TheKnowList Academies

Daniel Brown – CEO TheKnowList

Daniel Brown

Daniel has been working with the Professional Services community for nearly 20 years, initially in business development with several global software companies but more recently as the CEO of TheKnowList.

Daniel is a focused professional and is committed the development of opportunities for young adults in business and the support of young entrepreneurs by drawing on his business experience within the professional services, technology & media communities.

Through his development of TheKnowList, Daniel hosts a number of high profile industry forums and events and is pro-actively developing TheKnowList CSR Programme. Daniel firmly believes this programme to be an exceptional opportunity for the Professional Services community to extend existing CSR Programmes to collectively provide less fortunate young adults with long term practical educational experiences that would otherwise not be available.

Abby Ewen, Director of Business Transformation, Simmons & Simmons

Abby Ewen

Abby Ewen has been at Simmons & Simmons for nearly 10 years in a variety of roles.

At the beginning of 2010 Abby took on a new role of Director of Business Transformation. This role is responsible both for aligning change across the firm in a strategic and joined up way, and for implementing transformational change within the legal practice areas. The role still includes strategic responsibility for IT.

Abby is a regular speaker at Legal IT events and forums and contributes to a number of Legal and Technology publications.

In 2009, she chaired the Legal Week Strategic Technology forum in Spain and won The KnowList IT Strategist of the year award in 2010.

Abby is on the Executive Committee of LiliConnect, a not for profit networking and mentoring organisation for Ladies in Legal Information.

She has a number of mentees both inside and outside of Simmons & Simmons.

Abby is joint chair of the Simmons & Simmons Women’s Network.

Peter Dunne, Managing Director, Partnership Education

Peter Dunne

Peter Dunne is Managing Director of Partnership Education Ltd who specialise in transforming political vision into leading-edge delivery. Peter has spent 30 years in ‘Authenticated Research’, which translates the potential for technology impact on future education, training and employment needs into policy and strategic planning programmes.

Peter has held a number of significant transformational roles within education, including: Head of Education Services for Bedfordshire County Council; Head of a large UK outsourced education service with HBS; and, roles within national think-tanks, NGOs, overseas development agencies and the CBI. In addition, Peter has supported a number of Central Government initiatives at Cabinet level.

Peter has undertaken two periods of doctoral research, pushing the boundaries of knowledge currency in a rapidly-evaporating sphere of understanding. ICT has reversed the traditional concept of a knowledge worker as the practical impact of new technology constantly challenges operational efficiency and competencies. In a Google competent world, who is the custodian of wisdom in the legal sector?

The government has recognised these challenges and is inviting sector skills leaders to develop and open their own knowledge currency exchanges called University Technical Colleges, being small schools which receive government funding and provide specialist education to 14-19 year old students in a conventional 37.5 hour, 40 week school period. Sponsors create new learning and examination experiences in line with their sector skills. Peter is currently supporting the Black Country UTC, the first to open in 2011 and also the Hackney UTC, the first to open in London.

Transforming how we work: sector-led or technology-led, driver or driven? Peter is on the side of the drivers and sees the current opportunity for the skills sector communities to transform education as the leading edge opportunity of this century.

Sarah Porretta, Head, Money for Life Programme, Lloyds Banking Group

Sarah Porretta

Sarah has varied experience in community investment for both the charity and corporate sectors in CSR and communications roles for the NSPCC, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Microsoft, Cadbury, BAA and Lloyds Banking Group.

Sarah joined Marie Curie in 2001 as a corporate account executive and then moved to Microsoft where she worked on a £1 million fundraising campaign for the NSPCC and on Mirosoft’s Digital Inclusion agenda.

In 2004 she moved to BAA, where as Head of Stakeholder Relations she headed up the community investment team and managed external communications and stakeholder engagement during the construction of Terminal 5 and the early stages of the 3rd runway proposal.

After spending a year out in Africa and South America in 2008-09 Sarah moved to Cadbury to a global CSR role, where she worked on their award-winning Fairtrade and ethical sourcing agenda.

Sarah joined Lloyds Banking Group in 2010 where she heads up financial education for the Group, including the £4 million Money for Life Programme – a financial capability and personal money skills programme that aims to embed vital money management skills in the Further Education and community learning sector. Sarah has developed several strands of work under the Money for Life banner including the Teach Me and Teach Others financial capability programme and the Money for Life Challenge – a national competition for 16-24 year olds.

Sarah is active in the CSR and financial capability world, contributing to collaborative ventures and speaking and attending a range of networking and thought leadership events with the financial services industry, political stakeholders and third sector organisations.

Gleny Lovell, Director of Educational Services for PKF (UK) LLP

Gleny Lovell

Gleny is Director of Educational Services for PKF (UK) LLP and is responsible for the delivery of PKF’s portfolio of Academy, Free School and University Technical College projects. The PKF team have project managed nearly 100 such projects to date.

