Seventeen academy trust and council bosses have been named the regional leads for the ministers鈥� push to improve children鈥檚 transition into secondary school. The announcement is part of the next phase of the . When the programme was unveiled last month, prominent MAT CEOs Becks Boomer-Clark, of Lift Schools, and Lesley Powell, of the North East Learning Trust, were appointed its national chairs. And now the pair has revealed that the likes of Outwood Grange chief Lee Wilson, Dixons leader Luke Sparkes and Windsor Academy Trust鈥檚 Dawn Haywood will chair its local teams. ‘Forgotten middle’ 鈥淜ey stage 3 has become the forgotten middle of our school system, yet it is where too many young people lose their sense of belonging and engagement begins to dip,鈥� Boomer-Clark and Powell said. “If we are serious about improving outcomes and narrowing gaps, we need a much sharper focus on these years. This alliance brings together leaders to do exactly that.鈥� Lee Wilson They added that the alliance will operate over a three-year 鈥渢rajectory鈥�. The first 12 months will be devoted to establishing a 鈥渟hared purpose, confirm priorities and launch regional networks鈥�. Then it will 鈥渢est and evaluate effective practice鈥�, before scaling embedding 鈥渨hat works across the system鈥� in the third year. Progress will be tracked through indicators, including attendance, literacy and numeracy, pupil engagement and readiness for key stage 4. Dawn Haywood The regional groups will be charged with convening schools and trusts, identifying and sharing effective practice and feed their insights into the national programme. Here is the full list of regional co-chairs鈥� North east Toni Spoors, North East Learning Trust Kieran McGrane, Pele Trust North west Martin Vevers, The Laurus Trust Tony Shepherd, Oldham council Yorkshire and the Humber Lee Wilson, Outwood Grange Academies Trust Luke Sparkes, Dixons MAT East Midlands Ash Rahman, NOVA Education Trust Sarah Ridley, The Mead Educational MAT West Midlands Dawn Haywood, Windsor Academy Trust Peter Lee, Mercian Trust East of England Claire Heald, Cam Academy Trust Gareth Stevens, Inspiration Trust South east Alex Russell, Bourne Education Trust South west Dan Nicholls, White Horse Federation Moira Marder, Ted Wragg MAT London Alice Hudson, Twyford Academy Trust Michael Sullivan, Forrest Hill School