Mark Taylor

Chair

Mark Taylor is a Governor at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and Folkestone Academy. Having worked in the City, Mark's career as a Bursar started in 1993 at Cranbrook School, appointed to Dulwich Prep School, Cranbrook in 1996, Bedales Schools in 2003 and the King’s School, Canterbury in 2010. Mark was elected ISBA Chairman from 2013 – 2016.  

Richard Harman

Chief Executive

Richard Harman was educated at The King’s School, Worcester, followed by Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read English.  Having spent two years working for an academic publisher, he decided his real vocation was in teaching.  After five years at Marlborough College teaching English and Drama, during which time he also completed his PGCE at Exeter University, he spent 12 years at Eastbourne College.  Progressing from Head of English to Housemaster of a Sixth Form girls’ house to member of the Senior Management Team, he then became Headmaster of Aldenham in September 2000 and thence to Uppingham in 2006. After a decade leading Uppingham and 32 years overall in teaching, he embarked on a third career as Chief Executive of AGBIS. Richard is much enjoying the challenges at AGBIS, having been Chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association for 2011-12 and Chairman of HMC for 2014-15.

The Lord Black of Brentwood

Lord Black of Brentwood (Guy Black) has been a Conservative member of the House of Lords since 2010. Educated at Brentwood School and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated in history, Guy has spent his career in the media and politics. He has worked at the Telegraph Media Group since 2005, as Deputy Chairman since 2018. Previously, he had been Director of the Press Complaints Commission and Director of Communications for the Conservative Party under Michael Howard. Guy has been a Governor of Brentwood School since 2013, and Chairman of Governors since 2024. He is President of the Boarding Schools Association and the Institute of Boarding. Guy has been a longstanding campaigner on education issues, including music education: he has been on the Council of the Royal College of Music since 2009, and its Chairman since 2017. He speaks in the House of Lords on a range of issues including education, music, osteoporosis and bone health, animal welfare and media freedom

Johan Jensen

Director, All-in Education

A seasoned diversity and inclusion expert, with a wealth of experience across various global sectors, including finance and pharmaceuticals, but most significantly in the education sector. His expertise encompasses EDI change management, inclusive leadership development, strategic communications and stakeholder management.

In 2018 he founded All-in Education. All-in Education helps education institutions globally to become inclusive work and learning places - making recruitment more effective, ensuring talent stays for longer, helping staff fulfil their potential and ensuring the curriculum and learning environment is inclusive.

Before establishing himself as an EDI consultant he was a Director at Ambition Institute, a pioneer in developing leadership in schools to significantly improve outcomes for children.

With his passion for equity and inclusion Johan led stakeholder management at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) between 2009-2012. Johan started his career in campaigning across equality and children’s rights issues, developing national campaigns for Citizens Advice. He built an innovative campaign to tackle child poverty and produced the This Is Child Poverty report (Citizens Advice, 2008). At Stonewall, he spearheaded the Education for All campaign, notably launching the impactful Some people are gay. Get over it! campaign.

Johan holds a first-class honours degree in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Birmingham, complemented by an MA in Research Methods. Born and brought up in Sweden, he arrived in Britain on a scholarship to study at UWC Atlantic College, where his commitment to equality and human rights issues flourished.

Debbie Innes-Turnill

Chair of Governors, The King’s School, Gloucester

Debbie Innes-Turnill (MSc) runs her own freelance Safeguarding Consultancy, which complemented by her school experiences, advises schools, organisations, charities & social groups about safeguarding for both adults and children. She has been a Teacher and School Leader for 30 years.

She completed her Masters in ‘Advanced Child Protection Studies’ in 2020 and currently works part time lecturing on the degree which enables her to stay up to date with safeguarding research. She is also studying for a PhD focussing on defining safeguarding culture in education.

Debbie is actively involved in promoting equality diversity and inclusion both in her safeguarding work and through the conversations she has with professionals to support allyship and anti-racism. She feels this is particularly important in schools where our future adults are being taught how to behave.

As a former ruby referee, Debbie is no stranger to difficult scenarios and uses this experience, as well as her academic background, to think strategically in dynamic situations. She uses her experiences to provide space for both reflection and challenge whilst ensuring a relational approach by all, which is vital for keeping children and adults safe.

