People Power Conference 2027

Representing Talent Architects, a consultancy dedicated to helping schools become great places to work, Helen brings over two decades of corporate PR, branding, and communications experience to the education sector. With a career spanning leadership roles in global sectors to independent consultancy, she has spent the last two years collaborating with school trusts to align their communication with their broader people goals.

Barb has been in primary education for 30 years, working in the London Borough of Newham. She has a background in leading English, as well as being a qualified SENCo. She has been in Senior Leadership in a range of roles for 15 years, and is now an Executive Principal leading 2 of the Trust’s schools, as well as line managing the Headteachers in the Trust.

With 12 years of experience in primary education within the London Borough of Newham, Neelam is a dedicated school leader specialising in curriculum development, mathematics and assessment. Over the past five years, she has held various senior leadership positions, which have led to her current role as Co-Head of School across two Trust schools – a position she was thrilled to step into this academic year.

Antionia has worked in education for over 12 years, beginning her career in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Throughout this time, she has held a range of leadership positions and is currently a Co-Head of School across two primary schools in Newham. She is deeply committed to securing excellent outcomes for all children through high-quality teaching and learning.

Catherine is Director of the ALP Institute of Teaching, Leadership and Research, leading professional learning opportunities that support staff development, collaboration and evidence-informed practice both within and beyond the Trust. She also facilitates the NPQ in Leading Teaching, working with colleagues across the North East to strengthen teaching, leadership and school improvement.

Clair leads a team of HR qualified professionals and is an experienced leader with 25 years of experience working in the education sector.

With extensive experience of working with challenging schools, her knowledge of leadership and pedagogy enables her to understand the challenges faced by colleagues and support sustainable solutions.

Lisa has led the development of the trust’s People Strategy, bringing together everything they do to attract, develop and retain great people. From launching the Great People Management programme to embedding a coaching-style approach to appraisal, her focus has been on building a culture that is ambitious and supportive.

Mandy Coalter is the founder of Talent Architects – an organisation helping schools to become great places to work.

She is also an author, coach, mentor, change agent, and Trustee, as well as the former Director of People at United Learning.

Sufian Sadiq is the Director of Talent and Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust, with responsibility for overseeing two regional hub areas in the south east of England and four regional SCITT provisions.

He is a passionate activist within the educational landscape around race, equity and inclusion.

Hannah Wilson is the founder and director of the Belonging Effect, and she works full-time as an independent leadership development consultant, coach and trainer with a specialism in DEI.

Hannah has been coaching and mentoring existing and aspiring leaders in education for more than a decade.

Jennifer Brimming is the Principal at Marine Academy Plymouth, which is part of the Ted Wragg Trust.

Iona leads on turning Edurio’s national datasets into useful and impactful insights for trust and school leaders. Since joining Edurio in 2021, Iona has worked on national reports focused on topics such as equality, diversity and inclusion and staff retention.

Ben’s research provides national-level insights on key topics such as staff retention, pupil behaviour, and trust culture. Collaborating with industry experts, his work helps guide policy and practice across the sector. Ben’s past experience in Local Councils and Private Education Settings deepens his understanding of current and future challenges.

Imanta works with the Customer Experience team to build meaningful resources for the Edurio Community around effective stakeholder feedback.

She has developed and implemented guidebooks, seminars and other resources tailored to the needs of customers looking to get the most out of their survey data.