Speakers

Adam Ward brings dedication and passion for supporting the education sector to his role as Renewals Manager at Education Mutual. Since joining the organisation as a Membership Advocate, Adam has been instrumental in helping schools and trusts discover a non-profit making alternative to traditional staff absence insurance.

Now working as Renewals Manager, Adam continues to champion the values of Education Mutual by working closely with member schools and trusts to ensure the organisation tailors to their evolving needs. His proactive approach and deep understanding of the sector allow him to deliver bespoke solutions that reflect the unique challenges faced by educational institutions.

Born in Yorkshire but with deep ties to his Scottish family roots, Andrew grew up in the West Midlands and Melbourne, Australia. Andrew spent time working in the live entertainment industry as a technical project manager, supporting the lighting infrastructure and logistics for world wide concert touring productions, prior to entering teaching following his PGCE at The University of Warwick.

Andy Meighen is the Chief Information Officer at Future Academies Trust. Since joining just over two years ago he has been implementing an IT strategy to centralise, standardise, consolidate and automate systems and processes in all 10 Academies within the trust. A ground up redesign of systems with an emphasis on security has now been completed. This is based on a secure by design network, zero trust and a move of all systems to the cloud. Previously, Andy worked as a consultant with a number of trusts as well as working with Arbor migrating schools from SIMS.
Before that, Andy worked as IT Director for Harris Federation, leading the expansion from 19 to 50 Academies. At Harris, he successfully led the recovery of the IT systems after a serious ransomware attack and has taken the many lessons learnt from that experience into future engagements.

Angela is the Senior Campaigns and Communications Officer at the Internet Watch Foundation, the UK hotline to report and remove child sexual abuse images and videos online. Angela coordinates the awareness raising initiatives at the IWF, as well as manages the social media presence of the organisation. She is a communications professional with experience in corporate communications within the third, agency, and private sectors.

Ashfaq was previously vice CEO of the Nova Education Trust with particular responsibility for Toot Hill School, Newark Academy, The Suthers School, The Garibaldi School, Meden School and Melton Vale Sixth Form College.

Ash was also a lead Ofsted inspector before becoming the CEO of Nova Education Trust, is a National Leader of Education and worked closely with DfE officials in implementing the national strategy around teacher recruitment and retention.

Ash is currently vice chair of The Priestley Academy Trust (a primary school trust) and the chair of the school improvement committee.

Bobby became Deputy Chief Executive of the L.E.A.D. Academy Trust in February 2016, after joining as Business Director in January 2013. He is responsible for strategic financial management, systems, operations, and the commercial aspects of the organisation. His background includes consultancy and senior management, where he has overseen large-scale projects, led on business transformation, and implemented effective systems to support sustainable development. He has also held senior finance roles with the Audit Commission, Derbyshire Police Authority, and several non-executive positions.

Bridget leads StriveTogether’s strategy to support Cradle to Career Network members to accelerate their progress through the Theory of Action™ toward better and more equitable outcomes for young people. This includes proactive and responsive network supports, impact investment and a comprehensive network member experience.

Catherine is Community Chair for CST's Finance professional community and is excited to help trust colleagues benefit from the collaboration and support provided by the community. 
 
Catherine is passionate about providing an excellent education for children and developing strong teams to deliver a high-quality financial service for schools. An experienced chartered accountant and member of the executive team, Catherine is Chief Financial Officer for Creative Education Trust. 

Cecilia brings over 16 years of experience in education, including 14 years as a primary teacher across both maintained and independent sectors. Now a Product Specialist at Renaissance Learning, she supports schools in using assessment data and practice tools to drive pupil progress and improve outcomes. With a strong background in teaching and leadership, Cecilia bridges the gap between classroom practice and educational technology, helping schools make confident, evidence-based decisions.

With two decades of experience in the UK energy industry working for suppliers, consultancies and representing customers, I'm well versed in the intricacies and peculiarities of this complex market. As Director of Ginger Energy, I'm passionate about working for our public sector clients to secure the best procurement solutions and lived experiences for their energy needs.

Ciara Campfield is a Partner in Stone King’s Education Team and specialises in advising on the development of joint ventures and multi-partner collaborations comprising local authorities, education and business. Ciara leads the firms commercial and procurement practice for education sector. In addition, she has a particular interest in advising schools and colleges on corporate matters, including mergers, restructures and federations. A core aspect of her work involves advising on the set up of new education institutions (academies and group training organisations offering skills-based learning focused on local area and needs).

Claire specialises in data protection, AI, information governance, and freedom of information for education clients at Browne Jacobson LLP. Her extensive experience leading a data protection officer service as well as experience working as a school business manager and as a local academy board governor equips her with a profound understanding of school challenges. Claire received the European Picasso 'Champion' Award for her ability to support and promote a positive information governance culture within schools, and the important work done by school staff to protect children's personal data. Claire is also a co-author of the IRMS Records Management Toolkit for Schools and Academies and is known for her effective public speaking and advocacy for data protection importance in education. Additionally, Claire's expertise extends to AI governance and edtech. This experience and knowledge makes her an invaluable resource for educational institutions.

Claire sits on Windsor Academy Trust's (WAT) executive team and has overall responsibility for marketing and communications across the trust's family of schools. Claire also has strategic oversight of civic leadership - one of the trust's strategic 'big moves' - supporting schools with community engagement, leading civic partnerships and managing the WAT Community Foundation. Prior to joining WAT, Claire spent 18 years working in PR consultancies, providing strategic communications advice and support to national clients across a range of different sectors.

