Six takeaways from Local Leadership, Local Impact – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough conference: February 2026

What a day we had at our Local Leadership, Local Impact – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough conference at Burgess Hall in St Ives on 10th February!

With over 120 delegates, two keynote speakers and 14 workshops, we were delighted that so many colleagues from across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to join us for an event that was rich in local practice and opportunities to collaborate across the network.

Here we pick out six takeaways from the conference:

1. Driving standards and inclusion: Delivering RISE in the East of England

Discussion was positioned in the context of the Department for Education’s Regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) programme. Opening the conference, CPTSH Strategic Lead, Deputy CEO of Meridian Trust and RISE Adviser Lesley Birch was joined by Jon Fairclough, Head of Delivery for Suffolk and Cambridgeshire at the DfE, for an overview of the RISE Service in the East of England.

RISE aims to break the link between young people's backgrounds and their future success – a core part of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

• Every school is a RISE school, whether through universal resources or targeted help for schools facing particular challenges.
• Targeted RISE provides tailored, intensive support for schools that need it most.
• Universal RISE aims to mobilise the strengths already in the system to raise standards everywhere.

In the East of England region, key challenges are:

• There is signification variation across the region – marking it apart from other regions.
• KS2 attainment is the lowest of any region in England.
• The gap between disadvantaged students v their peers is larger in the East of England v national. Areas of particular focus are: Reception year quality; KS2 attainment; and KS4 attainment – for disadvantaged pupils.

• There are significant variations in outcomes between local authorities across the region.
• Like many regions, local authorities are struggling to meet demand for SEND and Children’s Social Care.

Universal RISE is underpinned by four national priorities – reception year quality, attainment, attendance, and mainstream inclusion – delivered through a regional infrastructure. In the East of England, this focuses on improving collaboration, signposting, and targeted support, and includes a Disadvantage Network, KS2 Attainment Network, and KS4 Attainment Network.

“Universal RISE is about making a difference for children in our region,” Lesley said. “We are all part of RISE – whether as a giver or receiver – and we are here to support each other. When we come back this time next year, we want you all to know what RISE is about. Go away and tell your colleagues about the offer.”

2. Inspiring keynotes: accelerating excellence through culture and collaboration

In her morning keynote, Sonia Gill, Founder and Director of Heads Up and Author of Journey to Outstanding: How to break the glass ceiling of 'good' and create a genuinely outstanding school, presented on ‘Creating excellence in your school – regardless of circumstances’.

Since 2011, Sonia has been visiting outstanding schools to uncover what drives their success, to instil those lessons into her leadership training. She spoke about culture as a multiplication of behaviour and time, reiterating the famous management maxim attributed to Peter Drucker that “culture eats strategy for breakfast”, shared her ‘culture calculator’, and approaches to accelerating excellence by growing the skills of the team in order to create high performance.

Sonia went on to share an example from Nine Acres Primary School in the Isle of Wight.

In the afternoon, Dan Lambert, Senior HMI for Ofsted in the East of England region, gave a keynote titled ‘Celebrating collaboration’, covering leadership and governance, Ofsted’s new approach to inspections, and inclusion.

“Collectively, we want to achieve”, he shared:

• High-quality, inclusive education for every child, pupil, learner, apprentice and trainee.
• Great outcomes for everyone, including for those who are disadvantaged, those with SEND, those known, or previously known to children’s social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being.
• Better information for parents and carers.
• A collaborative and transparent approach to inspection.
• High and rising standards of education and care.

Dan encouraged delegates to visit Ofsted’s Underpinning skills programme (USP) modules before taking a series of questions from the audience.

3. Advancing early years and primary education

Local Leadership, Local Impact – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough featured a diverse and compelling programme of expert-led workshops focused on improving outcomes across early years and primary.

The East of England Early Years Stronger Practice Hub delivered a breakout titled ‘Excellence in early years: From high-quality practitioner development to exceptional provision planning’. The session explored the importance of early years according to research, the impact of professional development and how to make it effective, curriculum development – clarifying what it is and isn’t – and continuous provision, examining its purpose and what children are learning through it.

 

In another workshop led by the East Midlands Early Years Stronger Practice Hub with Pen Green, ‘Developing writing skills in the EYFS – The importance of early physical development’, delegates gained insight into the developmental foundations of early writing, identified key physical and sensory milestones, and explored practical, developmentally-appropriate strategies to support early writing skills.

Cambridgeshire Maths Hub, whose vision is to create and sustain vibrant mathematical communities where inspiring colleagues and focused collaboration drive excellence, did a deep dive on ‘Raising attainment in primary maths: Improving outcomes for all’, drilling down on equity and inclusive pedagogies, strategies to deepen pupils’ conceptual understanding, and maximising assessment-for-learning opportunities within maths lessons.

