Past Event

Kev House

The Art of Brilliance

In 2006, as an out of control, obese, heavy drinking Type 1 Diabetic, doctors gave Kev the ultimatum - to change or face the consequences. After reluctantly reading some of that ‘airy fairy positivity stuff’ he was shocked at the results when he put the ideas into practice!

Some thought Kev had lost his marbles when he announced that he was going to run in the New York City Marathon in Nov 2007. He completed what was a truly life-changing experience.

Kev’s never looked back. The benefits are incredible: more energy, improved mood and excellent diabetic control, flourishing professionally, and most importantly for Kev, he can now get into Topman skinny jeans!

Kev is inspiring children and adults through keynote speaking and workshops to take control and manage their own minds, develop self-awareness, grit and most importantly, self-love!.

John Roberts

Deputy News Editor, Tes

John Roberts is an experienced education journalist having covered the sector for nearly 20 years.
He has been the deputy news editor at Tes since 2021 and before this was the website and magazine’s North of England reporter. During his time at Tes he has also been responsible for its coverage of education policy, Ofsted, academies and SEND.
Before working at Tes he was the education correspondent for the Yorkshire Post and before this covered education for the Telegraph & Argus in Bradford. He has also worked in a communications role in local government.
He has lived and worked in West Yorkshire for the past 20 years but grew up in the North East in Darlington. He is a father of two and a SEND parent.

David Withey

Chief Executive, ESFA

David Withey joined the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) as CEO in August 2022. David has extensive experience in senior public sector roles in Australia and the UK having started his career in the Northern Ireland Office.

Immediately prior to joining the ESFA David was Chief Operating Officer and Deputy ​Secretary at the New South Wales Department of Education. Before that he worked on public spending in Treasury Departments in the UK and Australia and led the New South Wales COVID Economic taskforce.

Emma Smith

Independent Adviser, ESC Management Services

Emma Smith is an independent consultant and advises schools/MATs, special school networks and national organisations on the arrangements for health services in school settings. Emma previously worked in the health sector for over 20 years and held roles in NHS commissioning and provider organisations. She has led national and regional projects in both the health and education sectors and her work has featured in national publications. She holds Masters degrees in the Legal Aspects of Medical Practice and Psychology.

Warren Carratt

CEO, Nexus MAT

Warren Carratt is Chief Executive Officer of Nexus MAT, a medium sized trust providing education to children across the South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire regions, with a majority of special schools. A “first generation” CEO, Warren was recruited to post following national advert, in 2016. Since August 2022, Warren has also been the CEO of the Evolve Trust, a failed MAT which he was appointed to lead with the specific brief of re-brokering its academies so that the Trust could be closed.

Warren has not come through the Headteacher route, instead having a background in local government and the NHS. Warren is a sitting Magistrate on the South Yorkshire bench, and is also an independent member of the South Yorkshire Police & Crime Panel, the statutory body which holds the Police & Crime Commissioner to account. He is an advisory member to the Staff College, and is also a member of the Department for Education’s Attendance Action Alliance.  He lives in Rotherham, South Yorks.

Simon Lindsay

Stakeholder Manager, DfE

Simon Lindsay is Stakeholder Manager with the Department for Education.  He has worked in the education sector for 30 years, with training providers, Training and Enterprise Councils, and the Learning and Skills Council.  His roles include Senior Contracts Manager, Inclusion Manager, and Programme Manager in the DfE Capital division.  He is a trustee for Streetwise, a health education charity for young people. 

Simon joined the Department in 2012 and has worked on a number of projects related to capital and funding, complex case work with academies, and Good Estate Management for schools.  His other projects include: 

·         Development of capital funding arrangements for Multi Academy Trusts

·         Publication of Good Estate Management for Schools (GEMS)

·         The Net Capacity Assessment (NCA) programme

Gareth Palmer

NCA Project Director, Valuation Office Agency

Gareth is a Chartered Surveyor with over 10 years of experience in property and the Civil Service. Gareth has provided professional valuation advice across a variety of commercial property markets to numerous Government Departments, Agencies, Local Authorities and the NHS.  He has also project managed a number of national asset Valuation Projects.

As part of the partnership between the VOA and DfE for the Net Capacity Assessment Project; Gareth is responsible for the national delivery of NCA Data to DfE with responsibilities ranging from strategic planning, process design, training and operational delivery.

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.

Lyndsay Greathead

HR Director, Edwin People

Lyndsay has worked in HR for over 20 years and has 10 years’ experience working within education HR at a senior level supporting and delivering strategic HR support to Director's, CEO's and Senior Leaders within schools and MATs.  Lyndsay has previously led, developed and managed a team of HR professionals within an education services business and since joining The Edwin Group in September 2023 has led on the development and delivery of HR support across their newly launched Strategic Leadership and HR Service, Edwin People.

Mick Little

Chief Operating Officer, Ascent Academies Trust

Mick is a qualified Chartered Accountant with 27 years’ experience working in public sector finance, including local authority, education and corporate services. With 11 years’ experience in a MAT as Chief Operating Officer, Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer, Mick has vast experience leading all central functions and operations.

Jo Marchant

Estates Manager, The Boxing Academy & Author

Jo has over 20 years of estates management experience in the public and charitable sectors. She has worked in the education sector for the last 14 years, where she has had responsibility for managing estates and new build projects. 

Jo works for The Boxing Academy, a unique alternative provision in London, advising on estates management and working with the professional team designing and building their new school.

Jo is the author of “The School Premises Handbook” published in June 2023 which she wrote to inform school premises staff, business managers, headteachers and governors in England of their legal responsibilities around building compliance.  Jo is a member of the Department for Education’s School Building Design User Reference Group.

Tom Goldman

Deputy Director, Funding Policy Unit, DfE

Tom leads the Funding Policy Unit within the Department for Education. 

This means being responsible for revenue funding for schools, early years and high needs, providing the core budgets for all state-funded provision for children up to the age of 16 (and to age 25 for young people with high needs).  

The Funding Policy Unit contributes to the wider school resource management portfolio, developing products like the school financial benchmarking service to support schools to use resources as efficiently as possible.

Prior to joining the Funding Policy Unit in 2015, Tom worked in a variety of posts within the Department for Education, working on school curriculum, qualifications and standards.

Will Washington

Commercial Director, The Edwin Group

Having previously worked in the special education needs sector, Will started his education recruitment career in 2009 and has over 13 years’ experience. Will was responsible for the strategic direction of Edwin Supply’s SEND teams (Vision for Education, ABC Teachers and Smart Teachers) and now in his current role as Commercial Director for The Edwin Group, Will identifies and secures new company acquisitions and manages their integration into the Group.

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.