Judges for the Innovation Award
We are delighted to have had a stellar panel of judges evaluate applications to the Innovation Award 2024. These expert judges come from a range of backgrounds and have varied expertise within education.
Shortlisting Judges
Rachael Martin, Venture Partner, Purposeful Ventures
Rachael is a Venture Partner at Purposeful Ventures. Purposeful Ventures partners with organisations working with disadvantaged young people, providing individualised support and access to funding. Rachael works in the children and families portfolio, looking at mental health, children in care and children in and around the criminal justice system. Rachael was previously a Senior Manager at Bain & Company.
Roxanne Lashley Allen, Deputy Head Teacher, Consultant
With nearly two decades dedicated to the field of education, Roxanne's journey has taken her from the classroom, to leadership positions, culminating in her most recent position of Acting Co-Headteacher at a prominent London secondary school. She is currently a Trustee at Education Support which is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff. In addition, Roxanne recently made a significant contribution to the educational field with the publication of a report investigating the factors influencing the departure of Black and Ethnic Minority senior leaders from schools, thereby elevating the discourse surrounding diversity and representation in education leadership.
Steve Meadwell, Regional Manager, Centre For Social Justice
With over 20 years of experience, Steve has worked with some of the most vulnerable people in society, as well as with leaders, head teachers, service managers, business leaders, CEOs, and philanthropists. Throughout his career, he has enjoyed positive working relationships that have yielded positive results, created partnerships, built networks, coordinated and informed change. Steve’s passion to see greater change for people's lives has developed from first-hand experience of the many challenges faced by these groups. He has created and formed key relationships and links across the Midlands and the wider United Kingdom with charities, organisations, authorities, and leaders.
Kristy Evers, Director of Impact Partnerships, ImpactEd
Kristy has over ten years of experience across the education and impact evaluation sectors and currently works as Director of Impact Partnerships at ImpactEd Evaluation, a social enterprise focused on supporting schools and education organisations to measure their impact and make evidenced-informed decisions. Here she leads their work supporting education organisations in particular. She has previously worked as a teacher in Singapore, as a researcher for a major educational publisher and at a start-up focused on research impact.
Joe Howlett, COO & Founder, One Degree Academy
Joe is a qualified teacher and headteacher with extensive experience in the education sector, leading at both Secondary, Post 16, and Primary. He currently serves as the part-time Chief Operating Officer of One Degree Academy, an ‘outstanding’ free school. He worked with the school’s trustees to found One Degree Academy and is responsible for the operations of the Trust. He works closely with a network of schools supporting them in operational improvement and delivering outdoor education training. Joe grew up on a rural dairy farm. He won a scholarship to study for the International Baccalaureate in India.
Michelle Grannell, Head of Primary, King Solomon International Business School
Michelle has spent much of her working life interacting with children. She spent many years working behind the scenes in children's television and with a variety of programmes in roles varying from researcher to associate producer. Once beginning her own family, she retrained as a primary school teacher and has taught in a variety of Birmingham and Sandwell schools. She is a great believer in giving children the opportunity to access a fantastic education and has spent years bringing learning to life in her classrooms. Michelle is trained as a Lay Reader with the Church of England (a layperson is licensed to preach and to conduct some religious services) and enjoys her church life in the Birmingham diocese. She is also an Assistant Warden of Readers. Now a headteacher and safeguarding lead, Michelle is committed to giving children a firm foundation for their educational journey.
John Hind, Director of Education and Leadership, Rank Foundation
As Director of Education and Leadership at the Rank Foundation since June 2021, John works in three main areas. The School Leadership Award each year supports 25 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK who show potential as leaders. They provide both a leadership development programme and financial support in the form of a maintenance grant for higher education studies. The Rank Fellowship aims both to offer mutual support to members and to inspire Fellows in the spirit of our Founder’s philanthropic generosity to consider their impact on the wider society. Finally, their education inequality fund is a recent development which looks to support charitable organisations working towards addressing issues faced by disadvantaged students. John’s previous career was in teaching, latterly as Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools in Newcastle upon Tyne (an independent school operating the diamond model of school organisation) between 2004 and 2020.
Iman Haji, Investment Manager, Impetus
With a passion for social justice and a dedication to evidence-based practice, Iman is committed to advancing impact measurement methodologies that capture the transformative potential of interventions aimed at closing the disadvantage gap in education, employment and beyond. Now an Investment Manager at Impetus, Iman spent six years at Khulisa spearheading the organisation's research efforts, developing robust methodologies to assess the effectiveness of programmes in improving the life-long outcomes of young people facing social and school exclusion. From developing the organisation's Theory of Change, to testing it through a series of internal and external evaluations, Iman excels in translating complex data into actionable strategies and is deeply experienced in leveraging data to inform programme design and policy advocacy.
Dr. Anne Murdoch OBE, Senior Advisor, College Leadership, ASCL
Anne is Senior Advisor for College Leadership at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), having been General Secretary of the Principals Professional Council and, for 17 years, a Principal and Chief Executive of a Further Education College. Anne qualified as a Primary School teacher following a degree in Social Sciences. Her PhD, in Education, was followed by work, as a University Researcher. Anne joined an FE college as a teacher, then moved to leadership roles and to Principal and CEO. Anne has an MBA and is a School Governors. Her OBE was awarded in 2012 for services to Further Education.
Michelle Man, Global Head of Impact and Learning, Client Earth
Michelle is Global Head of Impact and Learning at ClientEarth, an environmental NGO that uses the power of the law to achieve systemic change. Having worked extensively with non-profits, funders, public sector organisations, private companies, and investors, Michelle supports organisations to maximise their social impact by advising on strategy, data and research, and evaluation and learning. She is a board member of The Politics Project and The London College of Political Technology. She also co-founded the Centre for Democracy to develop the ecosystem of organisations working towards a better democracy.
Saradia McCahon, The Fair Education Alliance, Impact & Evaluation Manager
Saradia is Impact & Evaluation Manager at the FEA, where she supports Award Winners to strengthen their impact, evaluation and research capacity. She holds an MA in Education and Psychology from UCL Institute of Education, where she specialised in the sociology of education, child development and social research methods. Before joining the FEA, Saradia spent three years at ImpactEd Evaluation, worked with various organisations and charities across the education sector. During this time, she designed and delivered end-to-end impact evaluations and fostered the development of impact and evaluation capacity within the wider sector.
Erica Fraser, Assistant Headteacher, Clapham Manor Primary School
Erica is an educator with over 14 years of experience. Currently an Assistant Head Teacher and SENDCo in Lambeth, with previous leadership experience in both primary and secondary school settings, encompassing roles in private and locally maintained organisations. As a Chartered Manager with a Master's in Education Senior Leadership and a Level 7 qualification in Senior Leadership, Erica's career is marked by a steadfast dedication to educational excellence and inclusivity.Within business development, Erica has been a part of initiatives aimed at enhancing race representation and promoting social mobility within education, driven by her profound passion for equity for all and wider-representation.