Jess Staufenberg | Schools Week

Nick Hudson, chief executive, Ormiston Academies Trust

Ormiston Academies Trust chief executive Nick Hudson tells Jess Staufenberg how he honours the chain’s founding principles of schools rooted in their communities, coping with geographic struggles and thoughts on the controversial schools bill Nick Hudson, chief executive of Ormiston Academies Trust, is shepherding me into a classroom where a geography teacher is in full […]

Lord Mike Watson, shadow education minister

Having become an MP in 1989, Lord Mike Watson has spent many years in frustrating opposition for the Labour Party. As he steps down as shadow education minister in the Lords, he offers words of advice for his successors It’s not often you sit in a grand, wood-panelled room in the heart of Westminster, and […]

Raksha Pattni, national partnerships director at Ambition Institute

Raksha Pattni, national partnerships director at Ambition Institute, tells Jess Staufenberg why new CPD partnerships with councils will be a game-changer for schools Raksha Pattni, who oversees partnerships at teacher development charity Ambition Institute, is someone who deeply understands the impact of place and geography on one’s life chances. Her family are from India, she […]

Susan Douglas, chief executive, The Eden Academy Trust

Susan Douglas, part-time chief executive at The Eden Academy Trust, tells Jess Staufenberg what visiting 63 countries with the British Council brings to her own special educational needs academies One of the best lessons Susan Douglas has ever seen was in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen. It was a lesson on rhythm, being delivered by […]

Focus feature: Governance at Anglian Learning academy trust

The Anglian Learning academy trust won a top award for excellent governance at the start of the year. As the white paper puts academy governance centre stage, Jess Staufenberg finds out what good looks like Governance has posed a big question mark over the multi-academy trust model, ever since academisation was turbo-boosted in 2010. Maintained […]

Jonathan Timmis, chief operating officer, Astrea Academy Trust

Jonathan Timmis, the new chief operating officer at Astrea Academy Trust, has worked from bombed-out buildings to the White House. Jess Staufenberg met the former military adviser to NATO to find out why he has switched to helping run an academy trust People switching careers to teach offer lots of reasons for doing so ̶ […]

Charlotte Pearce Cornish, director, Premier Advisory Group

Charlotte Pearce Cornish’s Premier Advisory Group has just won the contract to support free school applications. She explains how the group supplanted her old employer the New Schools Network, and how they will do things differently At the end of March, New Schools Network lost the government’s lucrative contract to support free school applications. It […]

Richard Gill, chair, Teaching School Hubs Council

Richard Gill, chair of the Teaching School Hubs Council, tells Jess Staufenberg how he went from standing in the orchestra pit at pantomimes to helping lead teacher development across the country “This is special, you know,” Richard Gill grins with an endearing, cheeky-chappy smile. “I’ve refused interviews, but I’ll do this one!” Schools Week’s good […]

Duncan Spalding, headteacher, Aylsham High School

Like many of the nicest people in education, Duncan Spalding is under the impression he couldn’t possibly be important enough for a Schools Week interview. This is obviously nonsense, and I ignore his protests (to name but a few interesting things: he’s part of the influential Headteachers’ Roundtable and runs the only secondary in Norfolk […]