She is a finance professional and accomplished programme and project manager with over 20 years experience of delivering business and systems change in both public and private sectors. She has held senior positions in blue chip, SME and consultancy organisations specialising in retail finance and technology. In recent years she has applied her business skills to central government consultancy, delivering large scale organisation transformation programmes for DWP and DfE and leading change projects across the sector. Gleny has been pivotal in developing PKF’s education consultancy practice. PKF is now the leading project management company delivering the Coalition’s Free Schools and Academies programme.

Panel Chair – David Tuck – Past President National Association of Head Teachers

David Tuck

David was elected as the President of the National Association of Head teachers which represents the overwhelming majority of school leaders in the UK. He has sat on numerous national and international advisory bodies for primary education. David led a very large primary school and children’s centre for over 20 years. Despite significant socio-economic deprivation and very large numbers of EAL families the school was repeatedly graded outstanding for leadership. He has considerable expertise in school management and organisation and a track record of raising attainment and has been engaged in opening an accelerated primary free school in Manchester.

David Tuck CV

Professor Jonathan Blackledge – Engineering and Digital Research | Computer sciences in 21st century

Prof Jonathan Blackledge

Jonathan Blackledge is the Stokes Professor of Digital Signal Processing and Information and Communications Technology and Director of the Information and Communications Security Research Group, funded by the Science Foundation Ireland.

He graduated in physics from Imperial College, London University in 1980 and gained a PhD in theoretical physics from Kings College, London University in 1984. He was then appointed a Research Fellow of Physics at Kings College from 1984 to 1988, specializing in electromagnetic inverse problems. During this period, he worked on a number of industrial research contracts undertaking theoretical and computational research into the application of inverse solutions for the processing and analysis of electromagnetic signals and images.

In 1988, he joined the Applied Mathematics and Computing Group in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Cranfield University as Lecturer and later, as Senior Lecturer and Head of Group where he promoted postgraduate teaching and research in applied and engineering mathematics focusing on Computer Aided Engineering and Digital Signal Processing. While at Cranfield, he co-founded Management and Personnel Services Limited www.mapstraining.co.uk through the Cranfield Business School which was originally established for the promotion of management consultancy, working in partnership with the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce. He expanded the company to include the delivery of a range of National Vocational and Higher Level Qualifications through the City and Guilds London Institute in areas that included Engineering, Business Administration, ICT and Security.

From 1994-2003 Jonathan Blackledge was Professor of Applied Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at De Montfort University, Leicester, where he introduced a number of post-graduate teaching and research programmes and established the Institute of Simulation Sciences.

From 2003-2008 he was Visiting Professor in the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Loughborough University, where, as part of his appointment, he co-founded the Advanced Signal Processing Research Group.

In 2004, he was appointed Professor Extraordinaire of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa where he undertakes supervision of PhD students and the delivery of short courses for the University’s CPD programmes.

In 2009, he completed a second PhD in Mathematical Information Technology at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, and, in 2010, was appointed to the position of Distinguished Professor in the Centre for Advanced Studies at Warsaw University of Technology, Poland.

Charlotte Bosworth Education Director OCR | New curriculum and examination awards

Charlotte Bosworth

Head of Curriculum – Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations Board

Charlotte joined OCR in 1996. She has worked in various roles within the organisation that has provided Charlotte with a broad understanding of qualifications, assessment and the education landscape.

Currently Head of Curriculum development, her role is to implement a curriculum approach and build partnerships that will ensure that qualifications are underpinned by distinctive, innovative and engaging approaches to teaching and learning.

Dr Henrietta Harnisch | The role of the sponsor in academies and UTCs

Henrietta Harnisch

Henrietta has an extensive pedigree in education leadership, curriculum development, research and transformation. In her current role at Wolverhampton University she is heading up a new faculty formed to support the New Schools and Academies agenda. Henrietta represented Wolverhampton University as sponsor on the South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy, The North East Wolverhampton Academy and the current Black Country UTC project. She is keenly engaged in the development of curriculum practice and school leadership which will transform the life chances of young people.

Henrietta’s extensive educational experience spans national and international projects and research activities with a specific focus on Languages, Information Learning Technologies and School Leadership. She has published extensively and collaborated on a range of international research projects to develop excellence in the teaching and learning of languages. Recent interests arising from the academies and UTC initiatives involve the emergent enterprise curriculum and the alignment of new curriculum assessment methods which align with the expectations of employers within the commercial and industrial sectors.

Justin Wilson – Principal Consultant | Helping Sponsors to open a school

Justin Wilson

APPOINTMENTS: SCHOOL SET-UP & RELATED CONSULTANCY

2007 – present MOTT MACDONALD GROUP Academies Strategic Director – Health and Education UK Division

Responsibilities include:

− Development of Cambridge Education’s Academy business.

