John has worked in Lancashire schools for 36 years. He was headteacher and then executive headteacher at Bowland High, near Clitheroe from 2012 until 2021. The school was judged to be outstanding in all areas following the most recent Ofsted inspection at the end of 2016. Subsequently, John helped form a school trust, Achievement through Collaboration, serving as Deputy CEO. From 2019, he worked at the request of the Local Authority, to support schools in challenging circumstances; Most recently, supporting Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School at a time when that school was forced to relocate on a temporary basis to Burnley from Oswaldtwistle. In 2021, John became CEO of the Pennine Trust, and four years later, when South Craven Academy Trust and the Pennine Trust merged to form Apex Collaborative Trust, he was appointed CEO of the new trust.