Clare is an experienced, successful educational leader, having been involved in academies and school trusts since 2010. Prior to her appointment as Kernow Learning CEO in April 2022, she was a headteacher of an outstanding school (Trenance Learning Academy), executive headteacher of two schools, a national leader of education, regional school improver and the Deputy CEO of Kernow Learning.

Clare has been instrumental in establishing the OneCornwall Teaching School Hub, Kernow English Hub and enabling a successful bid for Kernow Learning to become jointly designated as one of the Regional Associate Research Schools for the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

Throughout her professional career, Clare has made the quality of education and outcomes for the children her focus. She believes that the sharing of best practice is an important strand in the shaping of the new national educational landscape and that the strong, clear systems of governance at Kernow Learning are key to the trust continuing to go from strength to strength.

David created Value Match over 10 years ago as a specialist procurement services and consultancy company. Previously, David has held senior positions in the cabinet office, HM treasury and recently as director of procurement, sustainability and social impact at NHS SBS. Through extensive experience in ensuring procurement aligns to an organisations strategy and purpose, David believes that procurement can play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change while delivery positive social vale impact and improving broader organisational outcomes.

Dawn is Chief Executive Officer of Windsor Academy Trust, with 15 schools across five local authorities in priority and education investment areas across the West Midlands. Dawn became CEO in January 2022 having previously served as Deputy CEO and Education Director. Dawn sits on two DfE Priority Education Investment Area Local Partnership Boards. Dawn’s career has included her being the founder and Chief Executive of the Student Engagement Trust. She also spent 10 years at the Youth Sport Trust where she led two strands of the government’s Physical Education and School Sport Strategy for Young People. Dawn established the Youth Board for the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Jen is National Director of Learning at Ormiston Academies Trust where she oversees professional development for 5,000 staff. She has spent the last 15 years grappling with the evidence base about how to enable effective teacher and leader development. Prior to that she spent nearly a decade working as a primary teacher in schools in Manchester.

Jon originally trained as a nurse specializing in adolescents with life limiting illness before moving to become an advisor to a large strategic health authority and a commissioner in a primary care trust. He worked briefly as a specialist advisor on two World Health Organization projects before becoming the lead for early help and multi-agency working in a large local authority.

He became an education safeguarding advisor 16 years ago managing the support offer to 530 schools and for the past six years has worked as the National Director of Safeguarding & Mental Health for the Oasis Trust.

He qualified as a PhD in Education Safeguarding at Liverpool Hope University and has recently published a book on managing sexting in education. He acts as a mentor to five young men starting out in industry ensuring that they develop to their full potential. In his spare time, he is a voluntary youth worker. When (if) he ever relaxes he is a keen fan of Korean dramas (though must use subtitles).

Raj is a Senior Research Associate at the National Institute of Teaching, and also currently teaches maths and economics at a comprehensive secondary school in Hackney. He has led education research teams at Nesta and the Behavioural Insights Team and has a PhD in Economics from the University of Bristol.

Emma is responsible for the teaching strategy across the Star Academies schools. Having worked at Star for over six years, she has a passion for serving the schools and communities within the Star family. She firmly believes the best way to guarantee that every pupil has the best education, is to ensure all teachers have high quality professional development. This professional development must be bespoke, which is why Instructional Coaching is the bedrock for developing expert teachers and support staff at Star.

Emma joined Star after being a senior leader/head of school, at a large multi academy trust for almost a decade.

Ernest is the CEO of Edurio, England’s leading stakeholder feedback platform for schools and school trusts. He is a frequent public speaker both in the UK and internationally on effective use of stakeholder feedback in schools and has published extensive research on stakeholder feedback, staff wellbeing and school improvement.

Gavin is the founding CEO of Infinity Academies Trust, a growing family of Greater Lincolnshire-based Church and community primary schools. Gavin has over 20 years’ experience in primary leadership and has also worked for the local authority leading on education strategy and working with schools experiencing difficulties.

Under Gavin’s leadership, Infinity has supported schools to become the heart of their local communities, with a strong track record of improving outcomes and opportunities for pupils and colleagues and ensuring that everyone is ready to learn and prepared to flourish. Infinity consistently ranks highly for staff perceptions and recently received two awards for staff wellbeing and engagement.

In her role at Hachette Learning, Gemma leads the development of Hachette Learning Academy. The academy is a professional development platform designed to support school improvement through cutting-edge adaptive online courses; and a range of bestselling professional development publications (formerly under the John Catt brand).

With more than 20 years’ experience in educational publishing and product development, Gemma has a deep understanding of the challenges schools face. She has a strong track record of creating user-focused resources that equip educators to lead sustainable, meaningful change in teaching and learning. Her work reflects Hachette Learning’s mission: to make it easier for every learner to fulfil their unique potential by empowering those who teach them.

Gemma Treanor is Head of the System People Function for Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB), leading strategic workforce transformation across the integrated care system. With a background in HR, recruitment and workforce development, Gemma brings over 20 years' of NHS experience in driving collaborative, system-wide change that supports sustainable, inclusive, and innovation workforce programmes.

In her current role, Gemma oversees the design and delivery of programmes that align workforce planning and transformation with population health needs, digital innovation, and new models of care. Gemma is known for her ability to connect strategic vision with operational delivery, working closely with partners across NHS, primary care, social care, local government, and the voluntary sector. Her leadership has been instrumental in shaping workforce policies locally and regularly contributes to regional and national NHS forums on workforce transformation, system leadership, and people strategy.

