Speakers
Mr Lee Miller MBE, FCCA BSc (Hons) PGCE, Deputy CEO, The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
As Deputy CEO of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, Lee is responsible for the strategic operational functions of the organisation. He is an experienced Business Manager/Finance Director with nearly 15 years of experience, supporting both primary and secondary schools. Recently, he has been working as a Specialist Leader of Education and, as result, has been deployed in a number of Trusts that have required support or intervention and was recognised in the 2020 Queens Birthday Honours for his services to Education.
In addition to his Business Management experience, Lee is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has completed a PGCE in Business Management. Through his work he has become well versed in some of the challenges that face the education sector in areas that include: financial planning, HR management; legal issues; site and IT strategies. Lee has now created a traded subsidaiary, Thinking Solutions for Education, that provide these services to other schools and MATs in a cost effective way providing schools an opportunity to outsource but for the funding to be retained within the sector.
Owen Napier, Computeam
I’ve been leading Computeam since 2012, a job that is made much easier by our fantastic team of dedicated people! The interaction between the ever-changing world of technology and the education sector means that we have to keep on adapting our services to take account of innovation and the different circumstances that apply to our client schools.
I’m proud of the service we deliver, and I am passionate about the positive effect that well-designed technology can have on engaging pupils and teachers alike in their learning
Chris Rose, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Karadoo
After a career in global corporates, Chris sought a change in direction and set up DonateMySchool with a clear goal: to provide the best fundraising service and value to underserved community organisations across the UK, including schools, faith organisations, small charities and sports clubs.
There are no hidden set-up or subscription fees, and their unique Premium Service closes the digital fundraising resource and skills gap that most organisations face.
Community organisations are the fabric of our society; DonateMySchool maximises their fundraising success so that they can deliver their positive social impact on the individuals, families and communities that both support and rely on them.
Delegates will gain an understanding about the power of crowdfunding, including case studies. Our workshop will cover:
The difference between a Crowdfund a Project and a Regular Giving campaign
How to identify the right type of project to crowdfund
The do’s and don’ts of structuring a campaign
How to plan a communication strategy to maximise engagement
Factors to consider when choosing a crowdfunding platform
Attendees will come away knowing how to choose the right project to fund, and run a campaign to maximise success for the school and its community.
Simon Loughran - Business Development Executive Towergate Insurance
Simon is a Business Development Executive and an insurance specialist in the education and charities sectors with over 30 years’ experience in various roles with national brokers.
He is responsible for supporting his clients on all thing’s insurance and risk related and keeping them up to date with developments within the insurance sector.
Towergate is the UK’s leading independent insurance broking platform and forms part of The Ardonagh Group, an international network of over 100 offices and 7,000 people, which incorporates leading brands in both Lloyd’s of London and global markets.
Rob Stevens, Goosemoor Educatering
Catering - Improving School Food Whilst Reducing ~Costs? Impossible Right? We Thin Not! - Rob Stevens is the Head of Educatering Services for Goosemoor Educatering, a Devon based company, which supports local growers and suppliers.
Goosemoor Educatering passion is for improving school food and menus by using the finest in fresh and local ingredients, so that every child has access to a hearty, healthy and nutritious meal.
Their simple philosophy is that children deserve exciting child led menus, with only the finest fresh ingredients, locally sourced where possible. This means the food tastes better, with the added bonus of having travelled less food miles, meaning it has a lower carbon footprint.
Rob spent five years heading up the education provision for a Devon Multi Academy Trust of fifteen schools and has the knowledge and expertise to facilitate the transferring of kitchens back in-house. This includes the compliance, staff training and kitchen management, alongside all of the day to day running and financial constraints that school kitchens work within. In doing so, you will save money and drastically improve the standard of school meals being fed to the next generation, whilst also supporting local businesses and producers.
Helen Lumb, Schools Engagement Manager Department for Education
Helen Lumb, Schools Stakeholder and Engagement Manager, Engagement and Outreach Team, Department for Education
Helen is part of the schools facing Engagement and Outreach Team within the Schools Commercial Team. Our remit is to support all schools with help in buying compliantly and delivering value for money. Before joining the DfE Commercial Division Helen was Head of Commercial at MOD, Service Children’s Education. Helen has over 30 years’ experience in a number of procurement and administrative roles working in both the public and private sector. She is also a student member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply as well as being a Governor of a Nursery School.
