Many of us are familiar with the roles of teachers and their influence on children's education — but what about the people working in positions which could impact the schooling of hundreds of thousands of children?
No, were not talking about epic class sizes, but about those working for a local education authority (LEA). According to a TES Connect article, in the Cornish secondary sector alone, working for the LEA could mean driving improvement which affects more than 30,000 young people.
However, radical changes proposed by the Government could change the face of schools in England — and allow many to break away from local authority control through the 'free schools' policy, which will encourage groups of parents, teachers and others to set up schools, and a growth in the number of privately-run academies.
Inspired by the recent headlines about these changes, we've decided to focus on the careers available in education, outside of teaching, in a live Q&A. We'll be examining what opportunities are already available within schools and local authorities — and we'll be looking to the future and the possible emerging roles caused by the new government plans.
So whether you are looking to start a career in education, or you already have a teaching background and you'd like to change careers, join our panel of experts on 30 September at 1pm.
Our panel (more names to be added):
Lucy Ivison worked in the professional development team at Hounslow Council for four years, specialising in the wider school workforce. She has worked with school business managers, teaching assistants and higher-level teaching assistants as well as site managers and staff at children's centres and after-school clubs, supporting their professional development within educational support roles.
Gillian McTeer is the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services school business manager advocate for the north-east region. In addition to this role, she is also continuing professional development (CPD) manager for the Raising Achievement Service in Gateshead local authority. Gillian is also chair of governors at a large, inner city primary school and was part of an interim executive board for a school in special measures.
Andrea Farrell is a professional development manager with Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership. Connexions provides impartial information, advice and guidance (including careers advice) to young people and supports them in planning for the future. Andrea qualified in careers advice and guidance in 1993.
Victoria O'Callaghan is a qualified career guidance practitioner, working for Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership within the Virtual services team. Victoria provides information, advice and guidance to the young people aged 13-19 years old via web chat, email, and telephone.
Alexia di Marco is head of recruitment and retention for UK education charity ARK Schools. Alexia is an alumni of Teach First, having joined the programme in its inaugural year. She then joined ARK Schools and has since lead and managed all the staffing recruitment, talent management and wider HR issues across the ARK network.
Gemma McPhail is recruitment coordinator for ARK Schools. Gemma oversees the non-academic and operational vacancies across the network of ARK academies. Prior to joining ARK Schools, Gemma held a number of interim roles with the Department of Education.
Richard Griffiths is quality coordinator for schools and lifelong learning at Cardiff Council.
Mo Bosch is head of communications for the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST). The GDST is a group of 26 independent girls' schools, with 20,000 students and 4,000 staff in England & Wales. As part of her role Mo gives advice and support to staff involved in marketing and communications for their schools.
Simon North is co-founder and director of Position Ignition, a careers coaching consultancy which offers advice to those wanting to change careers.
