Education

Claire Heald joined AET from the Inspiration Trust, where she was Deputy Chief Executive, leading on educational strategy, standards and performance. An expert on curriculum, and teacher and leader development, Claire also held roles as Director of School Improvement, Executive Principal and Principal at Inspiration Trust.

The founding Principal of the Jane Austen College, a free school in Norwich, Claire is also a National Leader of Education, a Trustee at charity The Difference and a Fellow of the Centre for Education and Youth.

David Hughes became Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges in September 2016.

Before that he was CEO at Learning and Work Institute, a leading think tank, research and policy organisation which was formed in 2016 from a merger he led between NIACE and Inclusion.

Prior to that, David worked in the voluntary sector across a wide range of roles and organisations in the UK and Australia, in social housing, co-operatives, welfare, regeneration and community development.

Dheeraj Chibber was appointed Corporate Director for Children, Families and Education on 22 May 2023.

Prior to this, Dheeraj’s roles included:

• Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care in London Borough of Merton, which achieved outstanding status in an Ofsted ILACS inspection
• Head of service roles in Hertfordshire – developing bespoke and innovative services through systems leadership
• Management roles in Central Bedfordshire where he developed a tailored ‘front door’ amongst other projects

Dheeraj has worked in the caring profession in the UK for almost 20 years. His passion dates back to the late 90s where his first experiences of supporting communities on a voluntary basis in India spearheaded his trajectory into the profession.

Geoff Barton was an English teacher for 32 years. He was also Head of English, Deputy Head, and then Headteacher of a large comprehensive school for 15 years. For the past 7 years he has been General Secretary of the Association of School & College Leaders, representing 25,000 senior leaders in education across the UK. As he steps down from that role, Geoff is proud to be becoming the Chair of the Commission on Oracy Education.

Gill has worked in education for more than twenty years. In September 2023 she joined Saffron Valley Collegiate as Headteacher, following many years working in PRUs and APs.

Gill joined The Difference in 2020 working as a leader at The Limes College PRU in Sutton; and in June 2021, was nominated for the Positive Role Model award at the National Diversity Awards.

In April 2023 she was awarded The Inspirational Educator Award for Alternative Education which was presented by The Worshipful Company of Educators.

Hamid is the Chief Executive of Star Academies. He has led the Trust since its inception.  Hamid is passionate about the highest of ambition for children and young people from the most disadvantaged communities across the country and this vision has guided the philosophy of the Trust and his work in particular.    Hamid, as a National Leader of Education, is a member of several national and international strategic educational and policy forums.  In this role, he has contributed to the development of strategies and programmes as diverse as teacher training, leadership development, community cohesion, curriculum reform and social mobility. Hamid is committed to the development of a strong and world-class academy sector and actively works to improve its reputation.

In recognition of his service to education, Hamid was awarded a Knighthood in 2021.

Kiran began her career in inner-city London, as an English teacher in schools serving the most deprived postcodes in the country. After five years on the frontline, Kiran left to work in education policy, searching for solutions to the rising number of vulnerable children who fall through the gaps. Kiran was working at Social Mobility Commission when she conceived the idea for The Difference. She has led its work full-time since January 2017.

Kiran is driven by her own family experiences. Growing up with two adopted sisters, Kiran witnessed the long-term effects of childhood trauma and the lack of support for young people with complex needs. This insight is what keeps Kiran striving for the most vulnerable children to get the education they deserve.

You can hear Kiran speak about her journey in setting up The Difference in this in-depth BBC Radio 4 interview.

You can also find out more about Kiran and what drove her to set up The Difference in these Schools Week, Guardian and TES interviews, and in these pieces she has written in The Times, Schools Week and TES.

Leora Cruddas is the founding Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts – the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. She has advised successive governments and sits on several Department for Education advisory bodies. She was recently the vice chair of the Head Teacher Standards Review Group, a member of the external advisory group for the Schools White Paper, SEND National Implementation Board and the Regulatory and Commissioning Review.

Prior to founding CST, she was Director of Policy and Public Relations for the Association of School and College Leaders. Leora has six years of experience as a director of education in two London local authorities.

Sir Martyn Oliver started as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector at the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in January 2024. He has worked in education since 1995 starting as a teacher and joined Outward Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) in 2009 where he became Principal of Outwood Grange Academy and then a National Leader of Education (NLE). In 2016, Sir Martyn was appointed Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for OGAT, a role he held until he started as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector. Sir Martyn has also previously held Trustee positions for the Office for Students (OfS), Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Confederation of Schools Trusts (CST) and for the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), was a board member of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Opportunity North East and has advised both the government and the DfE on a number of groups.

Natalie joined The Education Policy Institute in September 2015 as Executive Director and Head of Research. Natalie worked in the Department for Education from 2002 to 2014 on a range of policies including early years, children’s services, school funding and the Pupil Premium. Between April 2014 to May 2015, Natalie was seconded to the Cabinet Office where she worked in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office. In December 2020, Natalie became CEO of EPI.

She currently serves as a Trustee of two Multi Academy Trusts as well as the Fair Education Alliance and also sits on the Board of the Queen’s Street Group.

Owen Evans was appointed S4C’s Chief Executive and designated Accounting Officer in October 2017. Owen was educated at Ysgol Penweddig, Aberystwyth before graduating in economics from Swansea University. Prior to joining S4C, he was Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Government, responsible for Education and Public Services. Between 2008 and 2010 he was director of Business In the Community Wales and for 10 years before that he worked for BT, including as a member of the UK team developing BT’s broadband strategy. He served as a member of the Welsh Language Board between 2005 and 2010.

Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza promotes and protects the rights of children, especially the most vulnerable, and stands up for their views and interests.

“As Children’s Commissioner I take on a crucial role, sitting at the heart of Government, delivering for children, and championing their voices and needs. As an educationalist, working directly with children in schools throughout my career, I have seen first-hand how passionate and compassionate children are. This is an ambitious generation who want to succeed in life, but who also want to play their part in improving the world around them. They need us, as adults, to listen to them and ensure they get the right help to fulfil their true potential.”

Sarah Johnson has worked in education for the last twenty years. As a qualified teacher, Sarah has enjoyed roles in mainstream schools, Pupil Referral Units, Alternative Provision and psychiatric in-patient services. Sarah is the author of the book ‘Behaving Together: A Teacher’s Guide to Nurturing Behaviour’. Sarah’s most recent contribution to supporting schools are her books “All about SEMH” which are practical guides for primary and secondary school teachers to support children.

As a member for the Department of Education’s Alternative Provision stakeholder group, she has supported development of policy such as the recent SEND and AP green paper as well as chairing a range of panels and events within the education sector.