Experience

Headteacher
Horizon Care & Education – Greater Manchester
October 2023 – Present

Highly specialist education provision located in Greater Manchester for children and young people aged 7 to 18 years with a range of complex needs including; ADHD, autism, speech, language & communication difficulties and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH).

School Governor
Leeds City Council
September 2023 – July 2024

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school.

Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.

Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Principal
Wellspring Academy Trust – Leeds
September 2016 – August 2023

Principal of a large multi-site special school in Leeds providing education for a diverse range of pupils with Education, Health & Care (EHC) Plans.

We have 2 specialist schools in Guiseley, and also 4 Partnerships with mainstream schools – 2 primary and 2 secondary.

The school has 225 pupils on roll, with approximately 120 members of staff, across 6 sites.

Interim Deputy Headteacher
SEMH Special School – Leeds
April 2015 – July 2016

The school is a well-established SEMH provision and is the central specialist school for young people throughout the city of Leeds.

Associate Senior Leader – Attendance, Behaviour & Alternative Provision.

• Introduction of new Behaviour and Attendance Policies, rolled out and embedded consistently across the school.
• Quantifiable reduction in behaviour incidents, FTEs, missed sessions due to FTE, and a significant decrease in physical interventions / positive handling (-95%).

Impact Measures

• • “Students’ behaviour is inadequate”
  • “Very poor behaviour and negative attitudes during this inspection, both in the classroom and around the school”
  • “Students show a lack of regard for the impact their poor behaviour and attitudes have on the safety and well-being of themselves and others”
    OFSTED Inspection, September 2014
  • “There has been a marked improvement in pupils’ behaviour and conduct. Systems for managing and modifying pupils’ behaviour are embedded and there are significantly fewer incidents of challenging behaviour and low-level disruption”
  • “Pupils say that lessons are calmer and more purposeful. This, they say, is helping them to learn without interruption and distraction”
    OFSTED Section 8 Inspection, March 2016

National Director of Education
Endeavour
September 2014 – April 2015

Endeavour is a national charity working at grass roots level with some of England’s most disadvantaged and disaffected young people.

Endeavour aim to give this forgotten generation a chance to face their problems, tackle them head on and to succeed where they would otherwise have failed. One of the oldest charities in the country, the work Endeavour do today will benefit what happens tomorrow.

• Executive Headteacher of Endeavour’s two schools (Sheffield and London), lead on all educational provision and oversight of all associated contracts, relationships and quality assurance frameworks.
• Responsible for ensuring that all internal operations of the charity are conducted efficiently and effectively, especially the direct provision of the two schools, and the extensive portfolio of projects that help young people engage and achieve.
• Ensuring that Endeavour’s educational provision and curriculum meets required standards and the expectations of local authorities, schools, commissioners, parents and pupils.
• Providing firm, transparent and expert leadership and management for all Endeavour’s operations, including responsibility for ensuring that targets are achieved and the requirements of all policies and procedures are met.
• Building, developing and managing relationships with partners and sponsors.
• Ensuring effective performance management of projects and staff so that staff fully understand what is expected of them and are supporting them to achieve their targets.

Head, Lincolnshire Regional College
Grimsby Institute Group
June 2012 – September 2014

• Member of the Grimsby Institute Group Leadership Group (The Grimsby Institute Group consists of – Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education [Grimsby], Yorkshire Coast College [Scarborough], Lincolnshire Regional College [Skegness] and Lincolnshire Rural Activity Centre [Louth, Lincolnshire]);
• Managing the implementation of GIG policy including curriculum, personnel, financial planning and management to ensure the continued development of the college;
• Ensuring the preparation of effective business and strategic plans to develop and grow the college, whilst conforming to required deadlines, guidelines and legislative requirements;
• Ensuring that the college takes a proactive approach to curriculum development taking account of labour market information and the need to be responsive to the needs of all stakeholders, especially local employers and the community;
• Establishing appropriate partnerships with external agencies / employers;
• Responsible for leading colleagues to ensure that the college offers the highest quality of education and service, and foster a culture of excellence and innovation;
• Responsible for the appointment, motivation, welfare, appraisal and development of staff;
• Leading, managing and motivating staff in line with the organisation and direction of the college, including the promotion and maintenance of good relations with staff;
• Responsible for the monitoring of the annual budget and objective performance indicators to ensure financial viability and effective management of assets;
• Ensuring that the college operates in an efficient manner and that all efficiency targets are met;
• Effective management and ongoing continuous improvement of all systems of QA at LRC;
• Maintaining, developing and expanding effective relevant relationships at all levels, internal and external to LRC and particularly with all major stakeholders;
• Representing and promoting LRC and the wider GIG positively in public fora and through media and other agencies to maintain and enhance the public profile and position of LRC within the community;
• Ensuring effective strategies, including marketing, are in place for the recruitment, retention and success of learners;
• Developing an outstanding and inclusive learner experience for all students and ensuring a rapid and effective response to relevant learner concerns;
• Ensuring effective pastoral / mentoring services and guidance for learners and the maintenance of learner discipline;
• Maintaining the development and implementation of appropriate policies and systems;