She is passionate about making a difference to the population of Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent, particularly through the joint working between local schools and colleges, and health and care– creating opportunities to promote careers, raise aspirations in young people and improve population health. More recently she has joined the Windsor Academy Trust Board where she hopes to strengthen the partnerships between education and health to deliver better outcomes for local communities.

Giles has held senior resilience, cyber, information security, and data privacy positions in retail, commercial and investment banking, insurance, and consulting. He has a masters degree in engineering from Imperial College London, started his career with JPMorgan Chase, and most recently joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2015 from Deloitte.

He has been a member of several collaboration cyber groups including the UK Government’s Department of Science Innovation and Technology Cyber Expert Advisory Group, the University of Southampton Cyber Advisory Board, TheCityUK Cyber Resilience Working Group, and currently sits on the Financial Conduct Authority Cyber Collaboration Group for Investment Management.

Graham is the founding director of Humanutopia, and has over 30 years’ experience of working with over 500,000 young people and 50,000 teachers across the world. Graham was a hugely successful teacher for 13 years in a tough Merseyside school. He has a deep and empathic understanding of teaching, education, schools and young people.

He has an inspirational story and continues to work with and empower even the hardest to reach. He is a highly regarded speaker and authority on improving wellbeing for students and staff. He has successfully delivered hundreds of teacher events from keynotes and twilights to full day inset training days.

Hayley has supported the education sector for the last 10 years, providing executive search and interim and consultancy solutions to school trusts, independent schools, FE colleges, and universities. Her speciality is understanding the education sector and connecting talent that is passionate about providing high quality inclusive education. Hayley has built a track record with education leaders and helped many organisations identifying top talent.

Hayley has a passion for education, she is a governor for school trust working closely with the head and trust leaders to ensure excellent levels of education. She previously worked closely with England Rugby Schools to deliver inclusive sport in schools and has strong understanding of the curriculum.

Hayley joined the Anderson Quigley team to further develop the schools and colleges practice and is driven by making a positive difference to the education sector through the quality of leadership appointment.

Harry Paget-Wall Collins is the Deputy CEO of The Gallery Trust, a multi academy trust specialising in SEND across Oxfordshire. Harry began her career in mainstream education, holding senior leadership roles including headteacher and executive principal in both primary and secondary settings. Her commitment to providing high-quality education for society’s most vulnerable learners led her to transition into the specialist sector, where she served as director of education and strategy. In her current role, Harry leads the trust’s people strategy, with a focus on developing strong leadership and teaching to drive school improvement and deliver excellence across the organisation.

Hilary is the CEO of Ambition Institute, and has previously held senior roles in education policy, professional development, and equalities. As a charity, Ambition Institute’s focus is on tackling educational inequality. Since March 2019, Ambition has worked with over 100,000 teachers, and with more than half of all schools in the country. The organisation supports teachers and leaders across their careers with high quality, evidence-based professional development, from initial teacher training to trust leadership. As well as a wide range of professional development programmes, Ambition delivers innovative pilot initiatives, a portfolio of robust research, and wider sector engagement to support equality. SEND and inclusion are long-standing priorities for Ambition, and the team is pleased to have worked with CST on publications like Five principles for inclusion, and convening the Inclusion in Practice hub.

Iona runs the insights team at Edurio, responsible for the creation of new surveys and analysis of the national datasets on staff, pupil and parent experience. Since joining Edurio in 2021, Iona has worked on national reports focused on topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion and staff retention. Iona brings over 10 years of research experience, previously working in fields from technology, to food waste, to finance.

Jackie Waters-Dewhurst moved to Lincolnshire in 2011. And as part of her role as Diocesan Director of Education, set up The Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust which has since grown to 23 schools many serving coastal, urban and rural deprived areas. In 2023, she set up the Love As Action Together fund supporting pupils whose barriers to learning were caused by poverty, giving away over £16,000 in the first year.

Prior to Lincoln, Jackie led the Bristol diocesan education team, chaired North Somerset Schools Forum and was chair of governors for a special school which achieved outstanding Ofsted judgements for it's equity driven work on enterprise and the academic outcomes of pupils. Equity has driven Jackie's career which, both through paid and voluntary work, has enabled her to provide opportunities for those who are often unable to access the variety of experiences which many take for granted.

Jacqueline's role involves high level strategic leadership and management across all aspects of the ASSET Education's activities, ensuring the trust provides high quality education for all its pupils through the effective and efficient use of resources and people. As a system leader, Jacqueline represents the trust with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, enabling the trust to fulfil its civic responsibilities.

James has worked in estates and facilities management for over 20 years in the education and commercial sector. Originally from an health and safety background, James also has a strong background in assets and facilities management.

James currently manages multiple sites within Tove Learning Trust, as well as running a support service for academy schools, EDU FM, offering support in estates, health and safety and compliance. He is passionate about sustainability, asset management, health and safety and CAFM systems, with the focus on delivering excellent service of facilities management within the education environment and professionalising the industry standard in the sector.