Jaideep Barot

Chair, HMC

Jaideep Barot has been Headmaster of Bristol Grammar School since September 2018. Prior to this he was Deputy Head (Academic) at Marlborough College (2014-2018), Head of Science at The Godolphin & Latymer School (2008-2013), and Head of Physics at Westminster School, where he started his teaching career (in 1998), after a spell in the city with Goldman Sachs.

As a beneficiary of financial assistance to join the Manchester Grammar School as a boy, Jaideep is a passionate advocate of widening access to the life-enhancing opportunities provided by excellent schooling. He was one of the small group of independent and state-sector Heads that set up the Bristol Education Partnership – a cross-city initiative of what is now 17 schools, universities and the city council, working together to improve educational outcomes for pupils across the city. Jaideep was Chair of HMC’s South West Division in 2021-22, and has been their representative on the HMC Communications Committee since 2019. He was HMC’s representative on ASCL Council (2022-2024), and he was elected onto the selection committee to nominate ASCL Council’s candidate to succeed Geoff Barton as General Secretary. Jaideep is an inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate, a governor on the boards of St Paul’s School in London, the Manchester Grammar School and Bishop Cotton School in India. Since March 2023, he has been a Member for the Futura Learning Partnership, a sizeable MAT spanning Bristol and the South West, for whom he was previously a Trustee.

Lorraine Davidson

Chief Executive, Scottish Council of Independent Schools

Lorraine Davidson is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. She was previously a Director at Gordonstoun school in Elgin and went on to be Vice Chair of the  Gordonstoun Board.

Lorraine began her career as a journalist covering major news stories including the Piper Alpha disaster, the Lockerbie crash and the Mull of Kintyre Chinook helicopter crash, before becoming a political correspondent for both STV and the BBC at Westminster.  Lorraine was Labour’s Director of Communications in the run up to the first Scottish Parliament elections and she went on to become the Daily Mirror’s Europe correspondent, based in Brussels.

She spent more than a decade in the civil service where she held roles including Head of Communications at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Head of European Engagement at the Scottish Government in the run up to Brexit, and Head of Vaccine Oversight during the Covid pandemic.

Prior to her current role, Lorraine was Head of Education strategy at the Scottish Government where she was responsible for convening a National Discussion on the future of Scottish education. 

Julie Robinson

CEO, ISC

Julie Robinson began her career as a teacher and head at Sussex prep schools. She worked for IAPS, then joined the Independent Schools Council in 2015. ISC’s small team of staff has been described as “sleepless champions of the sector”, representing independent education at national level in the media and across government departments. ISC’s research and data analysis informs advocacy of the sector and Julie promotes sector-wide messaging, appearing on Newsnight, Sky, BBC News, The Today Programme, and Channel 4 News.

ISC is a coordinating body bringing together the independent schools associations representing heads, governors, bursars (AGBIS, GSA, HMC, ISA, IAPS, ISBA and the Society of Heads), along with affiliates BSA, COBIS, SCIS and WISC, to inform and promote independent education, rebutting untruths and explaining the value of independent schools and the importance of parental choice.

Julie is a governor for a state school and an independent school.  She is an enthusiastic advocate of partnership for all kinds of schools.

David Woodgate

CEO, ISBA

David Woodgate was appointed Chief Executive of the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association in May 2016. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants from 2007 to 2015 after which he spent a year as the Strategy Consultant to the Institute of Public Accountants in Australia.

David qualified as a Barrister in 1982 following a first degree in Languages (French and Russian), Law and Linguistics. He moved from the law into the City, holding several senior management and executive positions in the National Westminster Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland – in Strategic Planning, Corporate Finance and latterly as Director of e-Commerce for the corporate bank. He ran an outsourcing business and a specialist internal consultancy providing market intelligence and competitor analysis. He completed an MBA at Warwick University Business School in 1992. A former Chief Executive of the Institute of Administrative Management, he also holds a postgraduate diploma in Charity Management from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Banker, a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights.

Aatif Hassan

Founder and Chair , Dukes Education

Aatif Hassan founded Dukes Education in 2015 and holds positions as Chairman of Cavendish Education and trustee of St James Independent Schools.

He holds a British Army officer commission and was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 2019 for his contributions to education. He is also Chair of Dukes Foundation, trustee of the British Asian Trust and founding trustee of The Queen’s Reading Room.

Vanessa Ward

Chief Executive-Chief Inspector, ISI

Vanessa joined ISI in February 2021 in this newly merged role.