New Wave English Hub presented on ‘The Writing Framework (Primary)’ which builds on its work in phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure, now expanded to reading fluency and secondary. The workshop addressed strategic leadership of the writing curriculum, the role of physical development in writing readiness, fostering a positive writing culture, and developing a team of writing experts.

4. Targeted secondary workshops: Literacy and attendance strategies

Secondary-specific sessions were also on offer.

Another workshop hosted by New Wave English Hub focused on ‘KS3 reading fluency’ and its pivotal role in GCSE success. The session explored what is meant by ‘reading fluency,’ why it is essential for comprehension, and practical strategies for developing fluency in the classroom. The Hub also outlined a secondary pilot currently underway, designed to embed literacy as a strategic priority in secondary schools and share expertise and evidence-informed practice, with funding available for 10 eligible schools.

Abbey College Ramsey gave fascinating insights on ‘Boosting attendance through practical, whole-school strategies’. The discussion covered understanding the drivers of absenteeism and how to address them effectively, fostering a culture of belonging and positive attendance, using data-driven approaches for monitoring and intervention, and providing practical support for vulnerable groups and individuals.

5. Building inclusive schools: Adaptive teaching and SEND provision

SEND and inclusion was inevitably a major focus of attention, even before publication of the Schools White Paper: Every child achieving and thriving.

In ‘Developing a Shared Understanding of Adaptive Teaching’, Meridian Trust examined the importance of having a common understanding of adaptive teaching – what it is and what it isn’t. The session shared an approach to developing this shared understanding across the Trust and highlighted case studies, including Bar Hill Primary School, demonstrating the implementation and impact of this work.

Trumpington Park Primary School, another Meridian Trust school, presented on ‘The importance of creating and implementing a whole-school vision for SEND in primary’, and also offered practical steps and strategies for translating that vision into daily practice. Their starting point was ensuring that every child’s needs are met, enabling them to thrive and achieve their full potential.

An Enhanced Resource Base (ERB) is a specialist type of SEND provision for children whose needs cannot be fully met through standard mainstream support, even with an EHCP and ordinarily available resources. In ‘Why establish an Enhanced Resource Base in your primary school?’, Diamond Learning Partnership and Wintringham Primary Academy shared on-the-ground insights into the key drivers behind establishing The Lighthouse ERB and detailed tips and lessons learned from their experience.

Cambridgeshire Virtual School and Peterborough Virtual School explored the impact of belonging on school improvement, behaviour, attendance, and achievement. In ‘Belonging by Design: Leadership for Inclusion, Culture and Achievement’, attendees gained an understanding of how belonging affects children known or previously known to social care, why fostering belonging is a strategic, system-level responsibility, and how to identify aspects of school culture that either promote or undermine belonging. The session concluded by inviting participants to consider: What is one system-level change that could make belonging more likely for children known to social care in your school?

6. Collaborative learning and strategic planning in action

Beyond primary, secondary and SEND, there were other sector-wide learnings to absorb.

In ‘DfE Curriculum and Assessment Review: How are we responding?’, Anglian Learning provided a concise summary of their assumptions and intentions across leadership, curriculum and pedagogy following the review. The session included mutual sharing of emerging implementation plans, collaborative planning of responses, and identification of areas for future joint work, including discussions on What could we helpfully do together through CPTSH? – a topic to be further developed by the Hub.

“KS2-KS3 alignment and transition: Lessons from all-through schools and trusts” explored the challenges and opportunities of the KS2 to KS3 transition. Hampton Academies Trust highlighted effective all-through approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and support systems, while providing practical strategies for adapting these principles within schools.

A session from Thomas Deacon Education Trust, ‘Taking back your IDSR: Understanding and using It to benefit your school’, focused on the key features of an IDSR. Delegates learned how it supports contextual understanding of their school, how Ofsted uses it (and its limitations), and how to leverage the IDSR for school improvement and inspection preparation.

Finally, in ‘From vision to practice: Building an AI strategy for your school’, Chime Consultancy guided delegates in defining an AI vision aligned with key improvement priorities, developing the foundations of an AI strategy – including governance, ethics and safeguarding – and identifying practical first steps, quick wins, and long-term goals for sustainable implementation.

In her closing remarks, Lesley Birch shared with attendees: “Today was a time for sharing, collaboration and professional generosity. Presentations have been formative and challenged our thinking, and the audience attentive, reflective and engaged. It is all about ensuring our children across our area, and our region, have the best opportunities in their school communities, and also celebrating all the good things you do.”

Author: Phil Smith, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Teaching School Hub. Thanks to our Local Leadership, Local Impact – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough exhibitors Academy21, Anspear, Cambridge Maths Hub, Cambridgeshire Music, EPM, Evidence Network, New Wave English Hub, Oak Activities, Pen Green and Reed for their support.