Flourishing Leaders lead Flourishing Schools — Anita Bath OBE, Nicola Taylor and Dan Murray (Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust)
Lessons learned in leadership development across Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, a community of 39 schools in the northeast of England. This session will explore the pressing need in education today to really develop leaders to become leaders of people with the purpose and passion to lead our schools in turbulent times. We will explore how we have approached this within our Trust, and describe the roll out and implementation of our strategy. A headteacher will describe the journey of his school, moving forwards from an OFSTED RI judgement to become a place where the culture shift is enabling everyone to flourish.
About the speakers
Anita Bath OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
Originally from London, Anita moved to the Northeast in 1988 where she began her career as an English teacher. She was appointed headteacher of Sacred Heart High School for girls in Newcastle which became a sponsor academy in 2017 and a Trust of 3 schools. In October 2019 the MAT began to expand rapidly. By July of 2022, Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust was a community of 39 schools. Anita is a fellow of the RSA. Anita currently sits on the Advisory Board for the region.
Nicola Taylor, Director of SEND, Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
Nicola is Director of SEND at Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, a Trust of 5 secondary schools and 34 primary schools across the local authorities of Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. We employ 2000 staff and work with around 14000 students. Nicola has worked her whole career in the field of SEN across a range of roles and within a range of school settings, as well as spending a period of time specialising in delivering pre school services to the families of deaf children. In recent years, she was a strategic leader of SEN Services at Northumberland County Council, working closely with schools to deliver rapid improvements before moving to BBCET in September 2022 following its rapid expansion from 3 – 39 schools in 3 years. She is entirely focussed on improving outcomes for children and young people, and on harnessing the passion and energy of staff. She contributes to a range of national, regional and local networks and is a school Governor, alongside being a Trustee for a Northumberland based charity investing in nurturing wellbeing amongst young adults. She is particularly interested in developing people; practitioners and leaders. She is an accredited trainer for the Living Leader Personal Leadership programme; a programme which has been delivered globally to over 95,000 people and has a proven track record of transforming the lives of individuals, teams and businesses. The programme underpins the leadership strategy within the Trust, emphasising that leadership is not a job title, it is a mindset.
Dan Murray, Headmaster, St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School, Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
Dan has served as Headmaster of St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School since January 2021, leading a boys’ school in Newcastle serving a diverse community with significant need. He has guided the school through a sustained period of improvement, driven by a clear moral purpose and the belief that flourishing leaders create flourishing schools. Grounded in self-awareness, service, and reflection, he has built a culture of belonging, high expectations, and aspiration. Alongside improving outcomes, he prioritises staff development and student leadership. Dan is passionate about creating environments where people feel known, valued, and empowered to grow and flourish together.
