Karen Burns is a nationally respected education leader whose work has transformed outcomes for thousands of pupils and strengthened school leadership across multiple regions. With more than 25 years of experience, she has led some of the most challenging school and trust contexts, delivering sustained improvement and contributing significantly to system leadership.
As Headteacher of St Peter’s Primary, Karen led one of the most rapid school turnarounds nationally, moving the school from the lowest percentile for English outcomes to the top 1% for progress within 18 months. She has since supported complex trust rebrokerages on behalf of the Department for Education, supported schools in several local authorities and secured stability in schools facing acute challenge.
As founder and CEO of Victorious Academies Trust, she has grown the trust from two to 15 schools, supporting more than 4,000 pupils and 700 staff. Her leadership is defined by high standards, strong governance and a commitment to empowering every learner for lifelong success. Karen mentors new CEOs for the DfE, facilitates national professional qualification programmes with UCL, is a FED Partner and sits on the Pearson Digital Innovation Board. She also serves as a board member of the Women’s Education Leadership Advisory Board and is a frequent keynote speaker at major national events.