After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with MA (Hons) in English Literature, Vanessa attended the College of Law in London and Guildford before qualifying as a solicitor with first class honours. She practised for a number of years in London, specialising in commercial and media law. Having retrained as a teacher, her career in education leadership includes the headship of one of the highest performing state schools in the UK. While a headteacher, Vanessa was a member and elected vice-chair of the local authority schools forum.

Vanessa joined Ofsted as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors Education (HMI), where she led inspections in both the state and independent sectors. Vanessa was seconded to the newly-formed Unregistered Schools Taskforce, which conducted criminal investigations into illegal educational provision. Vanessa also has commercial experience building a successful education consultancy practice supporting school improvement. She has combined this with her work as a School Improvement Partner (SIP) for Achieving for Children in Richmond and Kingston local authorities, while continuing her work with Ofsted as an Ofsted Inspector.

Vanessa has also served on a school governing body as both foundation and parent governor, including chairing the governors’ personnel committee.

Steve Wilcock

Inventor and Founder, Marshal Eye

Breakout session: The dangers of an ineffective incident response strategy

Steve’s career showcases a steadfast commitment to operational excellence, safety, and innovation. Beginning his journey as a Sea Harrier technician in the Royal Navy, he then transitioned to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service as an operational firefighter and officer. Over his 28 years of service, Steve honed his expertise at some of the UK’s busiest stations in Salford, before later moving to Bury.

Today, Steve channels his wealth of experience into leading North West Fire Training Ltd, a company he has successfully grown into a trusted provider of accredited fire safety training for the commercial sector. To date, his team has trained over 20,000 delegates, delivering critical safety skills to a diverse range of clients, from small businesses to large corporations.

Driven by a passion for understanding human responses during unplanned events, Steve founded Marshal Eye; an innovative app designed to improve resilience in critical situations. The app enables users to opt into emergency roles or tasks, providing real-time alerts, instant communication, and thorough reporting. While initially focused on fire incidents, it has since expanded to include first aid and intruder alerts.

Currently being trialled by multiple organisations, Marshal Eye is poised to help meet the requirements of Martyn’s Law, especially in schools and institutions preparing for new safety regulations. Through his work, Steve continues to enhance safety in both workplaces and public spaces, blending education with technology to create safer environments.

Lynne Horner

Independent School Policy Specialist, ASCL

Breakout session: Heads’ appraisals and performance management by Governors

Lynne has over 35 years of experience in the independent education sector and has served two headships spanning 15 years.  She has been a governor in a number of state and independent schools and has been an ISI inspector for more than 20 years.  She runs her own education consultancy, acts as an executive coach and is currently the Independent Policy specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders.

Lynne is immersed in education policy, good practice and has a deep operational knowledge of school leadership. She believes that the relationship between the Head and Governors is a crucial aspect of a successful school, especially in these challenging times for the sector.  Ensuring that the Head’s appraisal is founded on trust and professionalism is integral to good governance, providing career development and feedback for the leader of the school community.  She is passionate about school improvement to ensure the best education for every child and believes that effective leadership is central to achieving this goal.

Jim McConalogue

Chief Executive Officer, Civitas

Breakout session: The Commission on the Future of Independent Schools

Dr Jim McConalogue is the CEO of Civitas and author of The British Constitution Resettled: Parliamentary Sovereignty Before and After Brexit (Palgrave Macmillan 2019), Rebalancing the British Constitution: The future for human rights law (Civitas 2020) and Unravelling the Covid State: From parliamentary democracy to the regulatory state? (Civitas 2021).

Barney Northover

Partner, VWV

Breakout session: The Commission on the Future of Independent Schools

With more than 20 years' experience at VWV advising independent schools and charities on their governance, constitutional review, strategic projects and charity law, Barney is ideally placed to assist you and your school. He has developed a special interest and expertise in advising schools on strategy and structural change including charity mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and collaborations.

John Edward

Head of Operations, Scottish Council on Global Affairs

Breakout session: The Commission on the Future of Independent Schools

John Edward is the first Head of Operations since the launch of the SCGA.

John’s most recent role was as the Chief Executive of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, covering all aspects of school-age education, regulation and participation.  Prior to that, John was Head of the European Parliament’s Office in Scotland, covering the European elections of 2004 and 2009.

