Past Event

Mike Palmer

Beth’s Dad, 3 Dads Walking

Mike Palmer is one of three bereaved fathers who came together in 2021 to form 3 Dads Walking. Mike along with Tim Owen and Andy Airey lost their daughters Beth, Emily and Sophie to suicide. Through their grief they walked 300 miles in 2021 and 600 miles in 2022 in a belief that many of these young suicides can be prevented. Along the way they have raised more than £1 million for Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide and have had their petition to make Suicide Prevention compulsory in the PSHE Curriculum debated in Parliament.

Dr Toby Quibell PhD, BA(Hons), DipPsy, DipDth, PGCE

Director of the Children’s charity North East Wellbeing

Toby Quibell is a voluntary sector leader living and working in the North East region. He is Director of the children’s charity North East Wellbeing and Project Leader for Zone West: the social prescribing initiative for children. In his role at the Institute of Population Health Sciences he works on applied social research funded by NIHR and the Clinical Research Network.

Toby has worked in primary, middle and secondary schools across the region, setting up, supervising and running programmes for disaffected pupils. He is committed to the integration of health services with schools and to developing the therapeutic capacities of the educational environment. Toby is married with three sons and lives in Hexham, Northumberland. 

Jenna Charlton

Research Associate at Newcastle University Department of Speech & Language

Dr Jenna Charlton is a Research Associate at Newcastle University Department of Speech and Language Sciences. She is also the Clinical Lead for Inequalities for the North East and North Cumbria Child Health and Wellbeing Networks Integrated Care Service (NENC CHWN ICS) and Impact Lead for charitable organisation North East Wellbeing.

Dr Charlton’s research interests are exploring the relationship between language and behaviour in children with particular focus on early identification and intervention. Dr Charlton is the co-author of the Early Language Identification Measure (ELIM) which is operationalised nationally within Health Visiting and Early years practice. She is the academic lead on a social prescribing project for vulnerable children in the North East and North Cumbria Region which integrates health, education, social and VCSE sectors at a community level to support children and their families long-term. Dr Charlton lectures in Research Methods and has extensive experience of quantitative methodologies and analysis.

Dr Darren McGee

Data, impact and evaluation advisor, NTLP

Darren’s background is in developmental and social psychology, with a particular interest in emotions and how they develop. His role within the Wallsend Children’s Community is to use research to support the work they do locally, which often involves conducting surveys with young people and parents or interviews with local organisations and partners. Their ultimate aim is to change the system across Wallsend, so that it works better for children and improves their life chances.

Paula McCormack

Executive Lead, NTLP & Save the Children

Paula has been leading the Wallsend Children’s Community for the past 5 years during which time she has  learned so much about how the system both works and fails children, young people and families. Paula has been utterly inspired by our communities and their resilience and has a new found respect for the role schools play at the heart of that. Paula is a Wallsend resident, a trained counsellor and clinical hypnotherapist with 30+ years working in communities and with children and young people.

Gill Gray

Senior partnership and innovation office, NTLP

Gill has 40 years experience of working with children and families across Newcastle and North Tyneside. Her roles have ranged from Early Years Practitioner, Nursery Manager, Early Years Improvement Officer, and Trainer to her current role as Senior Partnership and Innovation Officer. She was a school governor in a secondary school for 17 years, a Chair of Governors in a Primary school, and is currently Chair of the charity Wallsend Action for Youth. Gill brought her two children up in Wallsend and now has four grandchildren attending Nursery and primary schools in the area.

Phil Affleck

Project manager of Wallsend Online

Phil has worked with Wallsend Children’s Community for over 2 years, assisting on various projects including the development of their community web site: wallsendonline.co.uk.

Phil also runs a company operating in schools: Clued Up Kids, helps a senior leadership team in any educational establishment by delivering a data set that offers an overview of student's opinions that may affect their health, wellbeing and attitude to learning. This then helps them develop a tailor-made PSHE curriculum and helps drive a school improvement plan. 

