College of Teaching appoints Founding Trustees

SSAT is delighted today (25.09.15) to announce the Founding Trustees for the College of Teaching

From the outset, SSAT has been committed to supporting the College, and been instrumental in the Claim your college campaign.

Anne-Marie Duguid, Director of Education at SSAT and interim director of the College of Teaching, said ‘This is a very pivotal day for the profession, we have an incredible new Board of Founding trustees and we should all now work together and support them. One profession uniting. Our teachers and our students deserve this’.

The new founding trustees will play key leadership and governance roles in driving forward the College in consultation with the teaching profession.

The Founding Trustees – including five teachers and three Headteachers – have been appointed by an independent selection committee with experience in primary, secondary and SEN from across local, independent, government-funded and direct-funded schools, with support from recruitment company Gatenby Sanderson.

Carl Ward, chair of the College of Teaching Founding Trustees Selection Panel and chief executive of the City Learning Trust, said: ‘After undergoing a rigorous and independent recruitment process, we are delighted to welcome the Founding Trustees of the College of Teaching, who will lead the future direction of this fledgling charity.

We received hundreds of applications and the selection committee had a difficult job to identify the best team of complementary expertise from a large and very strong field.

‘The Founding Trustees embody excellence from primary, secondary and SEN across the country with additional expertise from non-teaching professionals who have much to offer the College as it takes its next steps to fully establish its role, remit and membership offer.

‘It has been a privilege to chair the selection committee, who represented in themselves the best of the profession across all phases and school types – we could have filled the board several times over.’

The thirteen Founding Trustees of the College of Teaching, who are undertaking voluntary positions for a period of three years, are:

• 1: Claire Dockar – Lead practitioner at Lipson Co-operative Academy, Plymouth – Claire is Lead Practitioner at Lipson Cooperative Academy, having previously been a lead practitioner in maths and staff governor at Woking High School. Through her role Claire has raised awareness of research-based practice and led the school’s teaching and learning action group, tackling a range of research projects including the value and effectiveness of feedback and intervention strategies.

• 2: Simon Dowling – Head of English, Colchester Royal Grammar School – Since September 2004, Simon has been the head of English and head of research & development at the school. Following a career in the army, Simon has worked as a teacher for the past 22 years (17 as a subject leader) and is currently working on his PhD, which is due for completion in 2018. Simon’s areas of expertise lie in effective teaching and learning, and research and development of evidence-based practice.

• 3: Paul Dwyer – Director of sixth form and history teacher at Putney High School London – Paul has been director of sixth form and teacher of history and politics at Putney High School since 2014, having previously been with Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School in Marlow as a history teacher, head of house and acting associate assistant headteacher. His current role requires input into the strategic direction of the school and overseeing a number of key areas such as pastoral support, curriculum planning and careers guidance.

• 4: Victoria McDowell – Class teacher at Bridekirk Dovenby School, Cumbria – Vicky has been a teacher at Birdekirk Dovenby Primary School since 2009. For part of this period Vicky was simultaneously working as a teacher with the Fairfield Junior School. Vicky specialises in RE, effective teaching and learning and research. She is currently involved in planning RE for Carlisle diocese and managing the RE strand of the school improvement plan.

• 5: Malcolm Wilson – Class teacher, London – Malcolm has been a teacher since 2014, having previously been a teacher and teacher governor at The Russell School in Hertfordshire. Malcolm is in his third year of teaching and prior to that he spent nearly 20 years as a management consultant with the Nicholls Group. His areas of specialism include assessment, research, development of evidence-based practice, finance and business development.

• 6: Dr Penny Barratt – Executive headteacher at The Bridge London – Penny has been executive headteacher at The Bridge London (a specialist school for Communication and Interaction and the first SEN Leadership and Innovation Academy in the country) since 2007 and she also runs a teaching school, after school and holiday provision and an outreach service. The Bridge is one of only 42 special schools across the country designated a National Teaching School. In her time as a teacher, Penny has worked across maintained primary and secondary schools, independent secondary schools and further/higher education.

• 7: Joan Deslandes – Headteacher at Kingsford Community School, London – Joan is the Headteacher of Kingsford Community School, an 11-16 mixed community school situated in the heart of the economic and business district of the London Docklands. Kingsford has International School Award status and has been recognised as one of the most effective schools worldwide for its work as a Confucius Classroom. Joan has been in post as a successful inner city school leader since 2000 and has been a member of a number of government advisory boards including the Teachers’ Standards Group and Headteachers’ Standards Group. She is currently a member of the Independent and State Schools Partnerships Forum and governor of successful schools including free school the London Academy of Excellence and Brighton College, an independent school. She was recently included in the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000, where she featured as one of London’s most influential figures in education.

• 8: Dame Kate Dethridge – Headteacher at Churchend Academy, Reading – For the past 17 years Kate has been the Headteacher of this secondary school, which has been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2005 and 2008. Kate is a National Leader of Education, a member of Ofsted’s Headteacher Reference Group and the Department for Education Bureaucracy Reference Group and in addition is an associate director of the National Education Trust. She is an executive board member of the Free Schools and Academies Network and has held six executive headships to support local schools in difficulty.

