggest challenges and advice they would give to new and aspiring CEOs. What key skills does a MAT CEO need? Vision developer Strategist Leadership developer Quality assurer Communicator for the MAT Ambassador for the MAT How important is it...
Following the apparent U-turn over forced academisation, we talked to a number of schools about their concerns and the future they’re planning. Lisa Griffin summarises the results. ‘Schools are all becoming academies!’ ‘Oh no they’re not!’ Maybe not quite a pantomime but it went something like that...
Getting positive coverage in the media can enhance the reputation of your school. So what do you need to do to ensure the publicity you attract is used to your advantage? There needs to be a relationship between schools and the press. While the press like human interest stories that make their...
We put the DfE in the hot seat at our recent primary assessment conference and asked the questions you wanted the answers to. Two years on from the assessment reforms in primary schools and we still have grey areas. What will Ofsted judge your pupils’ progress against next year? What will the 2016...
With the recent ‘Educational excellence everywhere’ white paper and new Education and Adoption Act 2016, the education landscape is going through a huge amount of change. What does this mean for your school and what should you do now? It’s clear that the academy programme continues to be a key part...
Middle leaders provide the vital link between leadership and the classroom but how can they best be supported? 'The role of middle managers is crucial to the steady and sustained improvement of schools. The headteachers and senior managers provide the vision but middle managers effect the long-term...
Academy conversion and multi-academy trust growth seems to be the future for our educational landscape. Lisa Griffin explores the challenges and priorities this brings for MATs. As the DfE released its first white paper since 2010, Educational excellence everywhere , Nicky Morgan announced ‘This...
The shortage of headteachers is well documented and effectively supporting them an ongoing concern. We talk to author and director of Integrity Coaching Viv Grant about the ‘sacrifice syndrome’ of heads and overcoming it to be a visionary school leader. Watch Viv Grant's webinar on stress reduction...
The first Ofsted inspections of multi-academy trusts received mixed results. Optimus content lead Lisa Griffin outlines what is expected of MAT leaders and the challenges they are facing. With the number of multi-academy trusts (MATs) increasing (there are now over 500 MATs consisting of two or...
With increased importance of British values in the new framework, we look at what these really mean for schools and how to evidence for Ofsted. As of November 2014, schools have had to promote British values (BV), so no doubt we’re all very familiar with them. The advice from the DfE is to do this...
School marketing is a vital part of raising your profile but how can you do it effectively? Use our tips, resources and advice to implement a marketing strategy. Effective school marketing and PR can make a huge difference to pupils, whether through improved communication or by making sure that...
Taking on the role of headship? Get prepared for the new challenges and responsibilities with advice and top tips from our experts and practitioners. Managing change 1. Dealing with change in the school system is a constant and complex task for leaders. People will expect changes and it’s a good...
How did the youngest headteacher in the UK, Siobhan Easton, achieve outstanding in her school’s first Ofsted inspection? Lisa Griffin, content lead for Leadership and Governance, interviews her to find out. Siobhan Easton, aged 27, heateacher at Marine Academy Plymouth (MAP) Primary School is the...
Engaging parents can drive pupil progress, but what can schools do to overcome communication barriers? It is well known that parental engagement impacts a child’s education, not just academically but emotionally and in terms of confidence too – their all-round development. The challenge for schools...
Following the ‘Better inspection for all’ consultation, and the announcement from Sir Michael Wilshaw today about the changes, the new Ofsted Common Inspection Framework 2015 comes into force in September. In our upcoming webinar, education writer and consultant John Viner will detail the changes...
Lisa Griffin reports back from the Optimus ‘Developing Skilled and Strategic Governing Bodies’ conference. The first task of the day for those attending the conference was to answer a question posed by chair for the day Dr Jamie Clarke, an executive headteacher and National Leader of Education. He...
Coaching is a vital part of developing staff and driving whole-school improvement. We spoke to schools to find out the approaches they take to coaching. What does coaching look like in your school? Have you thought about the role coaching plays in your long term strategy to harness staff...
‘Inspection vs improvement isn’t a choice to make, they go hand in hand’ said Sean Harford , one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and Ofsted’s national director for schools at the ATL’s accountability debate . Lisa Griffin highlights the key findings. This kicked off a lively and engaging discussion...
