We are delighted to share a recent Centre for Young Lives/SHINE report by Jonny Uttley, Centre for Young Lives Visiting Fellow, SHINE trustee, and former MAT leader. A New Settlement for Education: Why We Need a New Theory of Place-Based Improvement challenges us to think differently about how we improve education. It argues that many of the challenges facing children and young people today — from persistent absence and SEND to mental health, poverty and NEETs — cannot be solved by schools acting alone. Instead, we need to build an education system around communities, with schools acting as civic anchors and local partners working together around shared outcomes. Could place-based improvement offer the next big shift in education reform? What would it mean to judge the success of an education system by how well an entire community helps every child thrive?