Wayne Harris
CEO and Founder,
Inclusive Attendance Ltd
Felicity Gillespie
Chief Executive, Kindred Squared
Emma Turner,
School Improvement Advisor and Independent Consultant
At a time when education leaders often find themselves responding to immediate pressures, how can we instead lead with integrity, anchored in our values and focused on long-term improvement? This panel will explore how values-driven leadership creates the conditions for meaningful, sustainable change. The discussion will highlight the importance of acting as critical friends, offering both support and constructive challenge, while fostering trust, resilience, and collaboration. Together, we’ll consider how leaders can stay proactive, guided by their principles, and avoid the trap of short-term compliance.
Panel Chair – Professor, University of Birmingham
Colin has worked in the field of educational leadership for many years in England. He has been a Head of Faculty, Associate Headteacher, Local Education Authority Adviser, Assistant Director and Director of Education/Children’s Services. He led improvements in two local authorities, taking them from government intervention to strong performance. He has also worked for the Department for Education in England as Head of Education Advisers for the Academies and Free Schools Programme. He was Deputy Education Commissioner in Birmingham. He was an associate lecturer at three universities before taking the chair of education leadership at Birmingham.
Director of Professional Development, National Governance Association
As Director of Professional Development, Charlotte oversees NGA’s training and consultancy services including their leading e-learning platform, Learning Link. She previously managed a number of DfE-funded contracts for NGA, ensuring the effective rollout of the National Leaders of Governance programme and the Leading Governance programmes.
Prior to her work at NGA, Charlotte worked within a local authority education directorate where she delivered extensive governance and trustee support, recruitment and training; she is also an experienced governance professional. Her previous career saw over 20 years’ recruitment and business management experience in the private sector.
Headteacher, Cragside Primary School
Rebecca Jackson has served as Headteacher of Cragside Primary School since 2018, bringing over three decades of experience in education. She is a Fellow of both the Chartered College of Teaching and the Royal Society of Arts, and an associate member of the Association of Education Advisers. In 2025, she was honoured with the Inspirational Educator Award by The Educators Trust. Under her leadership, the school received the Platinum ArtsMark in 2024 and in 2025 received the TES Schools Award for ‘Excellence in Creative Arts’. In March 2025 Cragside was rated outstanding in all five areas.
School Improvement Professional, Education Authority Northern Ireland
Mairéad is a leading expert in Irish Medium immersion education. As a teacher, vice-principal, and principal, she led the development of one urban Irish Medium primary school from its early beginnings to becoming an established, inclusive and outstanding setting. Her passion for equity guides everything that she does creating pathways and learning conditions for success for all.
Mairéad has played a pivotal role in the creation of many of the Irish Medium resources currently in use in primary gaelscoileanna across Ireland, modernising and establishing a level of parity with English Medium learning materials. She has facilitated associated professional learning, building access to Irish Medium Education for pupils, and supporting the highest standard of teaching and learning for gaelscoil staff. As founder of Scéalta Saolta, Mairéad is author and publisher of a range of children’s picture books in Irish.
Currently, Mairéad supports Irish Medium school and system development and improvement, designing and facilitating professional learning across the full spectrum of experience from new teachers to experienced school leaders. Mairéad is a Senior Associate with the AoEA and a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.
