The Ethics Advantage: Building Trust in Turbulent

It is a trying time to be a Trust, school, or college leader. Today’s education leaders face rising expectations, shrinking budgets, staff shortages, and mounting accountability pressures. They are expected to deliver high-quality education, drive improvement, support wellbeing, and lead inclusively—all while under intense scrutiny from Ofsted and performance frameworks. These challenges leave little room for strategic thinking or sustainable leadership.

So, what if ethical leadership is the key?

Ethical leadership helps restore trust, model integrity, and build cultures where both staff and students thrive. Ethical leaders guide difficult decisions with a moral compass, prioritise wellbeing, and foster inclusive environments that reflect and support diverse communities.

Join Dr. Matt Silver and Mandy Gage in conversation with Jo Malone to explore how ethical leadership can shape the future of education.

During this session we will be exploring the following themes:

• Patterns in Education’s Evolution: Understanding the trends and changes shaping education.
• Unlocking Human Potential: Exploring commonalities among individuals and how they can drive educational progress.
• Taking Collective Action: Moving beyond discussions to implement actionable steps for the next wave of educational innovation.
• Creating a Culture of Transparency and Trust: Practices leaders can use to foster openness and reliability.

• Ethical Leadership: Going beyond simply knowing right from wrong to consistently act in alignment with principles and embedding them.
• Advocacy in Leadership: Exploring what advocacy can look like in leadership roles.

Dr. Matt Silver
Dr. Matt Silver is an experienced educator, researcher, and executive coach. His recent book, Reinventing Education: Beyond the Knowledge Economy, explores the hidden elements of change and provides a framework to navigate education’s uncertain future. Matt’s work with the Glass House Leadership Lab focuses on creating ethical, sustainable, digital tools to address systemic challenges in education.

Mandy Gage
Mandy transitioned from a successful career in Performing Arts to state education in 2004. She has led The Victory Academy to its first “Good” Ofsted rating and now serves as Deputy CEO of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust. Mandy has consistently demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to excellence, resulting in the development and successful launch of the ‘Leadership Principles,’ a comprehensive framework designed to embed a shared understanding of the behaviours, values, and responsibilities expected of leaders at all levels.

Jo Malone
Jo is an education consultant, adviser, and coach focused on creating a more inclusive and equitable education system. She is an executive member of the Foundation for Education Development and CEO of Operation Spitfire 4 Schools. With a background that includes a decade as Senior Education Adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and 16 years in state secondary education, Jo brings deep expertise in both policy and practice.