This year’s CET Annual Governance Conference 2025 brought together over 90 dedicated Members, Trustees, Local Advisory Board (LAB) members and school leaders for an afternoon of insightful discussions, strategic planning, and shared learning. The event, in which representatives and LAB members from all of our schools were in attendance, served as a crucial platform to explore the ever-evolving landscape of education governance and its direct impact on student outcomes.
The conference opened with a fantastic performance from The Queen Katherine School students, with a medley from ‘Grease the Musical’. The performance showcased the reason that governors give up so much of their precious free time – to give all students across Cumbria the best opportunities available to them.
Lorrayne Hughes, Chief Executive, welcomed the delegates, setting the tone for the event with a vision for the future – from Good to Great. In her address, she emphasised the importance of collaboration between governance and leadership in shaping a culture of driving excellence. The speech reaffirmed the trust’s commitment to equipping governors with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed decisions that benefit both schools and students.
The conference featured two distinguished keynote speakers, each bringing valuable perspectives on governance and forward thinking.
The first session was delivered by Samira Sadeghi, Director of Trust Governance at Confederation of School Trusts (CST). Samira looked at Taking Governance from Good to Great, though culture, storytelling and civic duty. She discussed CST’s theory of change, planning for the longer term and adopting a civic mindset. CST have produced a Next-gen Governance booklet for sustainable success and this was dissected throughout her presentation.
Next to the stage was Jonny Wathen, CIO and Co-Founder at TransforMATive, who discussed AI in education. His forward-thinking presentation looked at how far AI has come and how the education sector can benefit from its use. He also touched upon the limitations, that you shouldn’t purely rely on AI and the importance of privacy and GDPR.
Following a networking break, Sarah Davies, Headteacher at Yanwath Primary School, and Catherine Sloan, Deputy Headteacher, The Whitehaven Academy, discussed How to Get Pupils to Think Harder. Introduced by Matt Butler, Director of Primary Improvement and Professional Development, the session looked at an innovative new way in how to get pupils to think harder during lessons. This way of teaching requires teachers to think harder before lessons during their planning to consider where gaps in knowledge may arise, so that teachers can address these gaps upfront. This includes the use of Know/Show charts – a table describing how pupils will be able to answer the question asked, by the knowledge they need to solve the problem and their way of showing they understand how to answer it correctly. They also provided an example for all of the delegates to create their own Know/Show chart!
George Beveridge, CET Trust Board Chair, then gave some interesting reflections on governance, sharing his key takeaways and outlined steps for future governance improvements. He thanked all of those in attendance for the time, effort and dedication each of our governors give to improve the lives of our young people.
A series of dynamic breakout sessions followed, which allowed attendees to dive deeper into the key topics presented, including culture, future planning, civic trusts and AI. These interactive sessions created a great opportunity to collaborate, providing governors with practical strategies and actionable insights to take back to their respective school boards. Matt Hood, CET Trustee, then took the opportunity to collate the ideas and discussions from each breakout session to share ideas with all in attendance.
As the conference drew to a close, one key message resonated: effective governance is fundamental to ensuring outstanding educational outcomes. The event reinforced the significance of continuous professional development and the need for an adaptive, proactive approach to governance. With renewed enthusiasm and a strengthened network, governors left equipped to drive positive change in their schools and across the trust.
We look forward to another impactful conference next year, building on the momentum of this year’s success.
