SAAS Summer Series: Episode 6 | Staff Improvement is School Improvement: Building The Best Team for Your Setting to Drive Excellence

Behind every successful school is a strong team.

From teachers and support staff to senior leaders and wider school professionals, the people within a setting play a crucial role in its ability to deliver great outcomes for pupils.

But building the right team isn't simply about recruitment. Schools and trusts also need to understand the strengths of their existing workforce, identify opportunities for development and create the right conditions for people to grow and succeed.

For the final episode of the SAAS Summer Sessions, we revisit a panel discussion from the Schools & Academies Show London 2026 exploring how investing in staff can become a powerful driver of school improvement.

Building a Team That Can Drive Excellence

Recruiting and retaining highly skilled, collaborative staff remains a major challenge for schools and trusts.

At the same time, there is huge potential within existing teams. Identifying strengths, investing in professional development and creating effective onboarding and CPD programmes can help organisations develop their people while raising standards across the setting.

This session brings together experienced people, teaching and school improvement leaders to explore what it really takes to build a high-performing school workforce.

The panel features:

• Emma Hendry, Chief People Officer, Exceed Academy Trust
• Tom Garry, Director, STEP Institute of Education
• Angela Rodda, Director of Teaching School Hub, GLF Schools
• Kelly Timpson, People Director, GLF Schools
• Chair: Matt Dickson, Senior Improvement Advisor, The Education People

What Does the Session Explore?

The panel considers how schools and trusts can:

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of their existing provision and teams.
• Recognise opportunities for improvement through internal development and external recruitment.
• Navigate the challenges of recruiting and retaining a skilled and collaborative workforce.
• Develop effective CPD and onboarding strategies.
• Use staff development as a driver for raising standards and improving outcomes.

The discussion highlights an important point: school improvement and staff improvement are closely connected.

Investing in people isn't simply an HR priority. When staff have the skills, support and opportunities they need to develop, schools are better positioned to deliver their wider improvement strategies.

From Recruitment to Development

While recruitment remains an important part of building a strong workforce, schools don't necessarily need to look externally to find all the expertise they need.

Understanding the capabilities already within a team can reveal opportunities for development, progression and collaboration.

A strong people strategy therefore needs to consider both sides of the equation: bringing the right people into the organisation and helping the people already there reach their full potential.

Effective CPD, onboarding and professional development can all contribute to creating a culture where staff feel supported to improve, collaborate and ultimately deliver better outcomes for pupils.

Watch Episode 6

Hear from education and people leaders as they explore practical approaches to recruitment, retention, development and building high-performing teams.

Watch the final SAAS Summer Session below:

WATCH EPISODE 6 ON YOUTUBE >>

That's a Wrap on SAAS Summer Sessions

Over the past six weeks, we've brought you a selection of sessions from the Schools & Academies Show London 2026, covering some of the biggest issues facing education today, from funding and inclusion to wellbeing, policy, estates and school improvement.

But the conversation doesn't end here.

This November, the Schools & Academies Show Birmingham will bring the education community together for two days of insight, discussion, networking and practical solutions.

With 300+ speakers, 50+ hours of CPD and 250+ education suppliers, there's plenty more to explore across the agenda.

👉 Register free for the Schools & Academies Show Birmingham 2026 and discover what's waiting for you this November.