The Confederation of School Trusts leader Leora Cruddas tells how teaching in apartheid-era South Africa forged her determination to improve the lot of all children Leora Cruddas opens our conversation by telling me she hates talking about herself and is nervous about the thought of a profile piece. Such apparent shyness seems misplaced for someone who has achieved such a successful career 鈥 from teaching in a South African township to leading the . But it does align with Cruddas鈥 modus operandi at the influential membership body for academy trusts where, under the previous government, she preferred to quietly influence. Leora Cruddas The Confederation of School Trusts chief executive Being bolder Cruddas says she believes 鈥渕inisters respect you if you air particularly strong disagreements quietly first鈥 and don鈥檛 鈥渟hout in the press鈥. But the approach has caused problems. Particularly towards the end of the Conservatives鈥 time in office, some felt that CST wasn鈥檛 critical enough. 鈥淲e will be bolder publicly than we have been before,鈥 says Cruddas, pointing out that because CST now represents more than three quarters of all academies, it has a 鈥渉uge amount of authority to speak to government on behalf of the trust sector鈥. That鈥檚 quite an emergence in just six years since the body was founded. But how do you represent the views of such a huge range of leaders, whose trusts range from one school to more than 90? Has Cruddas found the right balance? 鈥淕osh, no鈥, she responds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a perennial challenge鈥. And is there an element of also having to manage egos? Cruddas says she takes the approach of leading 鈥渨ith humility鈥. 鈥淚 never forget that my authority and our authority as CST comes from our members,鈥 she adds. 鈥淭his is nothing to do with personal importance or positional power. It is about remembering every day, the trust we hold with children.鈥 One issue the body has been increasingly vocal about is education鈥檚 SEND crisis. Labour has faced criticism for an apparent lack of urgency on the issue. But Cruddas cautions that it鈥檚 still 鈥渆arly days鈥 for the new government and not helpful to criticise yet 鈥 arguing the new team will need time to understand the issues and work out how to respond. Leora Cruddas The Confederation of School Trusts chief executive School segregation Cruddas values democracy. She was raised in apartheid-era South Africa where she fiercely opposed how schools were segregated by skin colour. Cruddas was head girl at her all-white school (鈥渇or my sins鈥) and trained as an English teacher after studying English literature at university in Johannesburg. She still thinks of herself as an English teacher 鈥渇irst and foremost鈥, admitting it鈥檚 a 鈥渉uge part鈥 of her professional identity. But rather than teach in the segregated state school system she detested, Cruddas took up a post in an NGO-funded school. Non-white groups typically lived in overcrowded townships on the outskirts of cities, and Cruddas鈥檚 school was in a community hall in the township of Alexandra 鈥 then one of the country鈥檚 poorest. Residents faced 鈥減overty we would find difficult to imagine here鈥, with many living in homes with no running water or electricity. Much of what she believes today about education policy is a consequence of those experiences. Cruddas believes that when we talk about 鈥渆conomically under-resourced communities, we need to respect that they can still be hugely rich in their cultural traditions鈥. Alexandra was where the poet Mongane Wally Serote and author Mark Mathabane grew up, and African jazz was 鈥渃ore鈥 to people’s lives. Cruddas鈥 views on the 鈥渞ight of every child to a knowledge-rich curriculum鈥 come not from the American educational theorist E.D. Hirsch or English policy debates, but from seeing black children denied such an experience. She also has a passionate belief in the 鈥渘eed to undo the conflation between social mobility and social justice鈥. Whereas social mobility entails 鈥渓ifting up a few鈥, Cruddas wants a just education system that 鈥渓ifts up all children鈥. Leora Cruddas The Confederation of School Trusts Austerity cutbacks Whilst teaching, Cruddas took an English literature master鈥檚 degree, intending to forge a career in academia. But her school closed when international organisations withdrew funding as apartheid ended. Instead, she ventured to London in 1996 on a programme that recruited teachers from overseas. She taught children with special needs in Newham, East London, then an 鈥渋nternational beacon in what inclusive education looked like鈥, before being seconded to the area鈥檚 local authority as a SEND adviser. She criticises the 鈥減redominant policy discourse鈥 around SEND children, both then and now, as 鈥渂ased on an over-medicalised deficit model鈥. 鈥淲e have literally not moved on at all,鈥 she says. Cruddas then spent the next decade working for various London local authorities where she realised the issue with councils running schools was it is 鈥渘ot their only job鈥, adding 鈥渙ur children鈥檚 education is so important it really does need a specialist vehicle with specialist governance鈥. She compares schools to GP surgeries in this respect, arguing: 鈥淲e wouldn’t think it a good idea for local authorities to maintain GP surgeries, would we?鈥 Her time with councils came as the austerity axe fell on local government. Cruddas was being forced to make cuts to youth services, educational psychology, school improvement schemes, SEND and music services. