Plenary
Mark Taylor - Chairman, AGBIS
Having worked in the City, my career as a Bursar started in 1993 at Cranbrook School, appointed to Dulwich Prep School, Cranbrook in 1996, Bedales Schools in 2003 and the King’s School, Canterbury in 2010. I joined the Independent Schools' Bursars Association (ISBA) Committee in 2007 and was elected ISBA Chairman from 2013 – 2016. In October 2008 I was elected a fellow of the Royal Society for Encouragement of the Arts (FRSA). I have sat on both the ISI and BSA Board as a Director and I am currently an ISI Compliance Inspector. I was a Director on the ISC board and I am currently a Governor of Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, Chair of the East Kent Schools’ Together (EKST) Partnership Finance Committee as well as being on the advisory board for the Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE). Elected as Chair of AGBIS in 2019 and Vice-Chair of the ISC from Jan '21. Appointed as a Trustee of the Turner Schools Multi Academy Trust in Dec' 20.
Baroness Barran, MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School System and Student Finance)
Baroness Barran MBE was re-appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education on 27 October 2022.
Prior to this she was:
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School and College System) at the Department for Education from 21 September 2022 to 26 October 2022
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School System) at the Department for Education from 17 September 2021 to 20 September 2022
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Civil Society) at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 26 July 2019 to 17 September 2021
Richard Harman - CEO, AGBIS
Richard Harman was educated at The King’s School, Worcester, followed by Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read English. Having spent two years working for an academic publisher, he decided his real vocation was in teaching. After five years at Marlborough College teaching English and Drama, during which time he also completed his PGCE at Exeter University, he spent 12 years at Eastbourne College. Progressing from Head of English to Housemaster of a Sixth Form girls’ house to member of the Senior Management Team, he then became Headmaster of Aldenham in September 2000 and thence to Uppingham in 2006. After a decade leading Uppingham and 32 years overall in teaching, he embarked on a third career as Chief Executive of AGBIS. Richard is much enjoying the challenges at AGBIS, having been Chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association for 2011-12 and Chairman of HMC for 2014-15.
Ptolemy Dean - Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, architect, author and television presenter
After leaving Edinburgh University, Ptolemy Dean won an ICOMOS scholarship to document mud adobe structures in New Mexico and Arizona. He then worked for Peter Inskip and Peter Jenkins Architects on a variety of Grade I listed buildings.
In 1993 he was one of the SPAB Lethaby Scholars, studying active repair methods on some of the country’s most prestigious sites. The final three month section of this was spent researching the country houses of Sir John Soane. A fellowship to research the ‘minor’ country works of Sir John Soane followed and this research on lead to an exhibition in the Soane Museum entitled ‘Soane Revisited’ and the publication of a book on Soane’s country practice, published in 1999, followed by a second volume on Soane’s London works in 2006. In 1997 he attended the Attingham Summer School for the study of the English Country House and was an architectural adviser to the BBC 2 ‘Restoration’ programme for three series in 2003-6
Ptolemy Dean joined Richard Griffiths Architects in 1994. He was been responsible for the £5m Millennium project at Southwark Cathedral, involving the cleaning and floodlighting of the Cathedral, the refurbishment of the vestries, and the creation of a major new building to the north of the Cathedral.
In July 2005 Ptolemy Dean established Ptolemy Dean Architects. The practice has continued to work with many of his established clients and seeks new challenging new work both to and in the context of historic buildings. In March 2012 Ptolemy Dean was appointed Surveyor of the Fabric at Westminster Abbey. This appointment was followed by the successful delivery of the award-winning Westminster Abbey Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries project. Ptolemy has also recently been appointed Foundation Architect of Christ Church, Oxford.
In addition to his work in practice, Ptolemy has served on the London Advisory Panel of English Heritage and the Architectural Panel of the National Trust. He currently serves on the Salisbury Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee, the committee of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, and is a Trustee of the Landmark Trust. Ptolemy Dean was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to heritage and design. Ptolemy was made an Honorary Doctor of the Arts by the University of Kent in 2022 in recognition of his significant contribution to architecture, conservation and heritage.
Adam Boulton - Journalist and Broadcaster
Adam Boulton is a broadcaster and journalist. He currently presents for Times Radio and the Worldview podcast and is a columnist for Sky News and Reaction. Previously Political Editor of Sky News and TV-am and Chairman of the Parliamentary Lobby. He was a lay Council member of King’s College London 2003-2012 and governor of Sevenoaks School 2012-2022. MA Oxford and MA Johns Hopkins. Honorary doctorates Sheffield Hallam and Plymouth. Westminster School.
Julie Robinson - CEO, Independent School's Council
Julie Robinson began her career as a teacher, housemistress then head of prep schools during which she was also a school governor. Julie led on education and training for the prep schools association, IAPS, then joined the Independent Schools Council in 2015. ISC’s small team of staff has been described as “sleepless champions of the sector”, representing independent education at national level in the media and across government departments. ISC’s research and data analysis informs advocacy of the sector and Julie promotes sector-wide messaging, appearing in the national media (including Newsnight, Sky, BBC and Channel 4 News, The Today Programme) and contributing to books and articles.
