Lesley Powell
Lesley Powell CBE is Chief Executive Officer at the North East Learning Trust (NELT). With four primary schools, seven secondaries, an outstanding SCITT, a Research School and a Teaching School Hub, NELT is one of the largest and most successful trusts in the North East.
Lesley has been a teacher since 1988 and is passionate about ensuring that all children have an equal chance in life, particularly those from disadvantaged areas. She was appointed to her first headship at The Academy at Shotton Hall in 2009, leading the school to two consecutive outstanding judgments from Ofsted and has worked with many other schools across the north as a National Leader of Education.
Lesley is a member on many boards and advisory groups including: The Regional Head Teacher Board, National Secondary Heads Reference Group, Opportunity North East Sub-Board, National Ofsted Inspector Reference Group, Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, Head Teacher Standards Review Group, and the NPQ Expert Advisory Group.
Through Lesley’s leadership, NELT has forged a reputation for delivering rapid improvement in its sponsor schools with notable examples including Teesdale School which moved from Grade 3 to Grade 1 and Browney Academy where improved performance increased pupil numbers from 74 to 160.
Lesley was awarded CBE in 2017 for services to education.