Richard Morley, Director
SchoolPro
SchoolPro TLC Limited was formed by school and education leaders with over 60 years of experience across all stages of education and in a variety of contexts. The company was formed with the fundamental belief that funding for pupils is being taken out of the classroom to meet the ever-increasing demands of school leadership. Our aim is to provide cost-effective solutions that allow more funds to be deployed to directly improve the life chances of young people.
“Richard has experience in leadership at both Primary and Secondary. He has worked in eight schools in challenging circumstances. His experience helped one school to increase pupil outcomes last year by sixteen percent. Alongside this he worked with a new primary headteacher to help and support during the transition. His critical-friend approach to the school improvement work, means he is now a governor at two primary schools. Richard has provided recent interim leadership in schools and has been working with trusts to audit processes, procedures and policy to ensure consistency within organisations. Richard is experienced in GDPR and undertaking DPO work and training.”
David Tidman, Data and Safeguarding Manager, InVentry Ltd
David is the Data and Safeguarding Manager at InVentry Ltd and is a fully IBITGQ qualified GDPR practitioner. He has over 15 years’ experience in classroom teaching and 15 years delivering CPD, including being the Digital Safeguarding Lead for the Yorkshire and Humber Grid for Learning.
He has also lead on developing eSafety awareness and training across the entire Barnsley Local Authority as well as being the Senior ICT Consultant at Rotherham Borough Council. He is an ambassador for the Child Exploitation Online Protection (CEOP) Command and has been involved with the Safer Internet Centre and the Internet Watch Foundation.
Jane Mcfall, Scomis Consultant
Jane McFall has many years of experience leading and managing administration teams in schools, and at Local Authority and regional level, introducing systems and processes to enable business efficiencies. Jane delivers workshops and continuous personal development to Business Managers and other Senior Leaders, Governors, Administration and Teaching staff. She is a specialist at Managing Support Staff Performance and Effective Administration in schools, locally and nationally.
Christiaan Sterling, CEO
Emotional Logic Centre
Christiaan Sterling is running a workshop on Emotional Logic “Learn how Emotional Logic can save you money by increasing your staff’s wellbeing and ability to deal with change and conflict”.
For the last twenty-five years Christiaan has worked in a range of schools in a variety of leadership roles, including Headteacher. He has extensive experience of the education sector and a detailed knowledge of how schools function. Christiaan has many years’ experience as a school Governor in both the primary and secondary sectors and is currently a Director of a secondary school in Cornwall and part of the team at WEST. In 2015 Christiaan joined a Devon charity, The Emotional Logic Centre, and he is now their Chief Operating Officer. As part of this role, Christiaan advises and trains business and school leaders, pupils and their families across the UK and overseas. Christiaan is a qualified Emotional Logic Coach and also a member of Plymouth City Council’s Foster Panel. He also runs his own business, Exciting Education, developing educational resources for tourism and heritage sites to help them increase their visitor numbers. Outside of work, you’ll oven find Christiaan exploring the Dartmoor Tors with his wife and two sons or out in the waves on his body board. He’s also partial to a good cup of coffee!
Norma Johnston, School Engagement Consultant
Schools’ Buying Hub South West
Norma has worked extensively in communications, public relations, and engagement throughout her career. She set up her own company in 2007 to provide strategic and hands-on support to clients in the charity and public sector. She worked as Communications Director for Amnesty International UK, Global Communications and Marketing Director for Plan International and as an Advocacy Advisor with the World Health Organization.
Her recent experience as engagement consultant with the DfE’s Schools’ Buying Hub South West means that she has some insight into the challenges faced by School Business Managers working in busy schools, academies, and trusts.
Josie Medforth
From graduating with a Business Management Degree, Josie has over 20 years business operation experience, predominantly in the education sector.
She has gained a broad range of experience
and expertise along the way, gaining MCIPS, ILM 4 in Leadership and becoming a
certified GDPR practitioner.
She previously worked as at Director of
Operation level for Trusts in Exeter and Plymouth. These roles have built her
experience at an Executive Level.
In January 2020 she made the brave step of
forming Panoramic Business Operations Services Ltd and has enjoyed supporting a
number of schools and Trusts across a range of services. She also facilitates
the SWIFT Professional Networks for School Operations & Resources, HR and
Estates.