I have been in education for 30 years. After graduating from Leicester University with a 2:1 honours degree in English Literature (1993) and a PGCE (1994), I started teaching English in a 14-18 community college in Leicestershire. I was also a 6th form tutor.

After two years, I moved to North London and worked in one of the highest-performing 11-18 state schools in the country.

In 1999, my wife and I moved out to the West Country to raise a family. I worked as Second in English, and then Head of English, at an 11-18 school in Wiltshire.

In 2005 I secured an assistant headship at an 11-16 school in Somerset. In 2007 I was promoted to deputy headteacher, and acting headteacher for a short time. I also achieved my NPQH qualification at this time.

In 2010, I became headteacher of a successful Somerset middle school. I led the school through two Ofsted inspections, both rated Good, and during this time trained to inspect for Ofsted through Tribal.

In 2015, I left headship to inspect with Ofsted full time as Her Majesty’s Inspector. In this role, I led numerous inspections of different types of institution, from primary and secondary schools, to UTCs, studio schools, independent schools and teacher-training institutions. I also provided training to other HMI and Ofsted inspectors at regional training events.

In 2019, I became the head of improvement and deputy CEO of a multi-academy trust in Dorset. Over time, my role morphed into that of director of education. The trust has grown from seven to eighteen schools over this time, including primary, secondary and alternative provision.

I established productive working relationships with the headteachers and staff across these schools. As the trust expanded, I was responsible for deploying an education team to assist the schools that needed the most help. During my time with the trust, and since the end of lockdown, 15 schools received Ofsted inspections: 10 retained their ‘Good’ judgement, 3 improved from ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’ and 2 came out of a category.

I left the trust in 2024 to focus on the work I most enjoy, and believe I am good at. Please look around this website for more detail about that work.

A few personal details…

I’m half-Australian, and grew up in South West London. The course of my life has allowed me to experience a good mix of the urban and the rural. Some schools I have worked in have been ethnically diverse, others not so. And I have worked with, and within, both affluent and deprived communities.

I enjoy reading, theatre, cinema and listening to my records. In my time I’ve dabbled with orchestral playing (violin), amateur dramatics and boxing. Currently yoga and ballroom dancing are my thing!

Skill set:

• Extensive knowledge and understanding of the education landscape and sector.

• Extensive experience of school leadership and school inspection.

• Strategic thinker and pragmatic ‘hands-on doer’.

• Proven track record of improving schools.

• Strong analytical and diagnostic skills

• Firm decision-maker, who incorporates the judgement of those around him.

• Team builder who believes in distributed leadership and playing to the strengths of others.

• Excellent written English and communication skills.

• Highly adept at working with a range of different stakeholders, from staff to parents, governors and other professionals.