Becoming the best we can be: Spencer Academies Trust Leadership Day 2026

At the heart of the day was a shared purpose: “To work together as leaders and learners to collectively become the best we can be.” This was underpinned by another key message throughout the day - “We write this chapter together” - emphasising the importance of collaboration and the contribution every leader makes to Spencer’s continued development.  

The day began with Kate Green, Interim CEO, who reflected on the Trust’s journey so far and reconnected colleagues with the values of Aspiration, Partnership and Responsibility. Kate also revisited the One Spencer Plan, centred around five key pillars: High Quality and Inclusive Education; School Improvement; Workforce; Finance and Operations; and Governance and Leadership. Together, these provide a shared framework for the Trust’s priorities and future direction. 

Guest speaker, James Aidoo, then delivered the morning keynote, ‘Leaders and Learners’. Sharing his own story and experiences, James explored the importance of leaders continuing to learn and develop, recognising individual strengths and considering how these can come together to create effective teams. 

His session encouraged colleagues to reflect on the importance of being a learner as well as a leader and what it looks like when teams are genuinely “for one another” - reinforcing that becoming the best we can be relies not only on individual development, but on learning from and working alongside others. 

Building on the keynote, Amy Taylor, Chief Finance & Operations Officer, and Fraser Mitchell, Interim Executive Director of Education, led the ‘Us as Spencer Leaders’ session. Colleagues considered three key questions: What makes an effective leader? How does an effective leader learn? What prevents us from learning as leaders?  

The conversations explored the importance of reflection, adapting and trying again, taking risks and learning from mistakes, alongside some of the barriers that can prevent leaders from continuing to learn and develop. 

Tammy Elward, Executive Director of the Spencer Alliance for Leadership and Teaching, and Matt Taylor, Executive Director of Digital Transformation and Infrastructure, then explored the different but connected responsibilities of being a team leader and a team member. Spencer Trust leaders have a dual role: leading their own academy or specific team while simultaneously being a member of the wider Trust leadership team. These are not roles that switch on and off, but responsibilities held in both directions at the same time.  

As a team member, leaders considered how they contribute to a shared purpose, listen and challenge constructively, and carry Trust-wide responsibility. As a team leader, the focus was on creating and sustaining culture, providing clarity of context and purpose, and supporting the people they lead. Together, the two perspectives highlighted how leadership across Spencer connects individual academies and teams with the collective work and ambitions of the wider Trust.  

Colleagues also reflected on leaders who have influenced them throughout their careers, exploring the ‘steps and traps’ of leadership and the impact these can have on individuals and teams. The exercise positioned reflection as an ongoing tool for learning rather than a checklist of what a leader should or should not do. 

The focus then moved from leading a team to being an effective team member, with these principles put into practice through an interactive challenge led by Sarah McAneny-Vincent, Executive Director of Inclusion and Interim Director of Primary School Improvement. Groups were tasked with stacking cups without using their hands, using only string and elastic bands. The activity brought to life the importance of communication, collaboration, recognising individual strengths and understanding the part each person plays in achieving a shared goal. 

Later in the day, Aoife Galletly, Executive Director of Quality and Standards and Interim Director of Secondary School Improvement, explored Spencer Pathways, highlighting the richness, depth and complexity of development opportunities across Spencer’s schools and the Trust’s strong, strategic approach to CPD. 

From in-school training, coaching and observing practice to Trust-wide training, curriculum hubs and wider professional partnerships, Spencer Pathways demonstrated the range of ways colleagues can develop themselves while sharing their own knowledge and expertise with others. 

Through ‘Become Bingo’, colleagues then identified practical ways to invest in their own development during the year ahead, from visiting a school in another phase and engaging with research to inviting feedback, sharing at a network, shadowing a pupil or taking on a new piece of work. 

The final reflections returned to the wider purpose of the day, encouraging colleagues to consider the insights they would take away, the actions they would commit to and how they could continue learning throughout the year.  

Reflecting on the day, Kate Green, Interim CEO, said: “What really stood out throughout the day was the strength of what we can achieve when we learn from and alongside one another. We all bring different experiences, perspectives and strengths, and it is by bringing those together that we continue to grow - as individuals, as leaders and as a Trust. Becoming the best we can be is an ongoing journey, and we all have a part to play in writing Spencer’s next chapter together.”

Leadership Day 2026 reinforced that becoming the best we can be is not about reaching a finished point, but continuing to learn through experience, reflection, challenge and one another. 

From Belong, through Build, to Become, Spencer’s next chapter is one we continue to write together.