James has extensive experience in education, working in Watford schools since 2001. He led the academisation process in November 2016 and established the Inclusive Multi Academy Trust. As an enthusiastic tech user, James is passionate about driving innovation in education whilst advocating strongly for disadvantaged children. He established the trust to ensure children in the most disadvantaged areas of Watford receive the same life chances as their peers. Under his leadership, the trust is embracing AI and digital tools to enhance learning whilst maintaining focus on inclusivity and dignity. James champions creative implementation approaches, believing AI increases the ability to build more diverse staff teams. His family centred, nurturing approach to curriculum development remains central to the trust ethos, whilst he provides strategic leadership, operational support, and coaching for headteachers, school leaders, governors and staff at all levels.

James Townsend is an Executive Director at the Reach Foundation, where he leads the Cradle to Career Partnership and Reach's leadership programmes for aspiring Head Teachers and and Trust CEOs. James has previously held leadership roles at Teach First and STiR Education, where he helped found and grow the organisation to reach over 200,000 teachers globally. He started his career as a history teacher in east London.

James is the CEO and co-founder of Arbor Education, a cloud-based management information system for schools and trusts.

Jean is Head of the Employment, HR, Immigration teams and Joint Head of the Education sector at Stone King LLP. With nearly 20 years post qualification experience, Jean is an accomplished employment lawyer who specialises in acting for those in the education sector.

Jennifer Blatz is the president and CEO of StriveTogether, a national nonprofit working in about 70 communities across the United States to put millions more young people on a path to economic mobility.

At StriveTogether, Jennifer was instrumental in launching the national Cradle to Career Network and creating the StriveTogether Theory of Action™. She led the development of the organisation’s current strategic plan with a bold vision: to put 4 million more young people on a path to economic mobility by 2030. Under Jennifer’s leadership, StriveTogether was named a global Social Innovator of the Year by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, an honor she accepted at the 2024 World Economic Forum.

Before leading StriveTogether, Jennifer was a founding member of StrivePartnership, serving Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Jim started his teaching career in Stockport in a primary school in 1991 and he quickly established a position as a subject leader for a variety of subjects, and head of pastoral care in the early 1990s. During his early teaching career, he worked regularly with the local authority on the development of curriculum planning, assessment, providing professional development for teachers and support for SEND pupils and those who are in danger of falling behind. Jim worked with Edexcel on the advisory group for maths SATs; the NFER for Science tests at KS2 and the national numeracy strategy in its construction stage.

Jim was appointed as headteacher at Mellor in 2007. He was instrumental in establishing the first primary academy in Stockport in 2011. Jim worked with governors developing a case for change and engaging the local community, demonstrating the benefits of establishing Mellor academy. After working as a Director of School at Mellor for almost 15 years, Jim was appointed CEO of Honeycomb Education Trust in February 2025. The Honeycomb Education Trust was officially launched as a school trust with two primary schools (Mellor Primary and Bolshaw Primary) after a period of working together in successful partnership.

Jonny Uttley is the CEO of The Education Alliance Multi-Academy Trust (TEAL). TEAL is a trust of twelve schools in East Yorkshire, Hull and York, serving over 7,000 students, and a SCITT which trains around 60 new entrants to the profession each year.

As a National Leader of Education, Jonny has worked with schools in many different contexts and is committed to a school improvement approach that puts real ethical leadership at the heart of our system, so schools create cultures in which staff genuinely thrive. He is also an elected member of the DfE Advisory Board for Yorkshire and the Humber, a trustee at SHINE and a visiting fellow at the Centre for Young Lives, leading the development of their education policy.

In 2020, Putting Staff First: A Blueprint for Revitalising Our Schools was published, co-authored by Jonny and John Tomsett.

Julian studied law at Exeter University and qualified as a barrister in 1996. After a year working as a crown prosecutor, he completed a PGCE at Anglia Ruskin University and began teaching. He has taught in five state schools in three local authorities. At Chelmsford County High he was deputy headteacher when the school was graded outstanding by Ofsted and gained the highest GCSE results in England in the January league tables. He was headteacher and then executive headteacher at Frances Bardsley Academy, a good school with outstanding features, for 12 years. Julian is the founding CEO of LIFE Education. He holds a first class honours degree in English, a masters in educational leadership, an MBA and the NPQH and is currently a doctoral student. He is a past president of the Association of State Girls Schools, has chaired the cross phase Havering Education Strategic Partnership, chairs the Havering Festival of Education and writes for the National Education Trust.

In July 2021 he joined the Board of the National Coalition of Girls School in the United States which subsequently merged with the ASGS and then their counterpart in Australia to form the International Coalition of Girls Schools with over 550 member schools worldwide. Julian facilitates NPQEL conferences and clinics for Ambition Institute and leads ASCL's Executive Leader training. Julian is Chair of the Epping Forest Trussell Trust Foodbank Board.

Julie leads on school improvement, curriculum development and digital transformation across five primary schools in Bexley and Kent. With over 25 years’ experience in education, including 18 years in leadership roles such as headteacher, executive headteacher, and school improvement advisor, she has a strong commitment to inclusion and innovation.

Julie specialises in AI and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), developing a trust-wide pedagogical framework that led to one school being named an Apple Distinguished School and the Trust becoming an Apple Regional Training Centre.
Julie holds an MA (with distinction) in Educational Leadership and the NPQEL. She was awarded a Silver Award for Digital Innovation in the 2025 Pearson National Teaching Awards in recognition of her pioneering work.

Julie joined E-ACT as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) having previously held CFO roles at Academies Enterprise Trust, two other mid-size trusts and Teach First.

