What does it really mean for schools to lead beyond their own gates, and can education help build a more socially just society?
In this episode of The Kitchen Table, we are joined by Leora Cruddas, founding chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts and author of New Domains of Educational Leadership. Leora shares how being born in apartheid South Africa and teaching English in an NGO-funded school in the township of Alexandra taught her to see beyond poverty and disadvantage to the cultural wealth of a community. We explore organisational, civic and system leadership, why belonging is a precondition for learning, and why she calls SEND and inclusion the social justice issue of our time.
What You'll Discover
- Acting On the System, Not Just In It: Why leaders must move beyond a compliance mindset and become the architects of the local systems in which they live and lead.
- The Partnership Dividend: How the complex problems facing children and communities are beyond the reach of any single institution, and why schools and trusts must collaborate with other civic actors for the common good.
- Belonging Without Tick Boxes: Why schools and trusts should measure what they value and be accountable to their communities, without turning belonging into a national accountability measure.
Leora's powerful reminder is that we must lead in the situation we are in, not the one we wish we were in. By putting dignity and relationships at the heart of every school, today could be the moment we start deliberately and intentionally to build a socially just society.
Connect with Phil Banks
thebelongingcollective.blog.
Connect with Mohamed Abdallah
Substack.
Connect with Danielle Lewis-Egonu
Substack.
The Kitchen Table are grateful to our sponsors Magma Maths, Zen Educate, St Christophers Trust, Cygnus Ambition Foundation, The Reach Foundation and it is produced by Urban Podcasts.
