In school trusts, the “trust dividend” is the power of schools coming together in deep and purposeful collaboration to improve schools, making the trust as a whole so much greater than the sum of its parts.
Now, many trusts are looking at how we accelerate that transformation to create a “civic dividend” through place-based collaboration across other schools, trusts and diocesan groups, as well as local authorities.
This is why, when the Department for Education invited responsible bodies in Priority Education Investment Areas to lead targeted school improvement, we at Windsor Academy Trust stepped forward: because we are committed to making a difference beyond our own walls for children, no matter where they go to school.
Improving outcomes
Walsall and Sandwell - two areas with high deprivation and long-standing attainment gaps - became the focus of a 15-month effort led by WAT in partnership with five other school trusts, Teach Like a Champion and professional development platform Steplab. There was also support from the local authorities, the dioceses and a large number of local school trusts.
The project’s aim was ambitious yet simple: to improve student outcomes in key stages 2 and 4 English and maths by embedding research-backed approaches to metacognition and self-regulation across 40 schools.
We knew from the Education Endowment Foundation that these techniques could add up to seven months of progress in learning, so were confident it could have an impact.
CPD and coaching
To support schools in delivering this, a programme of professional development and coaching was established, including workshops led by Teach Like a Champion, instructional coaching using the Steplab platform, peer visits and the formation of implementation teams in each school.
These teams - made up of school leaders and teachers - drove the day-to-day application of techniques and helped build a shared language around metacognition and self-regulation.
Nine regional experts (senior leaders from across the five partner school trusts), Teach Like a Champion’s Doug Lemov and WAT leaders played a critical role in delivering and scaling this work.
They didn’t just coach; they co-designed, studied implementation, shared video exemplars and led cross-school networks. This laid the groundwork for sustainable infrastructure beyond the lifespan of the project.
Now, as we mark the culmination of this work, we are beginning to see encouraging signs of real measurable improvement.
Unlocking learning
One early indicator of success has been the sharp rise in teaching proficiency. When the project began in February 2024, teacher mastery of metacognitive techniques was modest, averaging 0.8 out of 2.
By March 2025, that had more than doubled to 1.7. The number of schools where more than half of teachers had mastered their chosen technique tripled over the course of the project.
Just as compelling are the school outcomes. Our data shows a positive correlation between teacher efficacy with the techniques and the percentage of students meeting expected standards in reading, writing and maths at KS2 in 2024.
This reaffirms a simple but powerful truth: metacognition and self-regulation don’t just improve pedagogy, they unlock learning.
Moreover, 70 per cent of participating school leaders now rate the project’s impact on teaching and learning as “significantly positive” and 100 per cent as “positive”.
For many, this has come from witnessing children who were once behind in their learning making meaningful progress and teachers feeling confident and equipped to deliver high-quality, cognitively informed instruction.
A system-wide opportunity
The real power of this initiative, however, lies not in pedagogy but in partnership. This was a truly civic model: 40 schools, spanning school trusts, dioceses and local authorities, united by a shared mission and supported by a structured but flexible programme. Together, we built a culture of collaboration that extended beyond individual classrooms and schools.
It means we are now seeing many young people in Walsall and Sandwell, previously bound by postcode, benefiting from education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s ambition to raise standards via responsible bodies collaborating.
After all, system leadership at scale is about working together to move beyond a trust dividend and deliver a civic and system dividend for all children.
As Phillipson said at the recent Association of School and College Leaders conference, improvement must be “relentless” - but it must also be shared. This is about building dividends at civic and system level.
As such, if we are serious about raising standards everywhere, we must invest not only in what works, but in how we work together.
Dawn Haywood is chief executive officer of Windsor Academy Trust