Julie is an experienced, qualified accountant who spent her early career in senior finance and general management roles in the IT industry. Her combined commercial and education experience provide a sound basis for leading all aspects of the CFO role at E-ACT, and overseeing governance, and procurement.

Julie is committed to making sure trust resources are effectively deployed to provide the best education experience for all E-ACT pupils. She is also a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.

Kate Staples is the Chief Operating Officer of Manor Hall Academy Trust, a school trust dedicated to creating inclusive, thriving school communities where every student can succeed. Since her appointment in January 2020, she has played a central role in shaping the trust’s operational strategy and supporting its mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and young people.

As COO, Kate leads on all aspects of business operations, including human resources, estates, procurement, health and safety, data protection, and policy development. She works closely with schools to ensure the right systems and structures are in place, enabling staff to focus on what matters most - students.

Kate studied Performance and Visual Arts at the University of Birmingham and later completed a postgraduate qualification in Charity and Social Enterprise Management at Anglia Ruskin University.

Lauren is the Chief Transformation Officer at United Learning, the largest trust in England. She leads the trust’s work on digital strategy, data and insights, curriculum and assessment, as well as the programme of transformation projects across the organisation. Prior to this, Lauren was the Director of Standards & Performance and Director of Strategy at Ark Schools. Earlier in her career Lauren led a secondary free school to its first good from Ofsted as principal, has taught computer science and IT in a range of schools, and was a research director for a thinktank in Westminster. Lauren holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, a master’s degree in ICT in Education, she has sat on the DfE Ed Tech Advisory Board and Workload Review Panel, and is a serving Ofsted inspector. During the academic year 2024-25, Lauren is Chair of the CST Data and insights professional community.

Leanne is the Director of Primary at Windsor Academy Trust.

As Deputy Chief Executive, Lee is responsible for the strategic operational functions of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust. He is an experienced business manager and finance director with over 15 years of expertise, supporting both primary and secondary schools. During his time as a senior leader, he has been deployed in a number of trusts that have required support or intervention and was recognised in the 2020 Queens Birthday Honours for his services to education.

In addition to his business management experience, Lee is a fellow at the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), and has completed a PGCE in business management. Through his work he has become well versed in some of the challenges that face the education sector in areas that include: financial planning; HR management; legal issues; site and; IT strategies. He was awarded fellow status by the Institute of School Business Leaders (ISBL) in 2021.

Les has over 19 years' experience working with educators, technologists and academics to produce market leading learning solutions. His roles have taken him from discussing fossils with school groups on the Jurassic Coast to developing new digital technologies that help deliver learning and assessment to schools across the world. He is passionate about the power of education to change lives, and the potential that technology offers to support a high-quality education. Les currently works as Product Director for Pearson Schools UK, leading product strategy, research, development, and management for digital, qualifications, and publishing.

Liz is the co-founder and CEO of Big Education, a multi academy trust running schools in underserved communities in inner London. Liz and the team are seeking to act as change makers in the wider system by modelling practices which embody ‘a big education’ - an education of the ‘heart, head, and hand’. They run a number of projects and programmes, including Rethinking Assessment, Rethinking Leadership, the Rethinking School project, and the Big Education Leadership Programme, to facilitate innovation, build capacity in others and advocate for change.

Liz has a particular interest in developing values-led leadership, and has worked extensively as a speaker, trainer and coach. As mum to two young girls, Ella and Alys, Liz works flexibly to manage her roles. She’s also made lots of mistakes in her career and tries to model being a learner and avoid the trappings of ‘superhero’ leadership.

Lucy Chowns drives innovation as the head of a product team for Pearson’s UK Schools, specialising in maths qualifications and resources. With nearly 20 years of experience, she is at the forefront of digital learning and assessment, passionately leading Pearson’s research on how digital tools and technology can revolutionise teaching, learning and assessment. Her mission is to harness the transformative power of technology to enhance educational outcomes.

Luke is the Appropriate Body Lead for the Star Teaching School Hub (Birmingham South), as well as a part-time Doctorate in Education (EdD) student at the University of Warwick. Luke is a qualified secondary modern languages teacher with nearly 15 years' experience in diverse educational roles. He has taught and led in different schools and organisations within the sector across the West Midlands. His career and research focus has centred on teacher recruitment, early career teacher development and teacher support. In addition to his work and study, Luke is also the chair of governors for a local authority maintained primary school in Warwickshire.

Luke is a member of the Expert Working Group for the Teaching improvement through data and evaluation (TIDE) project (2024-2028), funded by the Nuffield Foundation, led by the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT).

Mark is a globally respected expert in education, technology, and digital strategy. A former senior leader with over 20 years in the classroom, he now works with schools, trusts, and edtech organisations worldwide to support impactful, evidence-informed use of technology. Mark advises schools and edtech organisations on responding to national frameworks and regulatory expectations, with particular expertise in safeguarding, AI, and digital strategy. He is the author of best-selling books including The EdTech Playbook, co-founder of the Global EdTech Awards, and Head of Education at NetSupport. He is also a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and sits on the BCS Schools and Colleges Committee.

As a Director of Estates with over 13 years of experience in the education sector, Martin is responsible for overseeing the strategic management and operational efficiency of 31 school sites, ensuring a safe, sustainable, and high-quality environment for both students and staff. With expertise in facilities management, health and safety, and major capital projects, he is dedicated to delivering effective solutions that enhance learning spaces and drive value for the community.

