Curriculum and Assessment Review Conference

Jon is Regional Director at the Reach Foundation. He has advised the government for the last decade, including as a member of the early career framework core group and on the independent curriculum and assessment panel. Jon started his career as a primary school teacher, and has also taught in KS3 and A Level. He was an assistant headteacher at an all through school in London, and a tutor on Ambition Insitute’s Master’s in Expert Teaching Programme. Recently, Jon has edited a series of books for Bloomsbury on Primary Subject Leadership. In 2023 he co-founded meno academy, a platform to support primary teachers’ subject knowledge.

Gary leads on a SEND School Improvement programme with Whole Education, supporting schools and Trusts to drive a whole-school approach to supporting pupils with SEND. Gary sits on the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review panel.

Gary is the Education Endowment Foundation’s SEND Associate. In this role, he has worked extensively on sharing the evidence base behind high-quality teaching for SEND, as well as advised on the development of the SENCO NPQ.

As a Consultant, Gary has spoken internationally, advised the BBC, written content for the National Institute of Teaching and given talks to hundreds of Trust, Local Authority and school audiences.

Gary Aubin is the author of The Lone SENDCO, a handbook of 300 questions and answers for busy SENDCOs, and The Parent’s Guide to SEND. Gary led on SEND provision for a Multi Academy Trust of 10 primary and secondary schools for several years. He is a secondary teacher, former primary and secondary SENDCO and former secondary Head of Year. Gary also authors the SENDMattersUK blog.

Jon is Regional Director at the Reach Foundation. He has advised the government for the last decade, including as a member of the early career framework core group and on the independent curriculum and assessment panel. Jon started his career as a primary school teacher, and has also taught in KS3 and A Level. He was an assistant headteacher at an all through school in London, and a tutor on Ambition Insitute’s Master’s in Expert Teaching Programme. Recently, Jon has edited a series of books for Bloomsbury on Primary Subject Leadership. In 2023 he co-founded meno academy, a platform to support primary teachers’ subject knowledge.

Nic is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford and was previously Vice-Principal at the University of St Andrews, Provost of Dundee University and Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University. He is Chair of the Quality Council for UK Higher Education and Treasurer and on the Board of Universities UK. He was previously Treasurer and on the Board of the Academy of Social Sciences and Chair of Access HE. Nic is currently a member of the Secretary of State’s Curriculum and Assessment Review panel for England. 

Nic’s academic field is business and management and his research focused on identity, change and educational leadership. His awards from Learned Societies include, at a national level, the Lifetime Achievement in Research Award and at an international level, the Exceptional Service to the Field of Management Worldwide Award. He was the longest-serving president of the British Academy of Management.  

Zongyi Deng is Professor of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the IOE – Faculty of Education and Society, University College London. He is also an executive editor of the Journal of Curriculum Studies (JCS) and a panel member of the Curriculum and Assessment Review in England. He has held faculty positions at Nanyang Technological University and the University of Hong Kong. His areas of interest include curriculum content (subject matter), curriculum theory, Didaktik, curriculum policy and reform, and comparative and international education. His publications have appeared in JCS, Curriculum Inquiry, Comparative Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, British Educational Research Journal, Cambridge Journal of Education, Science Education, and other international journals.

Catherine joined AoC in June ‎2015 after working in further education for 14 years as a teacher, manager and latterly SLT member. While at college she had responsibility for 14-16 partnership provision including careers, LLDD foundation programmes, English and maths and was 14-19 strategic lead.

Working with a small team Catherine oversees AoC Policy work for 16 to 18-year-olds including SEND, careers, digital, student enrichment and qualifications including T levels. Catherine is currently working on the implications of qualification reform and Curriculum and Assessment Review for colleges and their students. She has recently been part of a joint AoC UCL team undertaking a Nuffield funded project on 14 to 16 provision in colleges and is working on a UFI project supporting use of digital technologies in colleges. Catherine was awarded an MBE for services to Further Education in 2025.

Hannah Boag is a highly experienced educator with a career spanning primary and secondary settings. She trained in primary education, teaching in KS2, before joining a secondary school in a deprived area of Norwich, where she initially focused on supporting the critical transition between Year 6 and Year 7. She went on to lead the English faculty and played a pivotal role in developing a whole-school approach to literacy. She later became Assistant Head Teacher for Teaching and Learning, leading on Pupil Premium, literacy, transition, and staff professional development. After 16 years working within the secondary sector, she was offered the exciting opportunity become a Head Teacher at a rural Primary school. She is currently Executive Head Teacher of two primary schools in Norfolk.