Phil is also a school governor and father of three teenagers.

Dr Eric Fletcher

Training, Development and Research Lead and Designated Safeguarding Lead with Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit’s (VRU) Education Team

Dr Eric Fletcher is the Training, Development and Research Lead and Designated Safeguarding Lead with Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit’s (VRU) Education Team, part of the Office of the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner. Eric, a former police officer and experienced educational researcher, oversees the design and development of the VRU's violence reduction themed learning, for example, the use of Project Based Learning and the co-production of learning resources.

Mark Ashfield

Founder and CEO of Lime

With an unwavering belief in the power of value-centred social entrepreneurship, Mark has dedicated his career to building mission-led projects that shape a better society for all.

As Lime's founder and CEO, Mark leads a dynamic and diverse multidisciplinary team, channelling their shared passion for addressing societal challenges head-on. His commitment to innovative business models, cutting-edge technologies, and the latest thinking has empowered young people by providing them with the tools to transform their lives. He values the context of projects as opportunities for personal and professional growth, encouraging learning, knowledge sharing, and the development of creative solutions. He believes embracing change and pushing boundaries is essential to foster growth and drive innovation. Through Lime's initiatives, Mark has consistently delivered measurable social impact, helping to shape a brighter future for hundreds of thousands of young people.

Looking ahead, Mark Ashfield remains steadfast in his vision of a society where social entrepreneurship drives positive change. Committed to empowering individuals and communities, he envisions a future where every young person has the tools and opportunities to shape their lives. Through Lime and his relentless pursuit of innovation,

Mark is dedicated to shaping an equitable, inclusive, and flourishing society.

Carolyn Chapman-Lees, BA (Hons), GGCE, MBA,DBA

Founder, Just Horizons and Former Chief Executive Officer, Titan Partnership

Meet Carolyn Chapman-Lees: a visionary leader committed to social justice and an equitable education system. As the Founder of Just Horizons and former CEO of Titan Partnership, she has left an indelible mark on Birmingham's education network. Her unwavering commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility has inspired her to establish Just Horizons, an initiative aimed at creating inclusive and equitable work, life and community environments where everyone can thrive.

Under Carolyn's leadership, Titan Partnership has supported over 50 schools, colleges, universities and training providers across Birmingham. The charity has also successfully delivered a range of highly reputable teacher training programs, designed to create the next generation of exceptional educators and leaders.

Carolyn's dedication to equity and inclusion was exemplified during the COVID-19 pandemic when her team at Titan organised a fundraising initiative that raised £100k to provide young people in Birmingham with 452 much-needed devices. In addition, Carolyn's collaboration with Aston University and Birmingham 2022 resulted in an exciting sporting event that allowed over 450 primary school children to celebrate the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Prior to joining Titan, Carolyn was Executive Director at the Gazelle Colleges Group, where she spearheaded national programmes for innovative student enterprise, entrepreneurial leadership, and curriculum transformation. She also founded TurnPoint Projects, a company specialising in personal development and supporting disadvantaged young people, families, and communities. In 2008, she led a local authority initiative that ensured more than 3600 people in the newly developed Westfield London White City shopping centre gained employment.

Carolyn holds a BA (Hons), a PGCE, and an MBA and was awarded an Honorary Degree by Aston University in September 2021 for her contributions to education in Birmingham. She also serves on the Aston University Business School Advisory Board and the Wildhearts Regional Board. Carolyn is a true champion of education and an inspiring leader who continues to make a positive impact in her community and beyond.

Lorna McLean

Principal, King Edwin School

Coming from a background in FE development and student support, Lorna has spent the last 7 years as Principal at King Edwin School, an independent SEMH school rated ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding Personal Development’ (Dec 2021).  With a love of education, Lorna also serves as Chair of Governors for a local PRU and as a Trustee for a high achieving multi academy Trust.   