Director of 14 – 19
Grimsby Institute Group
May 2011 – June 2012

• Member of the Grimsby Institute Group Leadership Group (The Grimsby Institute Group consists of – Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education [Grimsby], Yorkshire Coast College [Scarborough], Lincolnshire Regional College [Skegness] and Lincolnshire Rural Activity Centre [Louth, Lincolnshire]);
• Leading on the innovation, development, and maintenance of high quality curriculum partnerships with schools and other strategic partners, working with colleagues across the Grimsby Institute Group (GIG) in ensuring the delivery of the highest standards of learning to present and future learners – whilst consistently demonstrating regard to the Grimsby Institute Group’s strategic intent and mission;
• Chair of the GIG Learner Journey Group, with the ethos of ‘learner first’, working across the whole group towards the standardisation and celebration of good practice in order to make every aspect and milestone of the ‘learner journey’ with the Group a positive experience for our full-time (approximately 5,000) and part-time students (in excess of 20,000) alike;
• Responsible for encouraging innovation, development of new curricula, methods of delivery and quality assurance of 14-19 provision across GIG;
• Main 14-19 curriculum point of contact for partner schools and external agencies;
• Developing 14-19 curriculum pathways in partnership with local schools, academies and curriculum delivery areas that genuinely raise the aspirations of local young people, and provide clear and realistic progression routes from as early as Year 7 right through to Year 11 and beyond into post-16 education – stretching, challenging and clearly supporting learners through Entry Level, Level 1, Level 2, and onto Level 3 where appropriate;
• Developing progression agreements with schools and academies on to appropriate GIG post-16 programmes of study – identifying common areas of delivery and working in partnership to not only align curricula (awarding bodies etc.) but to add value to pre-16 provision in order to engage young people and to demonstrate viable routes in to positive outcomes; whether further education, paid employment, or an apprenticeship framework;
• Developing and delivering Alternative Curriculum Education programmes for a range of cohorts – providing personalised, tailored and appropriate learning for the most vulnerable and ‘at-risk’ learners from within our community, often delivered outside of the traditional school environment;
• Building and maintaining robust links between schools, academies and the Local Authority to ensure high quality student transitional information (particularly for those with LLDD, Looked After Children, and those excluded from school);
• Leading on the GIG NEET Strategy, developing the GIG 14-19 Strategy, developing and executing a high quality FE to HE strategy;
• Representing GIG on key 14-19 committees and forums locally, regionally and nationally – locally including the Children’s Trust Board (CTB), Foundation Learning Action Group, and Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB);
• Managing 14-19 Service Level Agreements with partners and external agencies;
• Main point of contact for the Common Application Process and Area Prospectus and their equivalents with Local Authority partners;
• Advising the Leadership Group on developments in various funding mechanisms that affect 14-19 partnership working;

Director of 6th Form
Grimsby Institute Group
December 2009 – May 2011

• Director with responsibility for all GIG GCSE and A-Level provision (Grimsby, Scarborough & Skegness);
• Approximatley 500 FT and a further 600 PT learners;
• The position was also responsible for heading up a suite of vocational science qualifications from Level 1 / Foundation Learning through to Level 3, as well as a variety of evening classes focused on hobbies (modern foreign languages) and professional qualifications (such as the National Award for Dental Nurses, and also Cabin Crew / Resort Representative).

Visiting / External Moderator
NCFE External Moderator, OCR Nationals Visiting Moderator, Moderator for Sports Leaders UK
2005 – 2008

• Moderation of Level 2 and Level 3 Sport, Leisure and Expedition Leadership qualifications in schools and colleges across the UK

Curriculum Lead for Foundation Learning Sport & Leisure
Grimsby Institute Group
August 2002 – December 2009

• Teaching across a range of qualifications and levels in Sport, Public Services and also in Travel & Tourism.
• Director for GIG Sports Leader UK qualifications; including Sport and Basic Expedition Leadership awards.
• Member of the curriculum area internal inspection team.
• PGCE Mentor
• New Starter ‘buddy’.

Head of Physical Education and Health Studies
Baleares International School, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
September 1996 – February 2002

• Heading up a small team of teachers that were responsible for the provision of Physical Education across the whole school (both practical and theory), following UK National Curriculum guidelines, that spanned from pre-kindergarten age, IGCSE, and through to A-Level.
• Devising and delivering an innovative ‘healthy living’ programme that was rolled out to the High School.