Hannah is an Education Lead for the Norwich Research School, specializing in literacy, disadvantage, and transitions from primary to secondary education. Her work focuses on fostering robust collaboration between primary and secondary schools and ensuring smooth transitions for all learners, with a particular emphasis on supporting disadvantaged pupils to thrive.

Anna has been teaching across middle, primary and now secondary for over 25 years, with extensive experience as a Maths Lead and Maths Transition Lead. She is a primary teacher working in a secondary school, using her curriculum understanding and subject knowledge to break down maths, making it manageable and meaningful to her secondary pupils, giving them success and building confidence.

Anna is a Primary and Secondary Mastery Maths Specialist and through her role with the Great North Maths Hub, has the privilege to work collaboratively with many teachers throughout England. Anna is on the Study Advisory Board for the EEF and is Co-Lead for Securing Foundation at Year 7, a National Programme run by the NCETM. She teaches at Ponteland High School, in the North East of England, and works closely with her Trust primary schools.

Jonnie Noakes is Director of CIRL at Eton, a centre for pedagogical excellence, evidence-informed practice and research into teaching, learning and leadership in education. He is an expert in character education. As an English teacher, he has led two departments concurrently at Eton and at the London Academy of Excellence. He has been a governor or trustee of a number of state and independent schools. He is a director of the education charity Neuroscience for Education, an editorial board member of the Chartered College of Teaching’s journal Impact, and a Council member of the Varkey Foundations new Global Schools Prize.

Laura has 20 years’ experience in education, working across a range of key stages and leadership roles within London, Gloucestershire and the wider South West region in areas of high deprivation in often challenging circumstances. Laura is Director of the Gloucestershire Research School, the first of its kind in the county. She is focused on building links and networks to support collaborative work that raises the attainment of disadvantage learners. Laura is committed to providing high quality professional development opportunities for school staff across all roles to explore, discuss and use evidence research with meaning and impact in schools. She is currently leading ‘The Write Journey’, an Evidence into Action Partnership across 46 primary, secondary and SEND schools in Gloucestershire as well as recently being appointed as Content Lead for Evidence Literacy for the EEF Research School Network. Laura is also Director of Research and Development at the GLA Trust where her responsibilities include leading the school improvement team, delivering trust wide implementation strategies and being part of the Senior Executive Team.

‘I have always been very passionate about the use of research evidence to support teachers and leaders to deliver the best education possible: an education that allows all children to thrive, to feel successful and to be ambitious for their future, regardless of their background or postcode. The use of research evidence can be difficult to navigate and it is not always easily accessible. The EEF have worked hard to mitigate these challenges. I feel very honoured to serve our schools and children through my work as Director of the Gloucestershire Research School and now as RS Content Lead for Evidence Literacy.’

Ceri was educated at a comprehensive in Bradford and read History at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He has been Headmaster at Caterham since 2015 and was previously Principal of The Marsh Academy, a large non-selective academy in Kent.  He has established a number of unique and successful Independent-State School Partnerships and wider collaborations and co-founded an educational charity, the Accelerate and Access Foundation, supporting pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to top ranking universities. Ceri was also instrumental in the creation of Sphinx AI, and EdTech company driven by the twin purposes of creating edtech products made by teachers for teachers and using emerging technologies to close the attainment and disadvantage gap in the UK.

Ceri is a Governor of the London Academy of Excellence and a number of local primary and prep schools. He writes and speaks regularly on the topics of school leadership, school partnerships, social mobility, AI in education and Digital Literacy. Ceri currently sits on the HMC Public Benefit and Partnerships Committee.

Jo is Executive Director Development and Delivery. Her remit includes DfE contracts, business development and stakeholder engagement. Jo has worked in Further Education and Skills for over 25 years. Jo joined ETF from an FE college in London, where she was Vice Principal, Curriculum and Quality. Jo has held a wide range of roles in Further Education and Adult and Community Learning, including Teacher Trainer, Designated Safeguarding Lead and Ofsted nominee. Jo has also worked in organisation development and quality improvement at Tribal and CfBT. Jo has many years’ non-executive experience as a governor, trustee and chair. She is currently an Ofsted Inspector in Further Education and Skills. Jo is passionate about ensuring young people and adults from all backgrounds and communities benefit from the opportunities provided by further education and training.

Jon is Regional Director at the Reach Foundation. He has advised the government for the last decade, including as a member of the early career framework core group and on the independent curriculum and assessment panel. Jon started his career as a primary school teacher, and has also taught in KS3 and A Level. He was an assistant headteacher at an all through school in London, and a tutor on Ambition Insitute’s Master’s in Expert Teaching Programme. Recently, Jon has edited a series of books for Bloomsbury on Primary Subject Leadership. In 2023 he co-founded meno academy, a platform to support primary teachers’ subject knowledge.