− Professional Lead for Academies programme, providing leadership and guidance to all project managers and education advisers working on the Academy programme, and ensuring good practice is disseminated widely.

− Project director for individual Academy projects, providing strategic direction and quality assurance, to ensure consistent, excellent delivery of projects across the whole programme.

− Ensuring programme of current Academies is commercially successful.

− Delivery of Educational Consultancy for Academy projects and work with Principals Designate.

2006 – 2007 Director for BSF and Academies Tribal Education Ltd

− Strategic responsibility for bid management, quality assurance and for profit and loss in this area.

− Team building and dissemination of best practice.

− Client relationship management.

− He had responsibility for the Academies programme which involved leadership of high profile projects and management of project directors and project managers across the programme. His experience of work in schools and in contact with Local Authorities gave a good understanding of the drivers for change and the transformational outcomes government is expecting. He was also involved in developing the strategic approach to Transformational Change Management in schools for BSF projects.

2005 Operations Director for Local Authority Consultancy Tribal Education

Providing leadership and operational support to a variety of Local Authority improvement projects.

2003 – 2005 Senior Consultant Project Support and ICT Tribal Education

Managed a variety of school improvement and local authority consultancy projects including acting as coordinator for the Buckinghamshire Leadership Incentive Grant schools including chairing the Head Teachers panel and liaison with the Local Authority. He also coached senior leaders in these schools and mentored a number of other teachers. Added to previous secondary experience this gives very good understanding of the improvement agenda and managing transition in school projects.

2000 – 2003 SALFORD Head of Learning Centres

Justin was responsible for implementation and management of strategy and policy for the learning centres. He had responsibility for budget, facilities, resourcing and personnel at the centres. Justin was also involved in developing the LEA E-learning strategy. There was responsibility for reporting lines to the Department of Education and Skills (Now DCSF). During this period he also initiated and managed a number of collaborative projects with other education partners across Greater Manchester including the Universities and several colleges. Justin’s programmes supported a number of national initiatives including Aim Higher projects, the National Strategies in KS3 and programmes for Gifted and Talented students.

This included Project Management and implementation of new build educational facilities. Justin was responsible to a governing body and DCSF for budget, on time delivery and development of a programme involving students and community. Justin had a dual role as a senior adviser with the Local Authority promoting development of ICT within the curriculum.

APPOINTMENTS: EDUCATION

Justin was a co-opted governor at Eccles College Salford with initial election in 2003 and now into the second four year term. During this time I have served on the Finance, Appeals, and Remunerations committees and chaired the Standards Committee for four years. He was able to bring strategic understanding of government initiatives in education and specific experience in HR, Corporate finance and educational standards.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE

1999 Senior Educational Consultant, with Glaxo Wellcome PLC, Lakeside House, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex.

As part of a twelve month secondment into industry with Head Teachers into Industry Justin was involved with Corporate Strategy and Policy with regard to training for a new ICT support organisation, membership of SAP System Implementation and Integration team with Anderson Consulting.

He managed Training Learning and Development including recruitment fro around 200 new personnel. Liaison with Learning managers across the UK and Singapore. Leading on UK training managers’ procedure development group. Management of continuous improvement group for IT change management.

1999-2000 Leadership and Management modules. University of Warwick Leadership and Management

2001 Executive Coach for two Regional Directors of National Continuing Professional Development Strategy.

2000 to date – delivery and coaching using the Emotional Competencies Inventory for Leadership – Licenced practitioner (Hay McBer)

RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS

BSc Joint Honours in Zoology/ Physiology with ancillary chemistry. Second class. University of London

Postgraduate Certificate in Education, Sheffield University.

MA in Education, Open University – Modules in Education Management, Educational Organisation and Professionals, Science Education.

PRINCE2 2005

Jeff Howson – ICT Education Consultant | The New triumvirate of infrastructure, digital content and coding

Jeff Howson

Jeff is the Managing Director of JRH Consultancy Ltd with 30 plus years of experience in education, (as an AST, HOD, Senior Teacher, Senior Examiner, Advisor) and as a consultant in the Commercial and Public sector. As an Education consultant to various Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) and LA’s, Jeff has created many curriculum focussed national projects and worked with many schools on school improvement and the delivery of training and transformation programmes. Jeff has also provided advisory services to Building Schools for the Future and school capital build programmes on both supplier (e.g. RM – Birmingham and Siemens – UK) and client sides and has been involved in many bids and programmes including the creation of fast track Academies (10), UTCs and Free Schools.

Jeff is passionate about the transformational effects that ICT can bring to Teaching and Learning and shared with the Launch Forum some thoughts and ideas around the use of Innovative Technology in a 21st Century The KnowList Academy and the steps that are taken to go from vision to reality.