Charlotte O’Regan is the Schools Engagement Lead at The Sutton Trust, where she drives the Trust’s cross-sector strategy to promote social mobility and fairer school admissions. A former Vice Principal with over 15 years of experience in the education sector, Charlotte holds a Masters in Educational Leadership and the NPQH. She is a specialist in the intersectionality of disadvantage, particularly the complex relationship between socio-economic background and SEND. By bridging the gap between frontline school leadership and national advocacy, Charlotte ensures that policy recommendations, such as the Fair School Admissions Pledge, are both ambitious and grounded in the realities of school implementation.

Gill is the Director of Lancashire Research School, working in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). In this role, she works strategically with system leaders, schools, and middle-tier organisations to support the implementation of evidence-informed approaches that drive sustainable improvement and long-lasting impact across the education sector.

Alongside this role, Gill is Deputy Headteacher at St Mary’s Primary School in Haslingden. She leads key areas including Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Assessment, Pupil Premium, and Professional Development. With extensive experience in school leadership and school improvement, Gill is passionate about translating educational research into effective classroom practice and supporting educators to achieve the best possible outcomes for all pupils.

• Huntington Research School is part of the Research Schools Network

Jane is a Deputy Headteacher at Huntington School, York where she leads the Pupil Premium and Attendance Strategy and supports the use of research evidence in school decision-making.  Jane has had a number of secondary phase senior and middle leader roles in her career. She is a geography specialist and has over 25 years of teaching and leadership experience.

Jane has led Huntington Research School (a founding member of the EEF’s Research School Network) since 2018 and has been a member of a number of EEF and DfE working groups, for example, The Pupil Premium Strategy and effective implementation practices.

Jenn Sills, Deputy Director Gloucestershire Research School and Trust Social Justice Lead at GLA Trust. She has 20 years’ experience in education, working across a range of key stages and leadership roles within Gloucestershire, Bristol and Worcestershire.

Charlotte O’Regan is the Schools Engagement Lead at The Sutton Trust, where she drives the Trust’s cross-sector strategy to promote social mobility and fairer school admissions. A former Vice Principal with over 15 years of experience in the education sector, Charlotte holds a Masters in Educational Leadership and the NPQH. She is a specialist in the intersectionality of disadvantage, particularly the complex relationship between socio-economic background and SEND. By bridging the gap between frontline school leadership and national advocacy, Charlotte ensures that policy recommendations, such as the Fair School Admissions Pledge, are both ambitious and grounded in the realities of school implementation.

Anne-Marie Canning MBE is from Doncaster, was the first in her family to go to university and has dedicated her career to opening up educational opportunity to the next generation. She is now Opportunity Mission Challenge Director at UK Research and Innovation.

From 2020 to 2025 Anne-Marie was the Chief Executive Officer of The Brilliant Club, a UK-wide university access charity helping less advantaged students accessing the most competitive universities and supporting them to succeed when they get there. In 2018 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to higher education.

From 2017-2022 Anne-Marie was the independent chair of the Department for Education’s Bradford Opportunity Area. Opportunity Areas supported social mobility in the 12 areas of the country where it is most challenged. She now chairs a broad-based coalition of organisations in Bradford who are working together to improve opportunities for young people in the city – the Education Alliance for Life Chances. Between 2012 and 2019 Anne-Marie was the Director of Social Mobility and Student Success at King’s College London. In this role she founded an award-winning parental engagement endeavor called Parent Power which continues to this day.

Anne-Marie has previously worked at University College Oxford and holds a University of Oxford Teaching Award. She studied at the University of York and served a sabbatical term as the president of the students’ union.

Anne-Marie is a trustee of the Education Policy Institute, Child Poverty Action Group, and member of the advisory board of the Higher Education Policy Institute.

Sarah has been the Headteacher of the West Sussex Virtual School since 2017, following over 20 years working in secondary schools across Surrey and West Sussex.

Beginning her career as a RE teacher, Sarah has held a range of leadership positions in schools including Headteacher of a 5-16 Pupil referral unit.

Since becoming a Virtual School Head, Sarah has led the team through considerable change and transformation in children’s services alongside the changing role and remit of the Virtual school.