Our Team

What does your role involve?
As Director I lead NSN, making sure that the organisation is running well, so that we can make the biggest impact on the trusts, school leaders and ultimately children that we support. 

What inspired you to work in education?
Midwives! Early in my career I did a lot of work with midwives to improve maternal outcomes. Their work on the front line, having a direct impact on people’s lives, inspired me to give up my desk job and become a teacher (no, not a midwife). I qualified as a secondary English teacher in Barnsley, south Yorkshire and the rest, as they say, is history!  

What has been your best highlight to date at NSN?
The first free school group I advised at NSN, way back in 2016, was (and remains) an incredibly committed group of parents from Hastings. As parents of children with ASC, they identified a need for better specialist provision in the area. Thanks to the determination of the team the Flagship School finally opened in September 2021 (five years after their journey began). NSN supported this group through the application and pre-open stage and I am so thrilled that the school has finally opened. I am wishing them every success from here on in!

What are your interests outside of work?
Ultra Running, open water swimming, paddle boarding, volunteering and running at parkrun and Junior parkrun, and spending as much time as possible with my young daughter and wife, ideally in the Lakes, our local park or in my parents’ beautiful back garden. Outdoor time is the best time and always refreshes and rejuvenates us all.

What was your favourite memory of school?
Taking a stunning two-fingered catch at second slip in an inter-house cricket match in Year 8. Time and youthful exaggeration has probably made it more impressive in the retelling, but in my mind’s eye, it was a super slow-mo, diving, full-body-length, heroic clutch. That and being named Head Boy in a vote by my peers. That was a good moment, too.

If you could change one thing about your school experience what would it be?
Slow it down, enjoy it and cherish the specialness of what school is and represents. I loved my education and wish it had lasted longer!

What inspired you to work in education?
The reason I wanted to work in or around education was, following on from the work I’ve done in sports coaching, I always found it so rewarding: finding ways to support young players, and helping them grow as a player, and as a person.

What do you most enjoy about working in education?
Knowing that even if I’m not directly supporting pupils, the work I do will ultimately have a positive effect on their learning, opportunities, and growth.

What are your interests outside of work?
I participate in field hockey quite a lot – as a player, a coach and as an umpire. If there’s an open slot in a team, or an umpire needed, I’ll probably be there!

What does your role involve?
I provide administration support to the Director and senior management team.

What are your interests outside of work?
My interests outside of work include gardening, DIY and interior decorating at home, cooking and musical theatre (watching not participating!).

What has been your best highlight to date at NSN?
Definitely getting to know the other staff and seeing the passion the organisation has for what we do. 

What does your role involve?
I am responsible for identifying talented business leaders and matching them with academy trust boards across the country, to improve governance and financial performance in academies. Supporting open, external board recruitment to attract diverse, high-calibre people to academy trust boards. I have specific responsibility for academy trust board recruitment across the North of England, West Midlands and North West London and South Central RSC regions.

What are your interests outside of work?
I love cooking, reading, watching films and listening to music. I am also a school governor and enjoy using my skills and experience to support the education of young people in my local community.

What is your favourite memory of school?
My favourite memory from secondary school is the annual school talent show. My friend and I would perform comedy poems as a duet and it was lots of fun. Allan Ahlberg poems were a particular favourite.

What do you enjoy most about working in education?
NSN works with inspiring people who lead and volunteer in schools. It’s a privilege to collaborate with countless individuals who have improved the quality of our school system.

What inspired you to work in education?
England has some of the best schools in the world, but there is disparity across the country. I wanted to work for an organisation which helps communities and regions break cycles of intergenerational education inequality.

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
I had a wonderful teacher for GCSE English who had a transformative impact on my time at school and course of my life. He engaged me with learning, encouraged me to aspire and is someone I will always be indebted to. 

What do you enjoy most about working in education?
The hope. The people. The common endeavour. Plus, the hourly doses of idealism, realism, optimism and pragmatism - a heady blend!

What does your role involve?
I focus on expanding the breadth and depth of our organisational impact. I oversee all of our development work: refining our existing programmes and developing new ones.

What has been your best highlight to date at NSN?
My dear colleagues will enjoy telling you that I've burst into happy tears on more than one occasion when visiting a new school. We know how hard it is. We know - all too well - about the great many challenges lying in wait for those embarking on this particular journey. It's immensely humbling to see students, teachers and leaders alike realising those ambitions together and revelling in their new communities.

What inspired you to work in education?
I started volunteering as a parent governor when my eldest started primary school, and became Chair about a year later. I am still volunteering nearly a decade later, as Chair of a local primary school and also Chair of a regional cluster board at a large academy trust. My dad had volunteered as Chair of Governors at my own primary school and Vice-Chair at my secondary school and he was my inspiration. When my son was diagnosed with special needs, he received a huge amount of early support and I was blown away by how much of this was co-ordinated and driven within schools. I wanted to give back as much as we’d been given, and when I had the opportunity to shift my career away from recruitment in corporate organisations to recruiting volunteers to non-executive directors/trustees at academy trusts, I leapt at the chance to combine my passion for governance with my career in recruitment.

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
I loved English literature and language. I devoured books from a very young age and Roald Dahl’s Matilda continues to be one of my all-time favourites. Discovering that Dahl lived and wrote in the same part of England that I grew up in was so exciting – I even spotted him once in a waiting room, whilst I was reading once of his books at the time. I kept looking at his photo on the back cover and then sneaking a shy glance up at him, lost for words at being so close to my hero. I lose hours on end reading fiction and when I discover a new author I tend to immerse myself all at once in all they’ve written. I went on to read English Literature and Philosophy at university, knowing that I hoped to work “in business” but not yet quite ready to leave behind my passion for reading. I’m still realising today all the wider skills that my degree has taught me.

