• Helen Shaw

  Director

  With over twenty years of experience in education, Helen has been fortunate to hold a variety of teaching and leadership roles encompassing pastoral and curriculum as well as raising standards and assessment within schools, local networks and within multi academy trusts.

• Lyndsay Cameron

  Policy and Compliance Lead

  Lyndsay has twelve years of experience working in Initial Teacher Training, nine of which were as a Director of Teacher Training for two highly regarded SCITT providers.

• Joe North

  Brand & Marketing

  Joe designed and created the IFT brand. He now leads on the IFT marketing as well as Freelancing in the Television Industry.

Lead Mentors

• Andrew Pollard

  Lead Mentor

  Andy is an experienced educator who has been a Subject Lead, Lead Practitioner for English, Drama, Media and Film for over 20 years, with a strong background in ITT.  Having worked as a Senior Mentor and Induction Lead, across London with large MATS, he currently works with GLF as an Induction Mentor and Visiting Fellow for the Ambition Institute,  leading teacher training conferences and clinics, alongside a coaching for coaches clinic for ECT Mentors. 

• Ellie Hancock

  Lead Mentor

  With 14 years of experience in the field of education, I have established myself as a dedicated professional with a passion for teaching and learning. Throughout my career, I have taken on diverse roles such as coordinating whole school literacy, serving as Science KS3 coordinator, Head of Science, and am currently holding the position of Lead Practitioner in Science for the Bohunt Trust.

• Steve Smith

  Lead Mentor

  Steve has been teaching for over 20 years and has been involved in leading on professional development programmes and school improvement support for several years. He is passionate about teaching and learning and supporting teachers to develop their teaching practice. Steve was Director of HISP Research School for 4 years , running many CPD programmes and leading on several partnership projects across the region, involving teaching assistants, ECTs, middle and senior leaders.

Subject Leads

• Matthew Jones

  Geography Subject Lead

  I have been a geography teacher on the Isle of Wight for the last 8 years, graduating from Portsmouth University with a first class honours degree in geography. During this time, I have had leadership roles within faculties as well as mentoring many trainee teachers as both a subject and professional mentor.

• Paul Syson-Harvey

  Subject Lead

  Paul is responsible for the strategic development and direction of the teacher training programme across the GLF Teacher Training Hub and works closely with our Trust and partnership schools. Since the earliest stages of his career, Paul has supported the development of trainee and early career teachers.

• Annalise Adam

  MFL Subject Lead

  I am MFL Subject Leader at Crofton School and have a long experience of teaching and leading MFL as well as leading teacher development in a variety of settings. This includes Initial Teacher Training and ECT mentoring as well as developing more experienced teachers and leaders.

• Clare Packer

  Psychology Subject Lead

  I am Clare Packer. I am the Leader of GCSE Psychology at Tanbridge House School. We have a large cohort of students and Psychology is an increasingly popular subject. This is generally a students’ first experience of the subject, and their knowledge must be built sequentially and at an appropriate level so that students can progress and enjoy the subject.

• Ben Hall

  P.E Subject Lead

  Ben has been teaching for over 15 years and has been Head of PE at Thornden School since 2020. His department has high participation rates at extra-curricular and they compete successfully at local, regional and national level. He regularly mentors ITT trainees, as well as having worked as an AQA moderator in the past.

• Jia Li

  Subject Lead

  Jia Li serves as the Mandarin Coordinator for KS4 and KS5 at Bohunt School. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and has contributed to the UK's educational landscape since 2014 and started using the CLIL approach to teach Mandarin. In her current capacity, Jia's primary focus is on teaching and overseeing various Mandarin language programs, such as CLIL Mandarin teaching, CLIL Mandarin Drama curriculum design, GCSE, Cambridge Pre-U, A-level, and HSK.

• Hannah Wiggins

  Art and Design Subject Lead

  Hannah is an outstanding arts educator and teaching lead based in Surrey. With 15 years teaching experience and a background in the UK creative industries, she specialises in teaching Art, Craft and Design, and sees visual understanding and making as fundamental part of human existence. Hannah is an experienced mentor and trainer, having led a highly successful multidisciplinary Art department, and designed and delivered professional development for colleagues in outstanding schools for over a decade.