ISC is a coordinating body bringing together the associations representing heads, governors, bursars and schools (AGBIS, GSA, HMC, ISA, IAPS, ISBA and the Society of Heads) along with affiliates BSA, COBIS, SCIS and WISC, to inform and promote independent education, rebutting untruths and explaining the value of independent schools.
Julie is a parent and a school governor for a state school and an independent school. She is a Trustee for the School Partnerships Alliance and an advocate of partnership and governance across all kinds of schools.
Emma Knights OBE - Chief Executive of the NGA
Emma promotes the interests of the school governance community and amplifies the voice of NGA’s members at a national level with legislators, policymakers, education sector organisations and in the media.
Emma is an accomplished writer and speaker on a range of school governance policy and practice topics, and has a particular interest in vision, culture and strategy; accountability; stakeholder engagement; disadvantage; ethical leadership; and diversity and inclusion. Emma is co-author of The Chair’s Handbook and NGA’s Moving MATs Forward: the power of governance report. Prior to joining NGA in 2010, Emma was joint CEO of the Daycare Trust and before that, worked in a number of roles in the voluntary sector. She was a governor at a secondary school in Warwickshire for eight years.
Working across the education sector, Emma is currently participating in the Department for Education’s headteacher standards review group, NAHT’s accountability commission, the Department for Education’s flexible working advisory group, and the Ethical Leadership Commission, and has previously sat on the Commission on Religious Education and the Knowsley Education Commission.
Under Emma’s leadership since 2010, NGA has grown to become the leading expert charity for guidance, research, advice and training for school governors, trustees and clerks, with over 40 staff and a strong presence in the education sector.
Jonathan Simons - Director & Head of the Education Practice, Public First
Jonathan Simons is a Partner, and Head of the Education Practice, at the strategy and public policy consultancy Public First, which works with some of the biggest organisations in English education to help them address policy questions, shape their message and engage with government.
Jonathan has spent the past eighteen years working in and with government on education issues – eight years in government including 2.5 years in the No10 Strategy Unit; as the Head of Education for the think tank Policy Exchange; and working in international education for the global charity Varkey Foundation. In these roles, he has written extensively on all elements of the English education system and is a frequent media commentator and columnist.
Jonathan is a Trustee of Education Development Trust, a Member of Astrea Academy Trust, and the co-founder of Ark Greenwich Free School. He sits on advisory boards for UCAS, Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation, and the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) at UCL.
Rhys Herbert - Senior Economist, Lloyds Bank
Rhys Herbert is a Senior Economist in the Research Department of Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. He is responsible for analysing and forecasting trends in the UK and other major economies. Rhys joined Lloyds Bank in January 2011. Prior to this, he worked at the economic consultancy Oxford Economics where he headed up its industry forecasting service. He has also worked at the Office for National Statistics, Prudential Assurance Corporation, Credit Lyonnais Bank and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Rhys has a MSc in Economics from the University of London.
Vanessa Ward - Chief Inspector, ISI
Vanessa joined ISI in February 2021 in this newly merged role. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with MA (Hons) in English Literature, Vanessa attended the College of Law in London and Guildford before qualifying as a solicitor with first class honours. She practised for a number of years in London, specialising in commercial and media law. Having retrained as a teacher, her career in education leadership includes the headship of one of the highest performing state schools in the UK. While a headteacher, Vanessa was a member and elected vice-chair of the local authority schools forum.
Vanessa joined Ofsted as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors Education (HMI), where she led inspections in both the state and independent sectors. Vanessa was seconded to the newly-formed Unregistered Schools Taskforce, which conducted criminal investigations into illegal educational provision. Vanessa also has commercial experience building a successful education consultancy practice supporting school improvement. She has combined this with her work as a School Improvement Partner (SIP) for Achieving for Children in Richmond and Kingston local authorities, while continuing her work with Ofsted as an Ofsted Inspector. Vanessa has also served on a school governing body as both foundation and parent governor, including chairing the governors’ personnel committee.
Breakout A - Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) for School Governors
Katie Fudakowski – Partner, Farrer & Co
Before joining Farrer & Co as a Partner, Katie had built up a decade of experience in employment and safeguarding law practising as a barrister at Old Square Chambers. Katie is valued her for her ability to cut through to the key issues and grasp the nettle with decisive and clear advice.
Katie advises schools, education businesses, sports organisations and charities on:
- Equality Act and discrimination law
- Live and historic safeguarding issues and crisis management
- Education law (special education needs, exclusions, regulatory inspections)
- Employment Tribunal litigation
Katie is recognised as a next Generation Partner for education and a key lawyer for sports in Legal 500 2023. She is the firm lead for safeguarding in sport and a member of the Council of Europe Sport Division's Pool of international Experts on Safe Sport.
