Authors

Seamus Murphy
Seamus Murphy


Seamus Murphy has been CEO of , a multi-academy trust running schools in Kent, since 2020.

Previously, Seamus was an executive headteacher for Swale Academies Trust, overseeing five secondary schools. He began his career in London, eventually serving as a London Challenge partner before securing his first headship in Kent. He has also served as an HMI for Ofsted.

All articles by Seamus Murphy
The coastal schools mission must get to the heart of the issues
The CEO of a trust with several coastal schools welcomes the government’s Mission Coastal but says it can’t just rehash past successes in other parts of the country
Secondary
18 March 2026
The waterfront of the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, UK.
How MAT inspections could work - and why we should want them
The whole education sector – and parents, too – would benefit from a ‘carefully designed and sensitively implemented’ inspection system for MATs, claims this CEO
General
19 June 2025
Microscope on desk with book
‘Learned dependency’ for school improvement models must end
Fears about the DfE’s new RISE model prove all players in the system need to be proactive around the challenge of school improvement, says this MAT CEO
General
3 December 2024
‘Learned dependency’ for school improvement models has to end
How our trust improved its inclusion and SEND offer
A trust CEO who has overseen a raft of initiatives designed to improve support for pupils with SEND shares some insights on what they did and the impact it is having
Strategy
19 September 2024
Open doors
SEND placements pose tough questions - but things must change
A trust CEO outlines why he believes moves to reconsider how children with special educational needs and disabilities are placed in mainstream settings to be the right course of action
Specialist Sector
17 June 2024
SEND placements pose tough questions - but things must change
‘Schools should educate about mobile phones, not ban them’
The debate on mobile phones in schools is too one-sided – a more education-focused approach rather than an outright ban might have better outcomes, argues Seamus Murphy
General
12 March 2024
‘Schools should educate about mobile phones, not ban them’