Trust Matters: Lessons in Leadership

How to roll out a digital strategy across 62 schools - Building teams, breaking down barriers & being a neurodivergent leader

In this episode, we sit down with Gemma Gwilliam, head of digital learning, education, and innovation at the Portsmouth Education Partnership. Gemma shares insights into her unique role, leading the implementation of a digital strategy across all 62 schools in Portsmouth - a city where every school, whether part of a trust or local authority, is united under the same partnership.
She reveals her creative approach to leveraging technology in and beyond the classroom, explaining how she builds collaboration and gets everyone on board with her vision. Gemma also opens up about a pivotal moment in her career: a challenging lesson observation that almost made her leave education, and how it has shaped her professional journey. She discusses her forward-thinking ideas on using technology to transform lesson observations, and how schools and trusts can better support neurodivergent staff.
Additionally, Gemma shares her perspective on the controversial ban of mobile phones in schools, explaining why she disagrees and how technology can be a powerful tool for supporting neurodivergent students.
For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit key.sc/trustsupport or get in touch with our team here: key.sc/trust-enquiry.
Don’t forget to also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Trust Matters, at key.sc/trustmatters.
To find out more about Gemma, visit her LinkedIn profile.
All views expressed in this episode are the guest's own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.

What trust leaders can learn from premier league football managers - Managing a team, navigating change & finding your purpose

In this episode, we chat with Phil Denton, former headteacher, leadership coach, and author of The First 100 Days: Lessons In Leadership From The Football Bosses, for an engaging discussion on leadership and the fascinating parallels between education and football management.
Phil shares the story of how his chance meeting with former Tranmere Rovers and Dundee United manager Micky Mellon sparked the idea for his book. What began as a casual conversation between a school headteacher and a football manager soon turned into a collaborative journey of exploration. Together, they met with top football managers, consulted experts, and explored the psychological, sociological, and philosophical principles behind effective leadership.
Phil reflects on his own experience as a new headteacher in Liverpool, comparing the lessons he learned to those shared by some of the Premier League’s top managers, including David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Pep Guardiola. He emphasises the importance of discovering your personal leadership purpose and offers actionable advice on how to achieve and sustain success.
For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit key.sc/trustsupport or get in touch with our team here: key.sc/trust-enquiry.
Don’t forget to also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Trust Matters, at key.sc/trustmatters.
To find out more about Phil, visit his LinkedIn profile.
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Ellie Potter, Content Marketing and Social Media Lead at The Key
Phil Denton, former headteacher, leadership coach, and author of The First 100 Days: Lessons In Leadership From The Football Bosses.
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All views expressed in this episode are the guest's own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.
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How AI can transform your trust - Reducing workload, enhancing teaching & influencing leadership

In the first episode of our series, we speak with Chris Goodall, Head of Digital Education at Bourne Education Trust, about his pioneering work in integrating AI across 26 schools.
Chris shares his strategies for getting staff on board with AI, offering practical tips and insights into how he conducts training sessions. He provides real-life examples of how AI is being used within the trust to reduce workloads, enhance teaching and learning, and drive leadership innovation.
Throughout the episode, Chris discusses both the risks and rewards of AI in education, including its impact on the digital divide. He also tackles the big question: Is AI a threat to the teaching profession? And, what might classrooms of the future look like?
In addition to his expertise in digital education, Chris opens up about his personal leadership journey, from lessons learned during his life coach training to his adventurous trek to Mount Everest's base camp.
At The Key, we're also excited to introduce our new AI feature, KeyGPT, which can assist schools and trusts in the ways Chris highlights in the episode. With KeyGPT, you’ll get personalised responses in seconds - whether it’s drafting a letter to parents, crafting questions for a staff meeting, or solving a complex timetable issue.
Try KeyGPT for free by signing up for a trial at key.sc/keygpt-trial.
For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit key.sc/trustsupport or get in touch with our team here: key.sc/trust-enquiry.
Don’t forget to also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Trust Matters, at key.sc/trustmatters.
To find out more about Chris, visit his LinkedIn profile.
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Ellie Potter, Content Marketing and Social Media Lead at The Key
 
Chris Goodall, Head of Digital Education at Bourne Education Trust
 
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All views expressed in this episode are the guest's own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.
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