Associated Organisation

Windsor Academy Trust

Dawn Haywood

Speaker Summary

Dawn Haywood is the CEO at the Windsor Academy Trust, and one of the UK’s foremost modern leadership experts. Backed by a long and successful career of leading for the student, Dawn has worked tirelessly to amplify student engagement, voice, and leadership in order to drive educational improvement across the globe. She works with the Department for Education on the Priority Education Investment Area Local Partnership Boards to help schools across the West Midlands.

As the founder of the Student Engagement Trust (SET) a trans-Atlantic organisation, she provided superb guidance for teachers and students in schools, multi-academy trusts and corporations. Nationally celebrated for her school’s approach to learning during COVID-19, Dawn brings all her student-focused leadership expertise to the Summit.

Areas of Expertise

Leadership and Management – Staff Recruitment and Development

Full Profile

Dawn commenced the role CEO of the Windsor Academy Trust in January 2022, having been the Deputy CEO and Education Director for seven years. She has been a delegate on the Future Leaders (Ambition School Leadership) Executive Educators programme, is a facilitator on the Executive Headship programme and has been the Vice Chair of the Board of a MAT in the West Midlands. Dawn was the founder and Chief Executive of the Student Engagement Trust which focused on the advancement of student engagement, voice and leadership to drive educational improvement working with schools, multi academy trusts and corporate educational organisations in England and the USA. In addition, Dawn has served on a number of national student voice and leadership advisory groups, including ‘My Education’ in partnership with Teach First and Pearson.

Dawn spent 10 years at the Youth Sport Trust where she supported pre-designation and re-designation and school improvement of specialist sports colleges. She was the national lead for the coaching and leadership and volunteering strands of the government’s Physical Education and School Sport Strategy for Young People, working closely with the Department for Education and the Department for Culture Media and Sport. During this time, Dawn also worked closely with government departments in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, India and Malaysia to support policy and national strategy development for the advancement of student leadership. Dawn advised the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on their legacy strategy for young people as well as leading the establishment of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Youth Board.

Dawn’s early career was as a PE Teacher, Head of PE and Director of Sport. Dawn wrote a successful bid for her school to become one of the first few Specialist Sports Colleges in the country where she became Assistant Headteacher. Dawn has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Management and is a published author in the field of student engagement, voice and leadership. Dawn has presented at numerous conferences in the UK and overseas, as well as speaking with the Education Select Committee in the Houses of Parliament and at Conservative and Labour Party conferences.