• Scott Morey

  Computer Science Subject Lead

  I have been teaching since 2010 and I currently work as a Computer Science Teacher at Medina College on the Isle of Wight. I started my technical journey when I completed my O'levels, as instead of going into the 6th form, I chose to complete an Electrical Technician Apprenticeship for Plessey Radar (now BAE Systems). I then became a sponsored student and studied Micro Electronics & Computing at Oxford Brookes University. After graduating, I returned to BAE Systems to work as a Digital Design Engineer before changing roles to a Software Design Engineer. I have been involved in all stages of the Software Development Lifecycle, working on a range of equipment required for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

• Katie Lye

  Subject Lead

  Katie Lye is an experienced leader with 15 years of school leadership at a senior level. She has been working as a trust leader in a primary multi academy trust for the past 5 years with key responsibilities for EYFS and early career teachers. She is the SCITT hub leader for the Kite Teacher Training hub in partnership with Inspiring Future Teachers. Katie is passionate about ensuring that trainee teachers get the best possible start in their career by providing high quality training and positive school experiences. As an experienced mentor and assessor of early career teachers and a facilitator and assessor in ITT, Katie fully understands both the curriculum and wellbeing needs of trainees as they begin their journey into a new and fulfilling career.

• Kirsty Abbott

  Subject Lead

  Kirsty Abbott is a dedicated educator with a profound passion for advancing teaching and learning. With extensive experience from classroom instruction to leadership roles, Kirsty excels in Initial Teacher Training (ITT). As a Head of Department, Local Leader of Mastery Education, and active member of the Maths Hub, she emphasizes teaching for understanding to foster positive educational outcomes.

• Katie Brush

  Subject Lead

  Katie Brush is the Director of Creative Arts at Test Valley School, Hampshire and has been teaching Drama for 20 years. A keen musician and performer, she is passionate about keeping the Arts alive in schools, by creating a varied curriculum and providing all pupils with extra-curricular opportunities. Throughout her career, she has experience in mentoring trainee teachers and early career teachers as well as using her experience to help support pastoral teams and the delivery of RSHE.

• Ryan Mounteney

  Music Subject Lead

  Whilst teaching across Portsmouth schools for the past 7 years I have including Subject Leader, Service Child Coordinator and Lead Practitioner. Within this time I have supported and lead whole school CPD, delivered deep dives within almost all subjects and am currently supporting our Trust in transitioning from Google to Microsoft. This journey has given me a wide range of teaching techniques, allowing me to hone my skills both within and outside the classroom.

• James McLeish

  Subject Lead

  I am currently deputy subject lead for English at Highcliffe School, where I teach Year 7 through to A Level. As a school, we share the belief that education has the power to change lives for the better. I believe that effective, adaptive, and supportive teaching of English Language and English Literature has the upmost importance in creating opportunities for students as they progress through, and progress from, compulsory education. The subject of English covers an incredible and fascinating range of content, which teachers must show an expertise in and an enthusiasm for. I have a passion for pedagogy and reflective practice, which I attempt to share and promote with colleagues.

• Hayley Conway-Hughes

  Subject Lead

  I am a creative and motivated School and Sixth Form leader, with 18 years’ experience in education. I have a Masters Degree in Education, Leadership and Management. My passion for my subjects (Psychology and Sociology) has inspired my practice as a teacher, and leader in school. I take an emotionally intelligent approach, designed to foster intrinsic motivation. Highly self-directed I seek out and utilise literature and policy to benefit the young people in my care. I am passionate about the craft of teaching and enjoy working with colleagues to develop their practice. The role, influence and impact of teachers cannot be underestimated. I look forward to working with IFT to ensure that new teachers are given the best possible start to their career leading to a fulfilling vocation, and life changing moments for their students.

• Jack Lindsay-Charlton

  Subject Lead

  I have nine years' experience of teaching history to KS3, GCSE and A level students In South London and Surrey and am passionate about high quality teaching and learning. With three years' experience as a successful subject leader for history with a track-record of improving results year-on-year, and four years as an Assistant Headteacher, I am keen to impart my knowledge to others. I have led training on curriculum development and quality assured history departments in outstanding schools. I also have much experience of developing teachers' skills and subject knowledge through mentoring, coaching and delivering CPD.