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not why I came into education,鈥 she adds, saying cutbacks went 鈥渢oo far and weren鈥檛 strategic鈥. At the time she wanted ministers to look into 鈥渞enegotiating the social contract鈥 so councils could be 鈥渃lear with our residents what we were responsible for delivering鈥. She鈥檚 disappointed that this dialogue 鈥渟till hasn’t happened鈥. But her next job was one she 鈥渞eally loved鈥. As director of policy and public affairs for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), in 2015 Cruddas led the production of its first blueprint for a self-improving system. It reflects her strong belief that 鈥渋t鈥檚 easy to get angry with the government about what we stand against, but then you also have a responsibility to say what you stand for鈥. The paper presents a vision of the education system in 2020, with all schools having moved 鈥渁way from prescription to a profession-led system鈥, but required to join multi-academy trusts or federations. Leora Cruddas Confederation of School Trusts Confederation of School Trusts is born It was during her last 18 months at ASCL that Cruddas realised the government lacked a 鈥済ood way鈥 to engage with the newly-emerging academy trust sector, beyond approaching 鈥渁 few favoured CEOs鈥. She left ASCL in 2017, initially to lead CST鈥檚 predecessor organisation Freedom and Autonomy for Schools 鈥 National Association (Fasna), which aimed to 鈥減romote and secure autonomy for schools鈥. It folded when CST launched the following year. Instead, CST had three 鈥渟trategic anchors鈥: to advocate, connect and support the sector. During the pandemic the body became a lifeline for many trusts 鈥 struggling under a tide of new rules, guidance and the sheer difficulty of continuing to provide an education to pupils. Cruddas pivoted the body to become 鈥渆ntirely member facing. I did very little else in that period other than serve my members鈥. She started member briefings and weekly Wednesday morning meetings, which still continue now. During Covid she would ask her members what they needed from government. But she says calls were also therapeutic for leaders, many of whom felt isolated during that period. They gained 鈥渁 sense of community鈥 in hearing from others who were dealing with the same novel leadership challenges. Cruddas adds: 鈥淲e were all learning how to do risk assessments and stand up testing sites together. And because we were dealing with it together, it felt safer than just trying to do it on our own.鈥 Leora Cruddas with her COO Clare Robson Farrelly Pride and regrets Eight weeks before the pandemic, Cruddas wrote a paper, on the topic of civic and trust leadership. It proved timely as civic leadership had risen to the forefront during Covid. The paper now forms part of the wider 鈥淐ST canon鈥 that Cruddas is particularly proud of. She says the organisation鈥檚 鈥渢hink pieces鈥 have 鈥渉elped the sector develop a new narrative for itself, away from the anti-academies narrative of privatisation and much more about civic leadership鈥. Another career highlight was collecting her CBE in 2022. She flew her 鈥渉ugely proud鈥 mum over from South Africa. 鈥淚t was a big thing for her, more so I think than for me.鈥 But there are also regrets, particularly over being able to shift the last government鈥檚 view on certain issues. Her deepest regret was failing to stop plans for minimum strike levels in schools, but Labour has since committed to scrapping the policy. Cruddas says the rules were 鈥渦ndermining that fundamental principle of our democracy 鈥 the right to withhold labour鈥 Meanwhile, with regard to the new government, she says Labour 鈥渦nderstand鈥 the economic argument for investment in schools as it 鈥渄irectly supports鈥 the party鈥檚 mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Leora Cruddas collecting her CBE with her mother At the top of her wish-list is 鈥渢he eradication of child poverty, without any shadow of a doubt鈥. Labour has set up a cross-government child poverty taskforce. She says: 鈥淚f this government can lift children out of poverty in the next five years I would certainly be delighted, but I think all my members would as well.鈥 Regional school improvement teams But a change Cruddas is perhaps less keen on is Labour鈥檚 introduction of regional school improvement teams next year to intervene in struggling schools. Intervention will take place before a decision is made on whether to academise a school, which suggests that should a school get back on track there will be no need for what are sometimes expensive and drawn-out academy conversions. Cruddas says 鈥渢here are other ways to secure improvement鈥 in struggling maintained schools. However, she still believes that being part of 鈥渁 group of schools working together in a legal entity鈥 is 鈥渢he only secure, long-term, sustained improvement鈥. But what about federalisation as an alternative to academising? Cruddas says she 鈥渨ould love to disrupt this idea that 鈥榳e have to resist joining a trust鈥. 鈥淚f we really believe in deep and purposeful collaboration, why would we seek to resist? It’s political in the end, isn’t it?鈥 But she adds: 鈥淚 hate the term [academisation], I don’t even know what it means. 鈥淚 believe in the power of a group of schools working together in a single legal entity. We call that an academy trust. That is the most powerful educational structure for schools and for children.鈥