Our Team

Sam graduated with an MS in Speech and Language Therapy from a US University in May 2015 and practiced as a speech and language therapist in state schools throughout Hawaii and Chicago.

In her previous role, Sam worked as a registered speech and language therapist throughout schools in London. She supported students with special educational needs in mainstream and alternative provision primary and secondary free schools.

Sam joined NSN in May 2018. She previously held roles as an Adviser and Deputy Head of Advisory Services until February 2020, when she was promoted to Head of Delivery Services. In her role, Sam oversees NSN’s support to open and pre-open schools.

As Head of Advisory Services, Jennifer oversees the management and delivery of all NSN’s support for free school applicants. Jennifer is responsible for staff training and development for the Advisory Team and she leads on 16-19 maths schools.

Before joining NSN, Jennifer worked for a multi academy trust which has two primary free schools in London. Jennifer is a qualified teacher and holds and MA from the University of York and BA Hons from the University of Exeter.

Tim graduated in 2017 from the University of York. During his studies, Tim undertook an internship with a free school trust, supporting the construction of what was a successful Wave 12 application in his home town.

Tim supports applicant groups on the Development Programme and generates leads for new free schools across the country.

Catherine graduated from the University of Winchester in 2015 with a degree in History. Catherine has experience working in a special school and has worked with a charitable organisation that provides legal advice to parents and carers of children with special educational needs (SEN).

Prior to NSN, Catherine worked as Programmes Officer for a student charity at the University of Southampton and the University of Winchester. Catherine sits on a local academy council for a MAT in Greater Manchester.

In addition to supporting free school groups at all stages, Catherine specialises in special education and represents NSN at the National SEND Forum.

Alexandra graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biology from the University of Sheffield in 2013. Following this, Alexandra completed a Secondary PGCE in Science and taught Key Stages 3-5 in Sheffield and High Peak schools.

After accepting a role in middle leadership as an Associate Head of Faculty, Alexandra completed a masters in Educational Leadership exploring motivational factors and the development of resilience in underachieving pupils.

Alexandra supports free school groups at all stages of their journey and maintains a keen interest in the delivery of STEM across the curriculum.  

Tom works with free school groups from application to opening and is motivated by a passion for social justice and diversity in the education system. Alongside supporting free school groups, he has overseen a pilot programme that pairs MAT CEOs with senior mentors from business.

Tom joined NSN as a member of the Academy Ambassadors programme, where he led on the recruitment of MAT trustees across three regions in Southern England.

Prior to joining NSN, Tom graduated from the University of York in 2016 with a degree in Education before going on to study for an MA in Global Development and Education at the University of Leeds.

Chris graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA in Social Anthropology before moving on to study an MA in International Education and Development, where he focused on the impact of education in post-conflict countries.

Chris first became interested in education through teaching in The Gambia during his gap year. He has continued to travel and teach, working in Guatemala and Colombia where he learned to speak Spanish, and in the UK. He joined the advisory team at NSN in July 2019.

Joceline studied a BA in International Relations at the University of Geneva before graduating with an MA in Education: Culture, Language and Identity at Goldsmiths College where she focused her research on forging interprofessional collaborations in education and on teacher identity.

Before joining NSN, Joceline worked with charities promoting self-directed learning, Global Citizenship education and raised awareness on the asylum-seeking process in secondary schools.

Joceline supports free school groups at all stages. She has a keen interest in strengthening networks between school leaders and in promoting environmental and social justice in education.

Sarah studied psychology at the University of Newcastle and worked on child language development and mathematics education research projects at The University of Manchester and Nottingham University. Following this, she completed a PGCE and worked as a primary school teacher before going on to manage a community project which raises aspirations for children in a deprived part of Manchester through providing CPD for teachers and delivering a variety of youth projects.

Sarah joined New Schools Network in 2018 and her specialism is primary and early years education. She also coordinates our support for free school presumption competitions.

Hajira graduated from The University of Sheffield with a degree in History and then completed an MSc in International History from the London School of Economics in 2019.

Prior to joining NSN, she facilitated access education workshops for disadvantaged pupils in Islington. She also contributed to widening participation research and data collection for higher education departments in Sheffield.