What was your favourite memory of school?
Loving English so much meant that I was convinced that maths was beyond me. My incredible secondary maths teacher, Mrs F, changed all that and she supported and encouraged me to achieve the kind of success I thought was completely out of reach. I remember her kindness, and that she planned to retire to Devon and run a B&B providing cream teas to her guests. I very much hope she did!

What do you most enjoy about working in education?
I love being a part of a system that encourages young people to succeed and improves their life chances.

What does your role involve?
My role involves managing events for free school leaders and academy trustees that enable them to develop, share best practice, and support each other.

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
History – I enjoyed following the stories of people and events, and learning how things that have happened long ago have shaped the world today.
 

What do you enjoy most about working in education?
Education is one of the most diverse, exciting and crucial sectors in the country, through its development of future generations. It is the common aim of working to make the education of every child and young person as good as possible which I most enjoy about working in the sector. Individuals at all levels of education, from trustees and governors, to head teachers, to parents and carers, are all incredibly passionate and hard-working toward improving the quality of schools and the life chances of children. In tandem with this, I love to see the impact that our work has first-hand, such as seeing a school vision on a paper application become a physical building, as well as actually meeting pupils in their great new schools.

What inspired you to work in education?
Prior to working at NSN, I had the opportunity to work with a group seeking to establish a free school in my home town through which I was inspired to work in education in two ways. Firstly, establishing a new free school was an incredibly exciting project, through witnessing the construction of the new site as well as the prospect of the new and innovative school serving local pupils. Secondly, the local research I undertook exposed to me the low educational standards and aspirations in an area that I knew and loved. This highlighted to me on a personal level that many pupils across the country do not have access to a good school place and so I have since felt driven to work to change this, most directly via supporting the establishment and growth of new free schools at NSN.

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
My favourite subject at school (and beyond) was History. I always found that History was the subject I always viewed as a hobby rather than a school subject, hence why I went on to study it at university! I firmly believe that learning and understanding our history, as well as challenging and debating it, is crucial in informing our decisions as a society today.

What does your role involve?
As an Adviser, my role involves supporting free schools in pre-opening and open free schools. It has been incredibly rewarding to speak to principal designates and headteachers, listen to their journeys and witness their passion for giving young people the best education possible.

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
At school, my favourite subject was History because of the creative ways we learned about the past. The History teachers were always enthusiastic and really cared.

What inspired you to work in education?
I chose to work in education because I believe all young people should have the opportunity to access an enjoyable and fulfilling experience at school. 

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
At school my favourite subject was maths, although admittedly it was not my best. I had a great teacher who was encouraging of every pupil and always took the time to explain difficult equations.

What was your favourite memory of school?
My favourite memory of school would have to be the hockey and netball sports tour to Singapore and Malaysia. These were great experiences that allowed me to meet children from all over the world and understand different cultures.

If you could change one thing about your school experience what would it be?
I would like to change the careers advice offered to pupils and highlight different options after school, as a current apprentice at New Schools Network I would like to showcase the great experience that I have had and allow others to have the same.

What does your role involve?
As Innovation and Insights Manager, I lead on the scoping and development of new services within the Free Schools Programme Directorate, using research and insights to identify where we can further support schools and trusts in our network.

What inspired you to work in education?
I was first inspired to work in education by the late Sir Ken Robinson who tirelessly campaigned for greater creativity, diversity, and adaptability in our school systems.

What do you most enjoy about working in education?
It’s a real privilege to work every day with free school founders across the country, who strive to build new, innovative and exciting schools in their communities.

What inspired you to work in education?
As a teen, I attended a large underperforming school which was best described by inspectors as ‘rowdy’. Yet despite this assessment, I remember my teachers working relentlessly to support us – revision sessions, catch up, a shoulder to cry on – all of this was there if you knew where to look. I trained as a teacher in the hope of providing pupils with a similar positive experience. After five rewarding years in the classroom, I joined New Schools Network to support leaders to establish, run and improve schools.             

What area of education are you most passionate about?
As a trained science teacher, I’d have to say science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). I’m also very interested in curriculum development, pedagogy and motivation theory. For my Masters in Educational Leadership, I explored strategies to improve motivation and resilience for borderline pupils within the GCSE science curriculum.

What are your interests outside of work?
Outside of work I enjoy long walks and high intensity interval training – I’m quite competitive so always like improve on past performance. I also have a campervan so love getting out and seeing new places.

Prior to joining NSN, Samuel managed Marketing and Admissions at London Academy of Excellence (LAE), a 16-19 free school in East London. During this time, applications rose to 3,000 for 240 places and LAE was named Sunday Times Sixth Form of the Year 2015. He was also Head of House, responsible for the pastoral wellbeing and academic progress of 104 students. 

Samuel joined NSN as Campaigns Officer, becoming Communications Manager in 2017 and Head of Content and Communications in 2019. Samuel is a primary school Governor. 

What inspired you to work in education?
I love children and education plays such a major role in their lives, so I feel it’s important that all children should have access to good, high quality education.

What does your role involve?
My role is to ensure the finance side of NSN is correct and help with ad-hoc admin duties.

What was your favourite subject at school and why?
History. I found it interesting to find out about what happened in the past, how others lived, and how life has changed