SNE Event

Dame Christine Lenehan, DBE 

SEND Strategic Advisor to the Department of Education

Christine began her career as a social worker in 1980. 

In 2000 Christine joined the Council for Disabled Children, part of the National Children’s Bureau. Christine has carried out Reviews for both the DoH and DfE, both Reviews received a very positive response from Government, and implementation of their recommendations is likely to make a significant impact on practice in this area and the experiences of the children and young people affected. Most recently, Christine was a lead member for the review of safeguarding children and young people with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings in partnership with The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. The recommendations urge government departments to work together to transform the education, health and care offer so that disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs thrive and are supported to achieve. 

In 2009 Christine was awarded an OBE for services for disabled children and young people and in 2013 was made an Honorary Fellow of the RCPCH. In 2016 she was awarded a Damehood in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in recognition of her outstanding work for disabled children and young and those with special educational needs spanning over 35 years.  In October 2024 she was appointed by the Government to the role of Strategic Advisor on SEND to support the Government on developing reforms to the system.      

Mark Vickers MBE

Chief Executive Officer, Olive Academies

Mark’s work in education is rooted in his belief that schools and other settings have the potential to break historic cycle of social disadvantage and to prevent the marginalisation of vulnerable young people. Mark has been a headteacher of a secondary school, an Ofsted inspector and a founding trustee of PSHE Association before he established Olive Academies Trust in 2015.

Through the work of Olive Academies, Mark has been invited to join a small number of external advisory boards and forums, where Insight, Innovation, and best practices are shared to help form a collective voice that will impact more children and young people nationally. Mark is Chair of The National MAT CEO Network for Alternative Provision and SEND, a member of the DfE’s AP Stakeholder Group, Independent Chair of Norfolk County Council’s Executive Board and Ofsted’s External Advisor for Inclusion. As advocate for partnership working, Mark regards collaboration as an effective and necessary route to improving the life chances of more of the most vulnerable children in the country.

In 2021 Mark was awarded an MBE in The Queen’s New Year Honours List for his services to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Hannah Wilson

Director, The Belonging Effect

Hannah Wilson is a Leadership Development consultant, coach and trainer. She is the Co-Founder of #WomenEd and #DiverseEd. She is the Co-Editor of Diverse Educators: A Manifesto.

She previously taught English, Drama and Media Studies over a 20 year career in schools. She has held multiple leadership roles including Head of Department, Head of Year, Assistant/ Deputy/ Executive  Headteacher and trust-wide/ Teaching School wide roles as well.   

She has been a governor and a trustee in multiple settings, she is a newly appointed trustee and Vice Chair of the trust board at SGSAT in the SW. 

Find out more about the services, resources and training that she and the REAL (Resilient Empowered Authentic Leaders) team provide here: www.hannah-wilson.co.uk 

Find out more about the services, resources and training that the Belonging Effect (formerly known as Diverse Educators) can provide here: www.thebelongingeffect.co.uk

John Roberts

SEND & Inclusion Editor, Tes

John Roberts is an experienced education journalist having covered the sector for nearly 20 years.
He is currently the SEND and inclusion editor for Tes and has worked for the title since  2018. During his time at Tes he has been responsible for its coverage of education policy, Ofsted, academies and special educational needs. Before working at Tes he was the education correspondent for the Yorkshire Post. He has also worked in an education communications role in local government.
He has lived and worked in the North in  West Yorkshire for the past 20 years. He  grew up in the North East in Darlington. He is a father of two and a SEND parent.  

Sarah Monk

Chief Strategy Officer, Edwin

Sarah has over 30 years’ experience in the education sector. Her roles have included Head of Education Finance in a Local Authority, Vice Principal across a group of schools (primary, secondary and SEND) and National School Business Management Advocate for the National College of School Leadership.

Throughout her career, Sarah has advised hundreds of school and MAT CEOs, Head Teachers and senior leaders on a range of issues including MAT growth, and complex strategic leadership issues, including finance, HR and governance. As well as her role as Chief Strategy Officer at Edwin, Sarah is Chair of Finance for a 35-school MAT, and a member at an all-through MAT both based in the north east.  Sarah’s areas of special interest include addressing the challenges of recruitment and retention and new ideas for tackling the crisis in SEND.

Ben Hardy

Policy Manager, Schools North East

Ben returned to Schools North East in January 2026 as Policy Manager, leading on the organisation’s strategic policy and public affairs agenda. His work provides alignment between policy, research, stakeholder engagement, and member insight; ensuring the voice of North East schools is heard to influence decision-makers at the highest levels. 

Ben brings a wealth of cross-sector experience to the role. He re-joins Schools North East following five years at the Department for Education, where he primarily led on stakeholder engagement working closely with the sector to ensure that strategy was developed with schools, trusts, and local authorities. He also served as Policy and Strategy Lead for the ‘Maximising Value for Pupils’ programme, which was launched to tackle systemic challenges at a national level. 

Between 2019 and 2021, Ben was Relationship Manager at Schools North East, where he developed strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders  across the region, including CEOs, CFOs, Head Teachers, School Business Professionals, local authorities, and other charitable organisations. Prior to this, Ben spent five years at The Key, supporting school and trust leaders nationwide. A committed advocate for the sector, Ben has been involved in school governance for over a decade and is currently Chair of Governors at a primary school in Newcastle.

Pauline Aitchison

Deputy Director, Schools North East & NNoSS Network Lead

Pauline joined Schools North East in July 2017 as Business Manager and was appointed Deputy Director in 2020. She also leads the National Network of Special Schools for School Business Professionals (NNoSS), a network representing 400 schools in the specialist sector across England.

Prior to joining Schools North East in 2017, Pauline was a School Business Manager and has more than 25 years experience of working in education.  She has a wealth of knowledge with an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by schools and is committed to making a difference to the learning chances of all pupils.

Pauline is also experienced in school governance having served on various governing bodies and is currently a trustee of a special school trust and a committee chair.  She has an MBA in strategic leadership and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management.