Oak National Academy names interim CEO

Oak National Academy’s new interim CEO has been named, as the online school sets current boss Matt Hood’s leaving date.

Hood is set to step down at the end of March.

He will be replaced on a temporary basis by Oak’s current director of product and engineering John Roberts, who was part of the team that launched the organisation five years ago.

Roberts said: “Oak has an important role to play going forward, supporting curriculum standards with rigour, tackling workload to improve teacher retention and recruitment, and innovating using AI.

“As we do that, we want to openly share our work so schools, companies and other education organisations can benefit and build from it, while always remaining free, optional and adaptable.” 

A former senior school leader in the northwest, Roberts also co-founded Edapt, which provides legal support to teachers, in 2011. He now chairs the organisation.

Hood had acted as interim chief executive since it controversially became an arm’s-length public body in 2022. 

Search for permanent CEO launched

Following a year-long recruitment process, it was confirmed he had been appointed to the £120,000-per-year permanent position by the Department for Education last May.  

He said Roberts has been “integral” to the organisation, having “spearheaded the launch of our world-leading AI lesson planning assistant”.

Oak stressed Hood’s permanent replacement will be selected following the principles of the public appointments process.

Schools Week revealed in November that a judicial review of the decision to turn the Oak National Academy into a government quango has been put on hold.

The British Education Suppliers Association, the Publishers Association and the Society of Authors say the online lesson provider would pose an “existential risk” to their sector, and that it amounted to an “unlawful state subsidy”.

But the academy is well-used by schools.

Oak’s last impact report, published in October, found more than one in three teachers had used Oak resources between February and July last year.

Almost 75 per cent said its resources had saved them time, typically giving them four extra hours a week. And Oak also sees a surge in use during times of disruption – such as storms or snow days.