This morning, the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) has published a paper that sets out the contribution of trusts to the Opportunity Mission.

The paper begins with our framing narrative, first of all pointing to an enduring shared mission with government. It sets out our shared beliefs about human flourishing, civic leadership and rebuilding the social contract through creating school cultures of belonging.

A resilient and effective trust sector can work with the government to deliver its commitment to provide opportunity for all children. That much of this is not “new” work for trusts, speaks to the notion that trusts are already at the vanguard of this mission.

The power of collaboration

Our support for trusts comes not from advocacy of structural reform for its own sake, but from the belief in the power of a group of schools working together in deep and purposeful partnership under strong, strategic governance, to pursue a clear single mission.

We believe this is our ‘best bet’ to build strength and resilience in our school system; experts working together and able to focus on the things they do best. But we also honour the hard work and commitment of all schools in all types of structures.

This is why we encourage member trusts to engage deeply with colleagues across education and civic society more widely.

The mission to address inequalities in education standards, especially for economically disadvantaged children, is etched into the consciousness of the trust sector.

Opportunities ahead

The paper then goes on to explore specific aspects of the Opportunity Mission, specifically, the best start in life, the curriculum, recruiting and retaining our teachers, the work to make our schools more inclusive and deal with the broken special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and school improvement.

Finally, the paper summarises our positions on specific policies through a series of briefing notes on the curriculum and assessment review, regional improvement teams, excellence in leadership, the report card, inspecting school groups, and the proposed annual review of safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling.

In her interview with Tes, Bridget Phillipson said: “Trusts have an important role to play in the system and I have had the opportunity to speak with many brilliant trust leaders who have done some pioneering innovative work… But what I am most interested in is a focus on the school itself regardless of the name above the door. And I think there has been insufficient focus on making sure that all schools are getting the support they need to improve, regardless of structure.”

As the DfE develops its policy on regional improvement teams, there is a real opportunity for trusts to step into the light and demonstrate that school improvement capacity resides in trusts.

We should seize this moment to demonstrate to the government and the wider public the huge capacity and expertise we have built over the years.

A system rooted in partnership and collaboration

The secretary of state also said in the Tes interview, “Overall, we need to move to a system that is more rooted in partnership and collaboration…[The system] has become fragmented, and we need to find ways of working together to deliver better life chances for our children.”

CST has long made the case that trusts are the expression of partnership and collaboration.

This is hardwired into our DNA - the trust is a group of schools working in deep and purposeful collaboration to advance education for public benefit, under a single, clear governance structure. We are proud to continue advocating for this.

But we have also said that the trust sector is not a closed system of competing fiefdoms. Trusts are public institutions, civic in their outlook, anchored in their communities.

It is now more important than ever that we embrace a different mental model of leadership - one that looks up and out.

We must work with other civic leaders for a wider common good. This is because the solutions to the complex challenges that face us are beyond the reach of single institutions and single actors, even the state actor.

So we welcome this worldview from the secretary of state. As we say in the conclusion to our paper: this government and the trust sector share an enduring mission.

At the vanguard of action

Just as NHS trusts are key partners of government in delivering its plans for health care and reform, so, too, are school trusts partners of the government in its mission to transform opportunity for children.

It’s not only because most children are now educated within school trusts, but also because, as illustrated by the examples in this paper, trusts have already been at the vanguard of many of the priorities the government is seeking to address.

From school improvement to mental health support, from careers education to early years provision, trusts are already forging a path towards opportunity for the children and families they serve.

The government can lean into this to establish a new sense of partnership with the sector, one that brings together the government, employers, workforce and localities around a renewed civic ;energy and optimism.

CST and the trusts we represent look forward to playing their part in delivering opportunity to every child in every community. This is our enduring and shared mission.

Leora Cruddas is chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts