Liam Collins Email & Phone Number

South East England

Associate Headteacher leading an SEMH school, Designated Principal for a new SEMH school opening in Chelmsford, supporting an Alternative Provision school in Central London and an AP for Excluded children in Essex. Enabling the schools’ teams to drive improvements.Safeguarding Audits across the Beckmead Trust.Leading the Secondary Reading Strategy across all schools

Hastings, England, United Kingdom

• Successfully led and transformed Ark Alexandra Academy from a potentially inadequate rating to a 4 out of 5 good grades.• Turned around a significant school deficit, resulting in the school now being in surplus.• Significantly improved the school's reputation among parents, with recommendations increasing from 31% in 2017 to 82% in the latest inspection.• Increased first-choice applications from 241 to over 400, demonstrating enhanced desirability and appeal.• Created a positive and inclusive school culture, resulting in a transformed perception of the institution within the local community.• Managed a staff body of over 200, fostering motivation and unity among the team.• Successfully instilled a new culture among students, fostering leadership skills and a commitment to upholding school values.• Overcame COVID-related challenges to create a conducive learning environment focused on consistent classroom behavior.• Received positive feedback from Ark visitors, highlighting the noticeable transformation of the school.• Prioritized recruitment and retention as key challenges, emphasizing the need for stable leadership and development opportunities for staff.• Demonstrated effective leadership, allowing staff to embrace challenges and view them as developmental opportunities.• Implemented a rigorous approach to ensure consistency in staff performance while providing support for their growth.• Maintained a balance between staff development and performance issues to ensure high standards are consistently met.

South East Of England

• Played a key role as the Director of Curriculum and Learning at GLF Schools, overseeing improvements in five secondary schools.• Conducted performance appraisals for Headteachers, providing feedback and support for their professional growth.• Acted as a strategic partner to the Headteacher and Chair of the School Strategy Board, contributing to decision-making and long term planning.• Implemented a restructured Key Stage 3 curriculum, creating a standardized 'common core' across seven diverse schools.• Introduced summative assessments to track progress from starting points and analyze student achievement in core subjects.• Managed and provided guidance to Subject Learning and Teaching leads as their line manager.• Provided targeted support to schools with the greatest need, ensuring they received necessary resources and assistance.• Served as a board member for the Teaching School, actively participating in educational initiatives and collaborations.• Assessed and reported Key Stage 4 (KS4) and Key Stage 5 (KS5) outcomes directly to the Executive Board.• Led the successful implementation of the 'Transition Project,' integrating curriculum and teaching strategies from Years 5 to 8.• Oversaw the support provided through the School-to-School (S2S) program and evaluated its impact on school improvement.• Held responsibility for the MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) part of any OFSTED inspection, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and quality assurance.

Uk

co-opted member of the secondary council.

• Led Uplands Community College, a fully comprehensive community school, to achieve its best-ever examination results in its history at both Key Stage 4 (over the past three years) and Key Stage 5 (in 2015 and 2017).• Recognized by the Department for Education (DfE) Performance Tables as the top-performing school within a 75-mile radius of Uplands Community College based on the "Similar School Group" comparison in 2016.• Implemented a progressive and supportive approach to school improvement, fostering a "no blame" culture that encouraged teachers to experiment with teaching practices and enhance student learning outcomes.• Established strong partnerships with local primary and secondary schools, fostering collaborative efforts for educational advancement.• Received an invitation to join the SSAT (The Schools, Students, and Teachers) "Leading Edge Network," indicating recognition for exemplary leadership and educational practices.• Presented at national conferences and forums, including the National Teacher Enquiry Network, Westminster Education Forum, and The Shaping CPD conference at Cambridge University, discussing topics such as post-lesson grading, the future of the teaching workforce, workload management, raising standards, and supporting professional development.• Represented headteachers and the NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers) by providing evidence at the Public Accounts Committee in January 2017, contributing to discussions on educational policy and accountability.

United Kingdom

• Served as a Core Member and Vice Chair of the Headteacher's Roundtable from January 2013 to December 2016.• Headteacher's Roundtable is a non-partisan group of headteachers functioning as a think-tank, dedicated to examining policy issues from diverse perspectives and advocating for education policies that prioritize the learning needs of all children.• Collaborated with a team of fellow headteachers to author The Education Election Manifesto 2015, which outlined recommendations for inclusion in political parties' education policy manifestos.• Played a key role in developing a new model for the National Baccalaureate in conjunction with Tom Sherrington and the manifesto team.• Worked closely with various members of the Roundtable team, fostering effective collaboration and shared expertise.• Co-organized the Headteachers' Roundtable Think Tank Conference in July 2016 at the Sheffield Institute of Education, bringing together 150 headteachers from different educational phases and sectors.• The conference outcomes significantly contributed to the formation of the Alternative Green Paper, published in September 2016, which proposed alternative education policies. Personally contributed by writing the section on recruitment and retention.• Through involvement with the Headteacher's Roundtable, established productive relationships with influential education policymakers and stakeholders, allowing for meaningful engagement and impact in shaping education discussions and initiatives.

Sussex University

• Led the implementation of a whole-school approach to Teaching and Learning (T&L), resulting in the school's improvement from a rating of "Requires Improvement" (RI) to "Good" within a span of two years.• Introduced a rigorous process for conducting lesson observations, providing clear coaching and guidance to teachers based on the observations.• Established a coaching team and fostered an inclusive and supportive environment while maintaining clarity in the teaching and learning process throughout the school.• Contributed to the planning and restructuring of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), resulting in the creation of a new Assistant Headteacher (AH) intervention post.• Actively collaborated with colleagues in the West Essex cohort, engaging in joint inset training to share best practices and enhance professional development.• Initiated the establishment of the West Essex NSCL MLDP (National Specialist College for Leadership of Learning, Mentoring, and Development Programme), where I co-facilitated the program alongside an Assistant Headteacher from another school.• Demonstrated leadership in driving improvements in teaching and learning practices, fostering collaboration among staff members, and engaging in regional initiatives to enhance educational standards.

I implemented the KS4 intervention strategies and curriculum which moved the Academy from 19% 5A* to C including in 2005 to 42% in 2010; this year group were predicted 29% on the FFT-D measure. This meant a move from the 85th percentile to the 10th. It moved the Academy out of National Challenge and meant we outperformed all targets set for us and by us.Whilst in this role, I developed the curriculum further to enable all students to access all courses at KS4 and KS5. I led the Curriculum Review group that moved the KS5 curriculum from IB to A levels and vocational subjects. I played a key role in the decision to condense the KS3 curriculum to two years allowing a vertical KS4/KS5 model to become a reality for our students in 2011.

Thamesmead

I led the production of data management systems that allowed the Academy to track student performance. The system not only tracked individual performance, but also groups of students. The OFSTED report (03/07) said of this “The academy sets challenging targets for all learners and their progress towards these targets is monitored well. Appropriate and timely support is provided to those learners who are identified as at risk of underachieving. These systems are becoming embedded and are making a positive impact on raising achievement within the academy.”

Npqh, Educational Leadership And Administration, General

PGCE and NPQH (at different times obviously!)

Pgce, Secondary Education And Teaching

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Economics

Activities and Societies: Part of the Rugby League Side that won the Premiership Economics and Public Policy