In this episode I’m joined by Sharron Philpot, CEO of Victoria Academies Trust, to explore one of the most live questions in trust leadership: autonomy versus centralisation. We dig into how roles, responsibilities and decision-making have been reshaped over time, what has needed to sit at trust level and where schools have been given space to lead and how those choices have played out in practice. Drawing on real examples from across the trust, Sharron shares what has worked, what has been harder than expected and how culture, clarity and consistency have underpinned the journey.

▶️ This episode at a glance:

[2:10] – Sharron introduces her trust and what makes it special to her

[4:25] – Her journey into the CEO role and the value of growing within one trust

[6:32] – How the trust approached needed change through reflection and collaboration

[11:19] – Tackling diluted accountability and building frameworks to strengthen organisational identity

[13:31] – Revisiting vision, mission and values and embedding them into schools

[17:39] – How these principles shaped decisions on autonomy and centralisation

[21:55] – What these decisions have meant for the central team, capacity building and succession planning

[27:04] – The evidence that this model is working and how it continues to evolve

[32:28] – Redesigning the Scheme of Delegation to support the new operating model and clarify decision-making

[35:35] – How governance works from board to local academy councils and the role they play

[41:30] – Protecting culture through growth and change

[44:47] – Sharron’s key do’s and don’ts on autonomy and centralisation

📚 Related Content:

Contact Sharron via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharron-philpot-ba894197/

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This podcast is hosted by me, Laura Williams, and sponsored by the amazing team at Schools Advisory Service who are the UK’s largest provider of staff absence insurance and comprehensive whole school wellbeing services.

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⭐️ Schools Advisory Service website: https://schooladvice.co.uk/