Lorna’s MA in Education Leadership was studied at Teesside alongside Narelle Dalton, a long-time colleague. As a childhood care experienced individual, Lorna is passionate about impacting young people who are disadvantaged, in particular those in the looked after arena.

Narelle Dalton

Skills Manager, King Edwin School

With a background in Higher Education and SEN and a drive to impact disadvantaged young people, Narelle has spent the last 4 years as Skills Manager at King Edwin School, developing and managing provision for the most vulnerable, anxious and hardest to reach students. Prior to this Narelle ran and accredited degree courses in Performing Arts at Teesside University. Combining both passion and purpose Narelle founded a local CIC in the form of a theatre company for performers with LDD needs. 

An accomplished performing artist, Narelle continues to lead a performing arts school in her spare time as well as teaching dance across a range of ages and abilities.  Studying Yoga and Ayurveda alongside her dance practice wellness and wellbeing are part of Narelle's pedagogy and something which is front and centre of her daily life.

Jo Bradley

Mindfulness Practitioner, Teacher & Co-creator of WellBeings

Jo has been transforming mental and emotional well-being in schools for almost 10 years with simple, self-regulation practices that equip children, teachers and parents to become aware of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours and positively empower them to navigate life in more calm, attentive and joyous ways. 

Once an assistant headteacher and primary school teacher herself, Jo recognises how teachers and school staff are often overloaded and overwhelmed, while children and parents are increasingly anxious and burdened.  Her passion to experience and support mental fitness and emotional education in a simple but practical whole-school approach has never been greater. 

Christopher King

Nature-based storyteller, Mindfulness Practitioner & Co-creator of WellBeings

After gaining his Cert Ed and deciding that he had little if anything to offer school children, Chris settled quite happily into working at the local garage as a petrol pump attendant.  His dad, however, had other plans and he soon found himself in the busy world of Industry, oiling moving bits of machinery, lifting great weights, and attempting to sell things.  Chris escaped after 13 years when he noticed in the library a course at the local polytechnic on Behavioural Ecology and somehow this advert led him to researching endemic fruit pigeons in the seasonal tropical forests of Sumba, Indonesia. 

A PhD beckoned but Chris was running out of cash.  Teaching seemed a good card to play, so he tried some supply work.  Chris remembers the state of ‘shaking’ shock at the end of his first day of teaching secondary geography, and then a month or so later trying to persuade his class of ‘enterprising’ children to come off the roof when they discovered the fire escape. The lows and highs, respectively, of his early teaching experience!

The curious thing was that Chris discovered he really enjoyed being with the kids and teaching them.  Since then, Chris has been a class teacher to children from year 1 to year 6, taught GCSE and A level, and worked as a tutor with the Open University.

Chris left full time teaching in 2010 feeling exhausted and empty. His interest in behaviour, however, began to turn in the direction of supporting others as well as himself.  Chris learned various complementary therapies which he was able to offer to patients at the Butterwick Hospice and The Trinity Holistic Centre at James Cook University Hospital. An opportunity to work at Alliance Psychological Services in Stockton arose in 2016 and since then Chris has been working as a mindfulness practitioner and supporting the teaching and delivery of mental wellbeing to various organisations including the police, councils, schools, and the NHS etc.  Chris has also contributed material to the online WellBeings programme that offers daily support to pupils, parents, and teachers. 

He still sees himself as a teacher, but he now has the wonderful opportunity to teach through the powerful medium of nature-based stories and mindfulness practices.

David Bailey FCCT

School Improvement Director, Education Village Academy Trust

David works part time as School Improvement Director for Education Village Academy Trust in Darlington. He is also Co-Director of Newham Learning, a large school-led Area Learning Partnership in London, serving 40 schools. He is also leading NPQ specialist and leadership programmes for a local trust. He is also a governor and former Chair of Management Committee (Chair of Governors) for two Pupil Referral Units in London.

