Leadership Away Day – Inclusive by Design

As a now cross-phase Trust, this was an important opportunity for primary and secondary leaders to come together, share perspectives, and think collectively about how we design education systems that work for children across their whole educational journey.

The day created vital time and space for colleagues to step back from the operational pressures of school life, reconnect with our shared purpose, and think deeply about how we design education systems that genuinely work for every child.

A Shared Context and a Shared Challenge

The day opened with a clear focus on relationships, context and trust wide alignment. Leaders and governors reflected on both the diversity of our schools and the common challenges we face across Greater Manchester and beyond – including poverty, attendance, health inequality and increasing complexity of need.

With primary and secondary colleagues around the table, discussions were enriched by cross-phase perspectives, helping leaders consider how decisions made at one stage of education can shape experiences and outcomes later on.

A key theme early on was that while context matters, shared principles matter too – particularly when we are working collectively across a Trust.

Shaping Our Thinking Through the National Picture

We were pleased to welcome Jonny Uttley, whose contribution grounded the day firmly in the national context for education.

Jonny explored the rapidly shifting policy landscape – including SEND reform, curriculum and assessment review, inspection reform and the wider School Reform Agenda – and challenged us to consider not just what is changing, but how we respond as leaders.

His input reinforced a clear message: national policy, research and inspection expectations are increasingly aligned around Inclusive by Design – where systems anticipate need, build access from the outset and reduce reliance on late intervention. This thinking helped frame the rest of the day, prompting honest discussion about whether our current systems are designed to support children early – or only respond once difficulties escalate.

Why SEND and Oracy – and Why Inclusive by Design?

With this context in mind, the Trust deliberately chose to focus the day on SEND and Oracy, explored together through the lens of Inclusion.

Leaders explored how:

• Oracy helps us understand who is participating in learning – and who may be present but unheard
• SEND reveals how effectively our systems respond when access to learning becomes more difficult

Approached together, SEND and Oracy helped leaders ask a deeper, shared question:

If we designed our curriculum, teaching and systems with the most vulnerable child in mind, would all children benefit?

Cross phase speakers from our own schools shared their experiences and insights, grounding the discussion in real practice and helping leaders see how Inclusion plays out differently – and powerfully – across phases and contexts.

Thinking Upstream: Designing Systems That Work

Much of the afternoon focused on moving ‘upstream’ – designing classrooms, curriculum and systems that reduce the need for crisis response.

Across table discussions, leaders and governors explored what Oracy and SEND through the lens of inclusion looks like in practice:

• Embedding structured talk and participation into lessons
• Designing curriculum access from the start rather than retrofitting support
• Building shared approaches and confidence across schools
• Using collaboration to strengthen practice, not add complexity

These conversations went beyond CPD, focusing instead on system design, leadership responsibility and collective action.

A Collective Commitment

The day concluded with reflection, synthesis and a renewed sense of collective responsibility.

As a Trust, we reaffirmed our commitment to Inclusion – designing curriculum, teaching and systems so that participation and access are the norm, not the exception, from early years through to secondary education.

Our responsibility as a Trust is to design systems that work for children before they struggle – not wait to respond once they’ve fallen behind. This Away Day reminded us that inclusion isn’t an additional priority; it’s the foundation on which everything else must be built. When we get the design right, we create the conditions for every child to belong, achieve and thrive.
Damian Owen, CEO

The Leadership Away Day was a powerful reminder that when senior leaders and governors come together across phases with honesty, curiosity and ambition, we strengthen not only our schools, but the opportunities available to the children and communities we serve.

Senior leaders and governors from across our schools for our latest Leadership Away Day, in April 2026