CEO MONTHLY / FEMALE CEO OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2025 11 Most Innovative Learning CEO 2025: Sarah Morrison So much excellent work has been done in recent years to support children struggling in education, and one of those at the forefront of this push has been Elementa Education Group, which is committed to providing education professionals and settings – as well as young people and their families – with all of the support they need to thrive. Sarah Morrison, the CEO and visionary behind this comprehensive support partner for UK learning provisions, caught up with us for more on the back of her recognition as the Most Innovative Learning CEO 2025 in this programme. Ten years ago, Sarah Morrison made a promise to her husband that if she could not make self-employment work doing something she loved then she would go out and get a ‘proper’ job. Looking out over Elementa Education Group a decade later – it today has almost 200 staff, sites across the UK, and a leader esteemed for her work – what Sarah has created has had much more of an impact than most ‘proper’ jobs ever would. The Group is today active from Northampton to Devon and offers support in a variety of ways. “The reason I had the opportunity to give myself 12 months before getting a ‘proper’ job – I feel I don’t have a ‘proper’ job as I love it so much – is due to my mum passing away. A payment I was not expecting from her education pension allowed us to set up and be able to provide this education support. Poetic, some would say!” Elementa’s school-facing services today span everything from recruitment and school improvement through to behaviour and teacher training. Elmtree Learning Partnership is then the Group’s alternative learning network, and this is where it directly supports the children struggling in education. Examples of how it achieves this include the provision of tailored learning environments, online tutoring, and community mentoring, with this area of business hitting new heights last year, following the opening of its first school. Elmtree Grove in Bristol is a purpose-built school for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and specialises in supporting primary-aged children as they progress through their educational journeys. The school was opened after a staggering 16 schools refused to accept one of the learners accessing alternative provisions through Sarah and the team here. This marks the first in what will hopefully become a long line of schools, with another two (along with four alternative learning provisions) set for 2026. Guiding Sarah as she brings these locations to life is her wealth of experience in education, with 2025 actually marking her 20th anniversary in this environment. Sarah’s experiences have been highly diverse, ranging from training and safeguarding through to teaching the teachers. SEND is something that has always had a special place in Sarah’s heart, dating back to her days supporting SEND students whilst she was at university in Plymouth. Excitingly, this is home to Elmtree Sands, one of the schools up opening next year. However, it is not only through her education that Sarah has had her passion nurtured, and she has been fortunate throughout her career to have managers spot her determination and desire to learn, resulting in her achieving several ‘firsts’ for her previous employers. “I have never seen my gender or age as a reason not to push forwards”, Sarah explained. “Education in some areas is dominated by women, but as you move up to leadership that representation is not always replicated.” Elementa is different – dominated by female leaders. It is on the back of this exceptional leadership that Elementa has a great deal to celebrate as 2025 winds down, including the more than 2000 hours of alternative provision education it delivers each week, as well as the growing waiting lists for both its schools and other such provisions. As for its next steps, Sarah shared: “We are committed to growing by at least one school per year for the next five years. 2026 also sees us open in Wales, and I am very excited to have former colleagues join us to help develop our services.” Finally, touching on her own career, Sarah added: “I have been invited to be a trustee of a local education organisation which gives me the opportunity to influence SEND provision beyond Elementa and Elmtree.” This encapsulates what makes Sarah Morrison such an authority in the world of education, and it is our pleasure to recognise her as such through this award. More on Elementa Education Group’s great work can be found below. Contact: Sarah Morrison Company: Elementa Education Group Web Address: https:// elementa.org.uk/
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