Matt Isherwood is an Associate Partner at Barker following 14 years at Brooke Weston Trust as Director of Estates. He has been a long-standing and strong advocate for best practice on good estates management, energy, sustainability, and use of data-driven decision making. Matt has enormous knowledge and experience of estates management from the client side and is now working with Barker to promote this knowledge to the wider education sector.

Mei is an Executive Director at the Reach Foundation and oversees the charity's place-based initiatives in Feltham, Hounslow, which includes the Feltham Convening Partnership: a collective impact, systems change initiative to improve long-term outcomes for babies, children and young people across a range of indicators. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2019, Mei was a primary headteacher and secondary history teacher.

With a strong background in finance and leadership, Michelle brings a wealth of experience in financial planning, budgeting, and risk management. She is dedicated to ensuring the financial health and sustainability of the trust, enabling it to provide high-quality education to all pupils.

Michelle has a proven track record of implementing effective financial controls and an approach which focuses on maximising the impact of financial resources whilst supporting the strategic aims of the trust. Her leadership and expertise have been instrumental in navigating complex financial landscapes and fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.

Michelle collaborates closely with senior leadership, trustees, and other stakeholders to align financial practices with the trust's mission and vision. She is committed to continuous improvement and innovation, leveraging data-driven insights to inform decision-making and improve educational outcomes and enhance financial and operational efficiencies.

Mohamed Abdallah is the South West Regional Director at the Reach Foundation, where he leads place-based, cradle-to-career work and leadership development focused on improving outcomes for children and young people. He also writes, speaks, and collaborates with school and trust leaders on embedding a framework centred on mattering, belonging, and becoming. He helps support schools to build cultures where students, staff, and families feel seen, valued, and actively engaged in shaping their communities.

Mohamed’s career began in youth work and pupil referral units, before he went on to lead pioneering inclusive school improvement at an ‘Outstanding’ all-through mainstream school. He later led the development of staff across the country to strengthen their approach to inclusion, supporting leaders to improve whole-school practice and systems, to improve the engagement, attendance and wellbeing of children and young people.

Mohamed is also proud to serve as a trustee for Kernow Learning Trust in Cornwall.

Nick is national head of the Browne Jacobson education team, an executive coach and a member of the firm’s board. Recognised as a leading expert in education by The Legal 500 and Chambers for over 10 years, Nick specialises in corporate and governance advice in the education sector.

He has significant experience of advising executive teams and boards in the social housing, corporate and, for well over 10 years, education sectors. His clients include some of the largest school trusts in the country. Over the last 10 years, Nick has contributed regularly to the debate on key issues impacting the sector. He also has excellent relationships with sector bodies such ASCL, CST and NGA.

Nick Osborne is the Chief Executive Officer of Maritime Academy Trust, a multi academy trust focused on giving every child an excellent start in life. With over 25 years in education leadership, Nick founded Maritime in 2016 and has helped grow it into a values-led trust known for its creativity, collaboration and commitment to inclusion.

He also serves as Chair of Trustees at Woodland Academy Trust and is a founding trustee of Maritime’s children’s charity, reflecting his deep commitment to improving life chances for young people beyond the classroom.

Nick is a passionate advocate for equity in education and is never shy of asking the awkward-but-important questions. Known for his approachable leadership style and dry sense of humour, he somehow balances strategic vision with the day-to-day demands of being a parent to three teenagers, which means he’s no stranger to negotiations, eye-rolls or mysteriously empty fridges.

Nicola has worked at Surrey Square Primary School, part of the Big Education Trust, since 2006. At Surrey Square, a different vision for education comes to life through their ‘more than a school’ approach—working from the core (with a focus on wellbeing, relationships, skills and values) to help the community thrive and build a better world. Nicola is passionate about wellbeing, shaped by her own life experiences, and leads work that supports staff, pupils, families, and the wider community, including through the Old Kent Road Family Zone. She believes in developing capacity and has coached and trained extensively in leadership. Nicola balances work with life as a mum to three amazing children.

Paul James is a qualified teacher with over 25 years' experience in schools, including in senior leadership roles in a range of secondary education settings, and as a primary school governor and Independent Examinations Board member.

Penny Swain has over 30 years' experience in the education sector, previously working as a teacher and now as a multi academy trust trustee and in the private sector. At Supporting Education Group, Penny offers practical strategies to address workforce and staffing challenges facing schools today. She draws on insights from both education and other sectors to provide innovative solutions, helping senior leaders navigate modern workforce realities and improve operational efficiency.

Phil joined Lloyds Banking Group in 1987 and has supported the education sector through various relationship and leadership roles for over 20 years. He currently oversees the national education offering for schools, leading a team of 14 dedicated specialist education relationship managers who work with eight out of 10 academy trusts. Phil drives the ongoing development and delivery of products and services to meet the needs of schools and academy trusts in a rapidly evolving landscape. With a deep understanding of strategic planning, academy trust banking structures, efficiencies, and financial risk, Phil is committed to ensuring Lloyds Bank continues to add value in supporting schools. He believes in traditional service values, enhanced by the latest digital innovations to reduce trust risk and improve central oversight and control - essential for growing strong multi-academy trusts. Phil works closely with key sector associations such as CST and ISBL, as well as fellow education professionals.

Professor Rob Coe is Director of Research and Development at Evidence Based Education and Senior Associate at the Education Endowment Foundation. A former Professor of Education and secondary maths teacher, he is a researcher in educational assessment, evaluation and evidence-based practice, working with teachers and schools to connect evidence and practice.

