Matthew Purves took up his post as National Director of the Ofsted Academy on 2 September 2024. Previously he was Regional Director, South East from January 2022. Matthew was Director for Education Services at a large national school trust in 2020 and 2021, where his responsibilities included curriculum, safeguarding, wellbeing and teacher and leader development throughout the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in his career, Matthew was Deputy Director for Schools at Ofsted. He has also worked at the Home Office and the Department for Education.