Facilitator Profiles

I am a School Improvement Coach and Teaching School Facilitator with extensive leadership experience across primary education. Formerly a headteacher and a qualified SENDCo, I now work across schools to support high-quality teaching, inclusive practice and the development of Teachers. I have facilitated on both the NPQ SENDCo and the Early Career Teacher (ECT) induction programme. I am passionate about tailoring professional development to the context and needs of each participant to build confident professionals who grow their own practice and create environments where both staff and pupils can flourish.

Jess has worked alongside Manor Teaching Hub over the last two academic years. Outside of facilitation, she is a secondary English and curriculum specialist who works as part of the School Improvement Team for Matrix Academy Trust. Jess is an experienced English lead who has a keen professional interest in curriculum design and is driven by an enthusiasm for pedagogical research and how it can be utilised to enrich the lives and outcomes of all pupils. This passion stems from her academic background; she completed both a bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology and a master’s degree in Child Psychology at Keele University. In addition to this, she has also completed postgraduate research in Education, with a particular focus on vocabulary instruction. Jess has facilitated across the ECT induction programme and takes great pleasure in supporting colleagues in developing both their pedagogy and confidence in the classroom. 

Robert works on the School Improvement Team across Matrix Academy Trust, with specific responsibility for English and Oracy, preparing leaders for the rigours of inspection and supporting staff at all levels to drive and effect positive change in the classroom and across the whole school. As part of his Trust role, Robert undertakes work for the Department for Education as part of the RISE initiative, as well as offering external support and consultancy for schools across Walsall. Prior to taking a Trust-wide role, Robert has worked extensively across Sandwell, Wolverhampton and the Black Country in a variety of Middle and Senior Leadership roles, including Whole School Teaching and Learning, Literacy, Reading, Pupil Premium, and the line management of English, as part of the Senior Leadership Team.

I have been a facilitator for Manor Teaching School Hub for over two years on both the NPQLT and NPQLTD programmes. I previously completed the NPQSL with Manor TSH and I strive to include my personal learning and experience of the course into my facilitation. I have been a faculty leader of science in secondary schools for 14 years as well as working as a facilitator for STEM Learning alongside my role as a safeguarding link governor at a secondary school.  As a facilitator, I encourage participants to apply their learning principles to their own contexts as well as the diverse range of contexts of their cohort.