Luke Sparkes

School Trust Leader @DixonsAcademies | Founding Principal @DixonsTA | OpenSource

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

Most strategies fail because leaders spread resources too thin.

In episode five of our strategy series, I share how we go all in on a few big moves, and why the hardest part is saying no to good ideas.

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

Don’t miss this.

We’re hosting a free Dixons OpenSource seminar sharing what we’ve learned from our nine-day working fortnight: the thinking, the challenges, and the impact so far.

If you care about retention, workload and culture, sign up 👇

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

🚨Free seminar for educators

What happens when a trust moves to a nine-day working fortnight?

We’re sharing the real story: the data, the challenges and the impact.

Sign up here: https://t.co/ouFHOfrq7V

📅 Thu 26 Feb | 4–5pm | Online

🔁 RT to share with your network

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

💭Peter Drucker didn’t go far enough.
Culture isn’t strategy’s rival, it’s the plate everything sits on.
🎙️ Episode one of our mission map OpenSource series is live!
We’re sharing our six-layer mission map: a practical framework for building intentional culture.
Watch below 👇

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

If you believe in high expectations, transformational leadership and changing lives through education, I'd love to hear from you.

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

💙Lead with heart. Shape young lives. Serve a community.
📍 We’re recruiting a secondary principal in Greater Manchester.

🌟A rare opportunity to lead with purpose, shape culture, and improve life chances.

Find out more and apply now: https://t.co/8Xb1WKR9tl

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

How we organise learning matters.

🎥 Video six of seven in our latest series explores:
✨ Joy: learning with purpose and challenge
🔄 Flexible grouping: ensuring no student is lost, every student stretched

When structure meets joy, classrooms come alive.

Watch now ⬇️

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

Incredible opportunity for a standout leader to join us @DixonsUnity. If you’re driven by mission, values and the belief that education can transform lives, we’d love to hear from you.

Lead with purpose �� shape culture → change outcomes.

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

🚀 We’re recruiting an exceptional leader for @DixonsUnity

If you’re an ambitious leader ready to drive impact, shape culture & put social mobility at the heart of school improvement: this is a rare opportunity.

Apply now: https://t.co/90B3rUbJS4

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

💭Scaffolds aren’t permanent, they’re blueprints for independence.

That’s why principle 6: modelling and scaffolding matters. Watch episode three of our instruction principles series and learn how expert thinking made visible helps students move from guidance to mastery.

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

@jamief__ Thanks! Looks like we can learn a lot - I’ll reach out.

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

We're building a cricket programme from scratch.

We need a leader. A first for the trust sector. A game-changer for our students.

I'd love to hear from you if you're interested!

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

🚨 We're launching a pioneering head of cricket role! 🏏

We're on a mission to challenge disadvantage and find the next generation of cricket stars from our communities in the North.

Think you can help us build it? https://t.co/6X3MwWtCJo

#CricketJobs #Cricket

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

We’re looking for exceptional science leaders ready to make impact beyond the classroom. 🧪

🗓️ Nine-day fortnight
👩‍⚕️ Private healthcare
📈 Real career growth

👉 https://t.co/Qeth0B9CsY
📩 [email protected]

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

We’re looking for an exceptional maths leader to shape strategy and raise outcomes across our academies. ➗

If you’re ready to lead system-level change and see your work have impact, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 https://t.co/Qeth0B9CsY
📧 Contact [email protected]

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

What if your team could make great decisions without waiting for approval?

This week’s #OpenSource episode explores how our circles model is speeding up impact across our trust.

Don’t miss it 👇

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

What if your team didn’t need permission to act? 👀

Watch the first episode in our series on circles. High-trust, high-speed mini-teams that cut out hierarchy and get things done.

No gatekeeping. No silos. No ego.

We'd love to hear what you think!

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

@Pekabelo Hi Pete. We jettisoned traditional PM a few years ago. I need to make a video, but this will help for now:

https://t.co/hgujGGRrRf

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

@Ivesey2 Hi Gareth. We currently use the approach at trust and school / college level. But the principles could definitely be applied at department level.

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

If you’ve been following our mini-series on OpenSource, you’ll know we’re trying things that help our leaders engage in agile approaches to strategy.

In episode three, we share how our live list keeps strategy urgent, actionable, and alive.

Watch below 👇

#Education

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

@MBradley450 Hi Michael. The live list is a brain dump of all our strategic and operational issues. It informs our risk register, meeting agenda items, projects and future big moves and our what’s most important right now.

Have you seen this episode?

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

We’ve torn up the old strategy playbook. No more dusty plans or annual cycles.

At Dixons, our 2–5 year plan evolves every week: bold moves, real talk, zero fluff.

This is strategy that actually works. Watch this week’s OpenSource episode below👇

#LivingStrategy #Leadership

[Luke Sparkes @ldsparkes]

In this week’s OpenSource episode, I share how our 2–5 year plan fits on one slide, solves real problems, and drives everything we do. No fluff. No jargon. Just four bold steps and a clear north star.

#Strategy #Leadership

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

360 students, one collaboration concert, an incredible showcase 🎤 🎵

#DixonsCollabConcert2025

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

That's a wrap!

Today we made history with our first-ever whole trust athletics championships! 🏆 Students gave it their all in a range of track and field events. Huge congratulations to all who took part! 💙#TeamDixons #DixonsAthleticsChamps

[Dixons Academies Trust @DixonsAcademies]

Have you watched the first episode of our six-part series on strategy, featuring @ldsparkes?

If the answer is no, we'd encourage you to check it out here: https://t.co/XCrp7gIdKj

#OpenSource #Dixons #Leadership #EduStrategy