• 9: Paul Barber – Director of Catholic Education Service – Paul has held the post of director of the Catholic Education Service since April 2013. Prior to this he was the director of education for the Diocese of Westminster for 11 years. He is a qualified barrister with previous experience as a lecturer. As a lawyer, Paul’s possesses expertise in the legal structures used in governance in education and he has established a number of different types of multi-academy trusts.

• 10: Professor Sonia Blandford – Founder and CEO at Achievement for All – In addition to founding Achievement for All, Sonia is a leading practitioner of education within the voluntary, community, charity and public sectors with over 30 years experience. She has founded, co-founded and led eight educational charities. Sonia was director of research and leadership at Teach First. She is a former pro-vice chancellor and dean in education and is currently professor of education and social enterprise at the London Centre for Leadership in Learning at the Institute of Education London and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford.

• 11: Andrew de Csilléry– Business leader and management consultant at Csillery Consulting – Andrew is a strategic leader and experienced general manager with international experience in complex consumer-focused businesses. In previous years, Andrew worked at EuroDisney with specific responsibility for the strategic development of the business. He has also worked for Tesco as business planning director and has proven skills in strategy, operations, finance, business development and marketing.

• 12: Professor Jonathan Shepherd CBE – Professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Cardiff University and directs the Violence and Society Research Group – Jonathan is a practising surgeon and fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, which he has served as a council member and trustee. His research on clinical decisions and community violence has made major contributions to practice and legislation over three decades. In 2008, the government took up his proposal for an independent professional body for policing, and the new College of Policing was launched in 2013. Jonathan was also instrumental in the formation of the Probation Institute, the independent professional body for probation. He is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and of the Faculty of Public Health at the Royal College of Physicians. He is a member of the Cabinet Office ‘What Works’ Council, the Home Office Science Advisory Council and the Welsh Government Public Services Leadership Group.

• 13: Kevin Kibble – CEO, The Nurture Group Network – Kevin has been the CEO of The Nurture Group Network since January 2013 – an organisation that exists to promote the development of nurture groups and to ensure the continuing quality of their delivery through accredited training programmes and research on effective practice. Kevin has over 30 years’ experience in management, communications and marketing, 17 of which have been in the fundraising and voluntary sector. He is a trustee of the Institute of Fundraising (IoE), immediate past chair of the IoF London Region, and an executive coach and mentor.

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In addition to the thirteen Founding Trustees outlined above, a nominee from the College of Teachers will join the board taking on a specific role for one year to ensure a smooth and effective transfer of a revised Royal Charter to the new College. The nominated representative from the College of Teachers is registrar and chief executive, Professor Angela McFarlane.

Marva Rollins, selection committee member and Headteacher at Raynham Primary School said: ‘Today’s announcement marks a major historical milestone in the development of the College of Teaching. The Founding Trustees embody a group of inspiring individuals who have shown passion and drive to take forward a new voluntary professional body that exists to champion teachers.

‘Whilst the development of the College will take time, it has the potential to have a profound and positive impact on the teaching profession and importantly on the lives of learners. I hope the teaching profession will rally together to own the College of Teaching at this crucial time.’

Claire Dockar, Founding Trustee of the College of Teaching and Lead Practitioner at Lipson Co-operative Academy, says: ‘I am absolutely delighted and so proud that I am able to help shape the destiny of our profession as a Founding Trustee of the College of Teaching.

‘I firmly believe the time for a College is now; quite simply it is essential to our future and the impetus is with us. Our aim must be to raise the profile of teaching as a profession so that it is comparable to others with their own accredited professional bodies.

‘The College of Teaching is a once in a generation opportunity and we can’t just let it slip away. Our children deserve every ounce of energy we have to ensure their future education is the very best we can offer.

‘The College is no gimmick and we face a tremendous challenge that just has to succeed. We need to be clear on our core activities and articulate exactly what membership will mean for each and every teacher.

‘It is vital that we don’t try to completely wipe the slate clean – there is so much excellent practice already and so much valuable research that we must recognise while learning the lessons of the past, we will surely be able to better shape the future.’

Victoria McDowell – Founding Trustee of the College of Teaching and class teacher at Bridekirk Dovenby School, Cumbria, says: ‘For me, the College of Teaching will mean joined-up thinking: curriculum subjects, developing an understanding of what industry requires of the adults of tomorrow, assessment, inspections and how this can all be translated into fun, cohesive lessons for our pupils through proven, effective staff training.

‘After eighteen years of primary school teaching ranging from reception to year six, working in both the North and South of England, I will bring a practical, “feet firmly planted on the floor of the classroom” style of thinking.

‘This will be a challenge but one which teaching needs in order to empower its workforce and, in time, return respect to the teaching profession as we carry out the highly skilled task of preparing the next generation for the real world.’

The Founding Trustees, who will meet for the first time on Saturday 3rd October in London, will play a key leadership and governance role in the creation of the College of Teaching and will be responsible for deciding strategy and engaging teachers and the wider profession, observing best practice in the running of a charity and working towards future membership of the College.

For further information, visit www.claimyourcollege.org.uk, get involved on on Twitter: @CollofTeaching / #claimyourcollege or visit the Claim Your College Facebook page.

SSAT wishes all Founding Trustees the very best of luck in their new roles and will continue to passionately support the campaign.

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