Stuart is Director of Education at Evidence Based Education, and one of the team behind the great teaching toolkit - the personalised professional growth platform to help teachers flourish. He is a qualified teacher himself, who has worked in both middle and senior leadership roles in schools. Currently, Stuart serves on the advisory boards of lernen: digital (a German teacher development project) and Impact. He is a co-author of the EEF's Implementation Guide, as well as the EEF's DIY evaluation guide, and EBE's 'great teaching toolkit: evidence review'. He is fascinated by finding sustainable ways to help teachers flourish and belong in their professional lives.

Rachael Fidler is a School and College Trust Leader at Dixons Academies Trust. She has worked as a principal in a successful turnaround school, a vice principal leading on outcomes and an specialist leader in education improving regional and national standards in modern foreign languages. She has spoken on national platforms on attendance and delivered CPD on crafting culture and raising standards in secondary schools and implemented a trust wide programme to embed indoor rowing in partnership with British Rowing at Dixons which is in line with her motivation to challenge educational and social disadvantage in the north in all aspects.

As well as being CEO of Eko Trust, Rebekah provides high quality school improvement work to a range of schools and trusts.

Previously, Rebekah has been a headteacher, co-headteacher, deputy headteacher, and an advisor for science, early years and English as an additional language in two local authorities before becoming a senior advisor for continuing professional development (CPD). This role included specific responsibility for developing leadership capacity across primary, secondary and special schools. She has also taught in schools in Britain and Namibia.

Richard Anderton is the Digital Transformation Lead for the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP), a multi academy trust encompassing 24 schools, 12,000 students, and 1,500 staff. Spearheading ‘Learning Futures’, ATLP's equitable 1-2-1 device initiative, Richard has led the deployment and implementation of over 12,000 iPads to students and staff, driving a vision of empowering learning and shaping futures. As a key member of the MAT school improvement team, he also oversees the broader digital strategy, enhancing operational efficiencies and pioneering the organisation's AI strategy.

Robert is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Partner at Barker heading up their education sector. He works with academies, trusts and colleges to deliver capital projects and surveying services including condition surveying and estate planning. He also assists education clients in applying for capital funding and advises on energy efficiency strategies.

In addition to leading Stone King's national Education Sector Group of over 70 lawyers, Roger specialises in school governance and re-organisation (notably for multi academy trusts), school finance, admissions and also all pupil provision issues. A recognised national specialist regarding special educational needs law, Roger also works as a judge in the SEN Tribunal in addition to his role at Stone King.

Roger contributes to the education sector more generally by working closely with national schools’ membership organisations, notably the Confederation of Schools Trusts, the Institute of School Business Leadership and the Co-Operative Schools Network on education developments. Outside work, Roger volunteers as a trustee for a sixth form trust.

Sally Apps is Deputy CEO of the Cabot Learning Federation - serving 18,000 students aged 2-19 in 36 mainstream, alternative provision and special schools in the South West. As education lead she holds responsibility for educational performance and school improvement. Sally has worked with the Department for Education in different capacities, from being a member of the Advisory Board to Education Lead in the South West SEND regional board. She co-chairs the education expert community for the Queen Street Group as well as supporting governance in other trusts. She was a Commissioner on the National Oracy Commission in 2024 and continues to hold a passion for developing oracy to enable better outcomes for all learners, particularly those experiencing disadvantage. She is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and contributes to a range of professional networks and communities for school improvement, including that of the Confederation of School Trusts.

Sally is the Senior Development Lead at United Communities

Her journey at United Communities has been deeply shaped by the values and practices of United Learning, the Reach Foundation, the Centre for Emotional Health, ABCD development, and the community-led work of Nurture Development with Cormac Russell. Their approaches have helped her to see the potential of communities to lead their own change, and she's committed to supporting that vision.

Previously, she served as Principal of Beacon View Primary Academy in Paulsgrove, Portsmouth, rejoining the United Learning family.

Sarah Orves is the Director of Wellbeing at ASSET Education. As part of her role she leads on the trust's own wellbeing programme, the Complete Human Strategy (CHS). This evidence-based programme provides a structured plan for supporting wellbeing across any school community. The success of the programme was recognised in the national MAT awards in 2024 when ASSET was named Wellbeing Trust of the Year.

Sarah is also the Headteacher at Ilketshall St Lawrence Primary. The school is a flagship for the Complete Human Strategy Programme and has been individually recognised in regional events. The school was named as the Wellbeing School of the Year in the Suffolk Education awards and it has been the site for training events for schools keen to embed the CHS in their own settings.

Shane Ierston was a successful academy principal for nine years before taking up his post as CEO at the Great Schools Trust. In 2012, he became the founding Principal of King’s Leadership Academy Warrington, which was later judged outstanding under his leadership. King’s Warrington was the first academy in the trust and performs in the top four percent of state schools nationally for progress. Shane’s career spans 26 years across a range of settings, his portfolio includes school transformation and cross trust improvement work for the DfE. Shane is a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and served as an Inspector at Ofsted for six years.

Simon is responsible for driving forward IRIS’ evolution, leading the education offering and focusing on meeting the needs of senior leadership teams in multi-academy trusts.

Prior to IRIS, Simon began his career as an engineer, quickly taking on strategic roles across BT, moving around its leadership programme. He later moved to services specialist Serco where he was COO of the Ministry of Defence’s Business Services division. Most recently he was the MD of Capita’s local government business, where his role was to enable local government clients to deliver effectively for the many hundreds of thousands of residents they served.