India Benjamin – Associate, Farrer & Co
India advises on all aspects of corporate matters, including acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures and investments, restructurings and corporate governance, across a variety of sectors. Her clients include private businesses and their owners and directors, partnerships, not for profit organisations including charities and sports governing bodies, and institutions in the education and publishing sectors.
India is a member of the Corporate team. Her main focus is on helping businesses and individuals achieve their commercial aims, from incorporation and growth, managing risk and good governance, to achieving a successful sale or purchase.
India joined Farrer & Co upon qualification as a solicitor, having trained at an American firm, including six months in their Stockholm office. She particularly enjoys the collaborative and cross-departmental approach to work at Farrer & Co, and working with colleagues from across the firm to obtain the best results for her clients.
Tabitha Juster – Associate, Farrer & Co
Tabitha is an Associate in the Employment team. She specialises in all aspects of employment law and represents organisations and senior individuals in both contentious and non-contentious matters.
Tabitha advises clients across a wide range of sectors, including private businesses, education institutions, charities and financial services firms. She assists clients with litigation in the Employment Tribunal and High Court, including high-value discrimination and whistleblowing claims and issues involving post-termination restrictions. Tabitha also provides guidance on managing employee investigations, including disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Tabitha advises on routine day-to-day employment and HR advice, including contractual matters, TUPE, performance management and settlement negotiations.
She also has experience advising clients on historic safeguarding issues.
Tabitha regularly write articles for the Employment team’s WorkLife blog and other publications about employment law issues. She is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and Industrial Law Society. Tabitha enjoys advising clients pro bono at the Mary Ward Legal Centre.
Breakout B - Investing In Your Most Important Resource – People
Craig Vincent- Partner (Non-Legal), Head of HR Consultancy Services, Stone King LLP
Craig leads the HR Consultancy team and is an integral part of the firm's Employment Team. Craig provides advice on complex HR issues as they arise including recruitment, absence management, disciplinary, capability, grievance, TUPE, restructure, performance management and induction. Craig has extensive experience of working with clients from all sectors and holds specialist knowledge in education.
Harriet Broughton – Partner, Stone King
Harriet is a partner in the employment team specialising in the education and charity and social enterprise sectors. She is able to advise on all areas of employment law, taking a commercial and pragmatic approach to resolving matters. Harriet is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.
Anna Hyde - Senior HR Consultant, Stone King LLP
Anna joined Stone King in 2022 as a Senior HR Consultant in the Employment team, based in Cambridge. Anna is a chartered member of the CIPD with over 10 years’ experience of working in education HR.
Breakout C - How To Be a Net-Zero-Savvy School Governor
Nigel Aylwin-Foster - Business Development Director - ReEnergise Project Ltd
Nigel is a retired Royal Tank Regiment officer and the Business Development Director at ReEnergise. He focuses on the early analysis of school estates and has now assessed scores of schools for their general suitability for conversion to low-carbon technologies. He is a regular speaker on net-zero and school decarbonisation at education sector conferences. Recent highlights include the keynote talk on net-zero for schools at the HMC/IAPS Enlightened Education Conference in October 2022 and the talk on managing the school estate towards carbon net-zero at the ISBA Estates Conference. He is also a prolific author of articles in education sector journals that promote wider awareness of the issues and encourage action. He is, naturally, a keen advocate of tackling climate change but sees his primary role as providing pragmatic advice on the potential risks and benefits of each opportunity on a school estate, rather than taking a purely evangelical stance. Whilst the nature of the role demands a strong technical grasp of low-carbon technologies his approach could be summed up as: ‘let’s please keep it clear, straightforward, pragmatic, and think about it from the school’s perspective.’
Breakout D - Securing Your Financial Future - Addressing Economic and Political Threats
David Woodgate, Chief Executive, ISBA
David Woodgate was appointed Chief Executive of the Independent Schools Bursars’ Association in May 2016. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants from 2007 to 2015 after which he spent a year as the Strategy Consultant to the Institute of Public Accountants in Australia.
David qualified as a Barrister in 1982 following a first degree in Languages (French and Russian), Law and Linguistics. He moved from the law into the City, holding several senior management and executive positions in the National Westminster Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland – in Strategic Planning, Corporate Finance and latterly as Director of e-Commerce for the corporate bank. He ran an outsourcing business and a specialist internal consultancy providing market intelligence and competitor analysis.
He completed an MBA at Warwick University Business School in 1992. A former Chief Executive of the Institute of Administrative Management, he also holds a postgraduate diploma in Charity Management from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Banker, a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights. David is a past Chairman of Governors of an HMC Independent school and is currently a Governor of the City of London School.​
Tracey Young, Partner and Head of Education, haysmacintyre
Tracey Young is a Partner and Head of Education at haysmacintyre. She has been advising the charity and education sector for over 20 years and now specialises in supporting independent schools.
She provides her clients with audit and accounting services, and has a strong track record in financial due diligence on mergers and acquisitions. Tracey is often asked to advise boards on governance, risk management and financial reporting.