A graduate of St Andrews and Glasgow universities, John worked for 9 years in Brussels firstly in the then-new European Policy Centre, as personal assistant to Max Kohnstamm.  He was subsequently EU Policy Manager for Scotland Europa, Brussels.  A trustee of the Scottish European Educational Trust, and member of the Scottish Parliament’s Commission on Parliamentary Reform, John was also Chief Spokesman for the non-party political Scotland Stronger in Europe campaign for the 2016 EU referendum.

Jodh Dhesi

Chief Executive Officer, King Edward VI Foundation

Breakout session: The Commission on the Future of Independent Schools

Jodh Dhesi has been the Chief Executive Officer of the King Edward VI Foundation, Birmingham since 2021. Before this, he had roles as the Head of School Performance and Standards and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at GEMS Education, as well as experience on the Executive Board and as a Headteacher in the Cambridge Academic Partnership. Jodh is also a Board Trustee of the School Partnerships Alliance. 

Oliver Daniels

Partner (Education and Charities Team), HCR Law

Breakout session: Employment law impacts on staffing strategy

Oliver is a Partner within the Education & Charities team at HCR Law advising schools on employment related matters including complex restructures, performance management, ill health absence, disciplinary and grievance processes, TPS consultations, severance arrangements, and Employment Tribunal proceedings. He also assists schools in ensuring that internal policies and procedures and contracts of employment are legally compliant and work in practice. Oliver is a recognised speaker within the sector and has spoken at key sector events including the AGBIS and ISBA Annual Conferences providing employment law updates and interactive sessions on sector specific issues. Oliver is praised by clients as being a “superb adviser on all things employment and education”.

Rachel Parkin

Employment Partner (Education), HCR Law

Breakout session: Employment law impacts on staffing strategy

Rachel is an Employment Partner in the Education & Charities Team at HCR Law. She advises a broad range of clients in the education sector on all aspects of the employment relationship. Rachel regularly helps schools deal with performance management issues, ill health, restructuring, disciplinaries and grievances, TUPE, trade union matters, Employment Tribunal cases. She frequently advises clients on sensitive and complex issues, in particular senior severances. She regularly delivers training to clients and is a frequent speaker at national and regional sector events including the AGBIS and ISBA Annual Conferences. Clients describe Rachel as ‘approachable, supportive, thoughtful and experienced’ and she is highly regarded for her ‘consistent, clear, and practical advice’.

Tim Groves

Founder, Bursarnet

Breakout session: Operational Benchmarking

Tim Groves qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990 with PWC London, before spending 4 years in Corporate Recovery at the PWC Paris office.

He then moved into industry, initially Williams Holdings (5 years, including 3 years in Spain as CFO of a large acquisition) before returning to London and the boom/bust years of the dotcom world (the early days of online financial services). The next 6 years were spent with a US quoted telecoms business, ending up as COO of the European operations (£200m of revenues).

In 2008 he joined Kingfisher plc (B&Q/Screwfix) as CFO of the International Division (£2bn of revenues, £200m of profit), with a remit to improve the performance of the operations in Poland, China, Russia and Turkey. Having made extensive use of KPIs for comparing and improving B&Q store performances, such techniques translate across well into the independent school sector.

In 2013, with more air miles than he could ever spend, and personal experience of the ever-escalating cost of independent school fees, he left the conventional corporate world and set up Bursarnet, the aim being to create an organisation which helps independent schools to run more efficiently, and thereby, in time, to make the fees more affordable.

Bursarnet now has over 640 member schools, and generates revenues both from direct consultancy to schools, and also from working with suppliers to devise more competitive solutions for schools.

David Woodgate

CEO, ISBA

Breakout session: Panel Session – Everything you always wanted to know about VAT but were too scared to ask

David Woodgate was appointed Chief Executive of the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association in May 2016. Prior to this he was Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants from 2007 to 2015 after which he spent a year as the Strategy Consultant to the Institute of Public Accountants in Australia.

David qualified as a Barrister in 1982 following a first degree in Languages (French and Russian), Law and Linguistics. He moved from the law into the City, holding several senior management and executive positions in the National Westminster Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland – in Strategic Planning, Corporate Finance and latterly as Director of e-Commerce for the corporate bank. He ran an outsourcing business and a specialist internal consultancy providing market intelligence and competitor analysis. He completed an MBA at Warwick University Business School in 1992. A former Chief Executive of the Institute of Administrative Management, he also holds a postgraduate diploma in Charity Management from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Banker, a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Wheelwrights.