Prior to his current roles, David had extensive teaching, middle and senior leadership experience in four 11-18 secondary schools before moving to senior positions within two multi-academy trusts. His responsibilities included leadership and teacher development, quality assurance, and supporting schools to improve pupil outcomes. He previously led Carmel Research School and several large regional and multi-regional DfE- and EEF-funded school improvement programmes.

David became a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching in 2022.

Naomi Byrne

Senior Policy Advisor, Teacher Wellbeing Workload and Impact, Schools Team, DfE

Naomi is a senior policy advisor at the DfE working in the Teacher Wellbeing, Workload and Impact on Schools Team where she is responsible for stakeholder engagement and developing the School Workload Reduction Toolkit. Prior to joining the team Naomi worked on the delivery of Oak National Academy as part of the department’s pandemic response. Before becoming a civil servant, Naomi was an English teacher with twenty years’ experience of working in inner city schools and colleges in both teaching and leadership roles.

John Leary

Assistant Headteacher: Personal Development, High Tunstall College of Science

John has worked as a teacher in education since 2003/2004. He has been a Humanities teacher for 20 years, having experience from KS3-KS5. John  has also been a subject and faculty leader at 2 schools in the West Lakes and York, prior to joining High Tunstall in 2012 as a Lead Teacher. He then joined the SLT as CPD lead. John has since been Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning before taking over the role of Assistant Headteacher for Personal Development which he has done now for 4 years and which he absolutely loves. John’s ethos for education is for all to be supported and included so that all pupils' time at school is thoroughly enjoyed and embraced.  

Julie Liddell

Managing Director, Still Human

Julie has over 25 years experience of teaching Psychology, along with an enthusiasm for sharing simple, effective ways to improve wellbeing.
Having worked in the post 16 sector both as a teacher and a Senior Manager, Julie has a genuine understanding of the current challenges facing education.

Julie founded Still Human as she believes that when staff health and wellbeing is nurtured, it positively impacts both the individual and the whole school community. Still Human is part of the educational support services organisation, The Edwin Group and delivers workshops on a wide range of topics including Stress Management, Mindfulness, the Menopause and Rest, as well as delivering Wellbeing Champion training.

Colin Lofthouse

CEO, SMART Multi Academy Trust

Following a career in archaeology after graduating from Sheffield University Colin trained as a primary teacher in 1997 at Newcastle University.

He began teaching at Chopwell Primary School, Gateshead before moving to be DHT and then AHT of Prudhoe West First School in Northumberland.

In 2008 he became headteacher at Throckley Primary School, Newcastle and led the school from special measures to outstanding status. After 6 years as Headteacher at Rickleton Primary School in Sunderland he is now the Chief Executive Officer for the Smart Multi Academy Trust, a group of 11 primary schools in the North West of Newcastle.

He has special interest in leadership support, looked after children and has been a SIP for many years. His research areas are coaching, lesson study and curriculum design on which he has co-authored books, papers and presented at conferences.

In his spare time he rock climbs, plays the piano and rides bikes (both with and without engines).

Chris Zarraga

Director, Schools North East

Chris has been part of the Schools North East team since its inception in 2007 and in 2019 he was appointed Director.

Chris works with other leaders across the North East, the education sector and charity sector to represent the voice of North East schools, and lobby policy makers to ensure that the North East is not left behind when it comes to education policy. Chris has overseen the launch of the Ednorth evidence-based excellence programme, as well as the partnership with SHINE bringing over £500,000 worth of funding to North East schools.

Under Chris, Schools North East has moved to a greater focus on lobbying around education policy, with the launch of the Manifesto for North East Education in December 2019. As well as being a trustee of a local MAT, Chris sits on various boards including the board for Opportunity North East. Prior to joining Schools North East, Chris worked with over 165 schools in the North East and various education organisations including local authorities, Excellence Partnerships, 14-19 Groups, the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust, and School Improvement Officers. He led a large scale culture change project in education across the North East and was the development consultant for the LEGI funded Wansbeck Enterprise Education Network.