Sir Ian Bauckham was appointed Chief Regulator at Ofqual in January 2024, following his service as Chair of the Ofqual Board from 2021 and as a board member since 2018. He brings extensive experience in education leadership, having previously led a multi-academy trust and served as a headteacher. Sir Ian has contributed significantly to national education policy, including reforms in initial teacher training, relationships and sex education, and modern foreign languages. He was President of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in 2013–14.
He holds degrees in modern and medieval languages from the University of Cambridge, in education from UCL, and philosophy from the University of London. His contributions to education were recognised with a CBE in 2017 and a knighthood in the 2023 New Year Honours.
In addition to his role at Ofqual, Sir Ian is Chair of Oak National Academy, an arm’s length body of the Department for Education that supports schools with online curriculum and lesson resources.

Steve Howell has worked in the education sector since 2003 following roles as a management accountant for various blue-chip companies including Unilever and Coca-Cola. Steve helped establish and develop Red Kite Learning Trust and was CFO for ten years, leading on financial, risk and compliance matters as well as steering the trust (now with more than 10,000 pupils) and the teaching school on strategic and commercial aspects. Steve is now Commercial Director, working across all strands of Red Kite to develop and nurture the brands and strategic partnerships and to cultivate commercial opportunities.

Steve also serves as a school resource management advisor and works with the DfE on various projects.

Steve Orton is a qualified chartered accountant and currently serves as Chief Finance and Operations Officer for Discovery Trust, a position he has held since September 2023. He has worked within multi-academy trusts for over 10 years and brings more than 20 years of post-qualification experience in the education and charities sector, with a strong focus on financial leadership and operational excellence.

In addition to his executive role, Steve is Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee at Learn Academies Trust and serves as a governor at Bingham Primary School. He is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of education and is deeply committed to values that promote equity, opportunity, and excellence.

Sufian Sadiq is the Director of Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust, with responsibility for overseeing two regional hub areas in the Southeast of England. Chiltern Teaching School are one of the largest providers of CPD to the sector nationally. He is a passionate activist within the educational landscape around race, equity and inclusion. He is a Fellow and Board Member of the Chartered College of Teaching, as well as a Fellow for the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors. He plays an active role in numerous charitable organisations as a trustee and holds key governance roles within educational organisations. 

Susie is part of Cabot Learning Federation's executive team, supporting school improvement across the trust. She is responsible for a number of strategic areas including SEND, safeguarding, and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Prior to joining the executive team, Susie was the principal designate of a new base need school, and she previously spent a decade working and leading schools in Bristol.

Susie is highly experienced in leading teacher professional development, leadership training and is passionate about learning and leadership at all levels. She also carries out a range of roles across the sector including leadership of specific strands of work across local authorities, trust, and sector networks, including DfE advisory groups. Susie is also a Fellow of the Chartered College.

Tamsin has combined the skills and experience from a career in primary leadership and then in business and operations in secondary schools to now lead on operations and innovations at the Ted Wragg Trust. She loves working with leaders in education to create organisational cultures where staff feel valued, included and empowered to transform lives and strengthen communities to make the world a better place. Growing up in Torbay and having lived most of her life across the region of Devon and Cornwall she is passionate about making the South West the best place in the country to go to school and to go on to have a life of opportunity.

As PLMR’s Head of Education, Tiffany provides expert strategic advice and support in reputation management and crisis communications, PR and media relations, public affairs and wider communications disciplines to school trusts and maintained schools; early years, further and higher education institutions; charities; sector bodies; edtech companies and organisations across the education sphere. She is also Chair of Trustees at Maritime Academy Trust, where she has obtained in-depth understanding of issues and challenges facing schools and trusts around the country. She was made an OBE for services to education in the King’s New Year Honours List 2024.

Beckfoot Trust is a multi academy trust of 10 schools based in Bradford. Since joining the trust in 2013, Victoria has been instrumental in developing and leading its financial strategy, ensuring transparency, sustainability, and value for money across all operations. A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), she brings deep expertise in financial governance and risk management. Her work supports the trust’s mission of creating remarkable schools where no child is left behind.

Vince Green is the Chief Executive Officer at Summit Learning Trust from September 2022. He joined the trust in January 2021 as Education Director where he provided support and challenge for its secondary and post-16 phases. Prior to joining Summit, Vince was regional education director and executive principal at a large multi academy trust. Before this he was the Principal of Bristnall Hall Academy for five years, the highest performing secondary provider within its local authority and trust. Vince started his teaching career in Sendai, Japan and has held a variety of leadership roles in the West Midlands in rapidly improving schools.

Warren gained his chartered accountancy qualification whilst working at a primary multi academy trust with over 20 schools, before moving on to become CFO at a special/AP trust in Derbyshire.

In his role at IMP, he analyses sector developments and trends, and works closely with customers to ensures that IMP’s financial management tools continually evolve to support smarter trust finance.

Will Jordan FCCA has worked with academies and multi academy trusts since the first ‘phase two’ academies opened in September 2010. As a qualified accountant and financial technology specialist, Will now works with established multi academy trusts to strengthen their financial planning and reporting processes by replacing legacy software with multi academy trust-specific, agile tools.

Yavannah leads her trust's financial strategy and supports school leaders in maximising funding and managing resources effectively. Her data-driven approach ensures that financial decisions are aligned with educational goals, promoting both efficiency and impact.