I started my career as a secondary school science teacher and after twelve years of teaching won a UK National Teacher of the Year award for Innovation and Creativity.  I progressed through school management positions, winning the UK BECTA Secondary Leadership award in 2003.  In 2004 I joined Mott Macdonald, Cambridge Education eventually becoming their International Director of Pedagogy, Research and Development.  I gained further recognition through: the publication of the ‘Personalisation by Pieces Framework’ in which I defined the Personalisation ‘For’ and ‘By’ model; a Milne Award in 2006, a BETT award in 2007 and in 2008 I was invited to become a Fellow of Education Impact. In 2010 I was commissioned by Microsoft to write their Partners in Learning ‘Worldwide Innovative Schools’ workshops.

I have been privileged to work with some of the most outstanding primary and secondary schools in over 30 countries as a coach, mentor and consultant.  This enabled me to present findings as a national conference keynote speaker as well as advising ministries and school districts on large scale change projects and award-winning school design projects. 

As a child from a disadvantaged background myself, I am passionate about providing every child with the opportunities to unlock their potential.  As well as academic achievements this includes the role of student leadership and the development of skills that underpin all learning.  Following on from my work with the UK government in the development of their national skills framework which was launched as PLTS, I defined the SECRET skills framework which is now in use across our own Trust and in a wide range of schools worldwide

In May 2017 I took up the position of CEO for SMART and feel enormously privileged to have the opportunity to support the whole community of children, parents and staff in South East Cornwall.

I was educated in South East Cornwall like both my children. I am passionate about trying to provide the very best possible opportunities for young people in the local area, so they may take full advantage of their future potential.

Spanning nearly thirty years, my roles during my career so far have included working as an Accounts Assistant, Finance Analyst, Accountant and Business Manager.

I began my career working in accounting and finance in the Private sector in both the leisure and retail industry. During this time, I studied for both The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and The Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA) professional accounting qualifications.

In 2010, I decided to take a side step into School Business Management. I commenced the role of Business Manager at saltash.net community school in 2011 as it became one of the early academy converters.

Since then, I have been at the heart of the academy trust’s business and finance operations and its subsequent expansions.

In April 2017 I took up the post of Chief Financial Officer for SMART