The education landscape is undergoing a fundamental reset. With reforms reshaping schools, trusts and leadership, the system is evolving — whether we’re ready or not. Major system-wide reviews are already underway, from the Ofsted inspection framework, to the national curriculum, to the long-overdue SEND review. These top-down changes are significant. But for too long, reform has happened to the sector as opposed to with it.

When technology falters or freezes, we reboot the system. Education is no exception. Decades of piecemeal reforms have overloaded the education system, from accountability to SEND, leaving it unresponsive. We don’t need another patch; we need a fundamental reboot. Not a destructive reset, but a strategic restart, driven by the expertise of our schools. The future of our region doesn’t depend solely on policy, politics or economic cycles, it’s already being shaped in classrooms, corridors and staff rooms across the North East.

This one day in-person event is our collective power button to reboot. What does leadership look like in a revived education system? How can we develop and empower leaders to influence reform, not just navigate it? The sector is at a turning point. Policies are shifting, technology is advancing, and schools are expected to adapt at speed. But rather than simply responding to change, education leaders have the opportunity to reset, rethink, and reboot the system for the future.

The Schools North East Annual Summit 2025 is a unique chance to lead. We invite school and trust leaders to take the lead in rebooting the system on our terms—to influence the reforms already in motion and ensure they reflect the needs of our schools, our pupils, and our communities.