Speakers

Avnee leads IPPR's public services teams focusing on education, childcare, health and social care. She was previously the Policy and Strategy director for the UK education division of Oxford University Press. Prior to this she was a senior strategist and policy adviser at the Department for Education. She worked most recently on childcare reform, advising on the expansion of free childcare in the spring budget of 2023. Before that, Avnee advised ministers on a range of issues including remote education policy when schools were closed, education recovery and curriculum strategy including the set-up of Oak National Academy. Avnee started her career as a maths teacher, school leader and Ofsted inspector working in deprived catchments in London and the midlands.

Benedicte is CFO at the River Learning Trust, a 28 school multi academy trust, operating largely in Oxfordshire. Benedicte has over 30 years’ experience in audit and finance. She spent the first part of her career in audit practice with KPMG in Paris and London before working as director of international affairs for the French Asset Management Association. In 2010, she developed a passion for international education and became actively involved in setting up a multi-lingual free school near Oxford. She was awarded CFO of the year at the 2023 MAT excellence awards for her contribution to system leadership and innovation.

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.

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. 

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.

Claire is a legal director at Browne Jacobson LLP, specialising in data protection, AI, information governance, and freedom of information for education clients. 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.

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.

Calum is the Executive Director for Research and Best Practice. He joined the National Institute of Teaching from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he focused on evaluations of complex interventions in health, disability-inclusion, and education. Calum also spent a year at the Education Endowment Foundation and remains a member of its Evaluation Advisory Group.

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.

As Director of Teaching at Star Academies, Emma is responsible for the teaching strategy across the trust’s 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 graduated from Bishop Grosseteste College in 2000 with a BA (Hons) and QTS. He holds the NPQH qualification and is a local leader of education designated through a local teaching school. He is an experienced headteacher, executive headteacher and CEO. Gavin has spent over 17 years as a senior leader in a variety of primary schools, varying from small village primaries to larger urban junior schools. He also worked for the local authority leading on education strategy and support for schools experiencing difficulties. In this role, he liaised regularly with governors, school leaders, the Department for Education and school trusts. He is a Trustee of the Learning Academy Partnership Trust, a Governor of Boston College and Chair of Lincolnshire’s School Forum.

Georgina is an Education Specialist at Renaissance where she uses her past experience as a school leader to drive product strategy and delivery across UK and international markets across Language and Literacy. As a former English lead across a multi academy trust in the UK, Georgina champions Renaissance's language and literacy products including the New Group Reading Test, Accelerated Reader and WellComm.

Georgina is also chair of governors at a secondary school and a regular English examiner, maintaining strong ties with the sector.

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.

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.

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.

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 Lombardo 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.

Karen oversees the operational functions at Esteem to ensure high-quality service delivery across all of its schools. Previously, she was Esteem’s Director of Partnerships and Provision. Before that, she served as Principal of Derby Pride Academy for eight years, which was one of the county’s first alternative provision (AP) free schools, securing several outstanding Ofsted ratings.

Karen has extensive experience as an Ofsted inspector. She has also played a key role in commissioning arrangements and worked closely with local authorities to implement day six provision, ensuring timely and appropriate support for pupils. A passionate advocate for inclusion and AP, Karen is the East Midlands lead for PRUsAPUk, supporting pupil referral units and AP settings.

Before transitioning into teaching, Karen held executive roles in school business management, equipping her with a strong blend of business and educational expertise vital to her role as interim COO.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.