Consultancy

As Director of a small consultancy business,  I lead a small expert team, who support project work across post 16 education. As a team we have an established track record of successful delivery of complex multi partnership projects and how we work is as important as the work we do. We embrace a culture of inclusive practice and collaboration to achieve the best possible outcomes for all learners, whatever their starting point, wherever and however they learn.

As Senior Education Consultant, working across education and skills partnerships, I draw upon my own extensive experience in the development of place-based approaches to education and skills in Greater Manchester and beyond. Most recently working with Institutes of Technology both Greater Manchester and East Midlands (working across employers and provider partnerships) to address regional skills priorities.

High quality education is central in the work we do and in providing bespoke quality services we also draw upon our wider network of highly skilled associate consultants and freelancers, who share our values and our ethos of excellence, collaboration and inclusion.

My passion for high quality education and lifelong learning is driven by my own learning journey and my belief that quality education significantly improves the life chances of the individual and benefits the wider communities in which we live and work.

Christine works with training providers, colleges, local authorities and employers to improve learner outcomes, strengthen inclusive practice and build workforce confidence in a changing skills landscape.

Her work focuses on a core principle:
this isn’t a policy problem – it’s a capability problem and it shows up under pressure.

Christine supports organisations to move beyond well-written strategies to consistent, confident practice, particularly in areas that are often inspected but not always embedded, including:

• Curriculum coherence and quality improvement
• Embedding Maths, English and Digital Skills as core organisational capability
• Inclusion and SEND/SEMH as a whole-organisation responsibility
• Leadership and middle management confidence
• AI readiness through workforce capability and curriculum design

Alongside her consultancy, Christine designs and delivers interactive webinars, workshops and masterclasses that model effective practice in real time.

Her sessions are grounded in research and aligned to professional standards, combining clear structure with practical application so that staff leave confident, equipped and ready to implement.

As a Greater Manchester Maths Ambassador, she champions approaches that shift mindsets, reduce anxiety and connect learning to real-life contexts.

With over 20 years’ experience in post-16 education, Christine is known for bridging strategy and practice helping organisations ensure that what they intend is visible in delivery, experienced by learners and defensible in inspection.

She supports organisations through diagnostic conversations, CPD and structured improvement programmes that lead to sustainable change in practice.

Maureen has been an FE and international inspector since 2010, delivering consultancy, training, and coaching in governance, leadership, quality, and curriculum across the full range of FE and Skills providers, including colleges, training providers, schools, academies, and universities. A Matrix Standards practitioner and Ofsted framework adviser, she is a consultant for the DfE’s Apprenticeship Workforce Development Programme and a recognised expert in apprenticeships, adult learning, and sector compliance, including ESFA requirements and APAR applications.

With over 30 years’ experience, Maureen specialises in adult care, early years, sport, business, and leadership. She provides quality assurance and curriculum design support nationally and holds governance roles on apprenticeship and adult learning boards. Her expertise spans a wide range of curriculum areas, including health, education, technology, logistics, and professional services.

Alex has worked in the FE sector for over 18 years and is incredibly passionate about the sector & the organisations she supports & represents.  Alex has supported a wide range of training providers, colleges, schools and employers to promote, engage and improve apprenticeship and skills provision over the years and continues to develop & grow the membership & support offered to the sector. Alex delivers a range of consultancy support to training organisations nationally covering areas including leadership & management, audit & compliance, Governance & oversight, expert challenge and critical friend support plus quality improvement and much more.  Alex is Home Office approved to deliver WRAP (Workshop to Rise Awareness of Prevent) training across FE Organisations and is a member of the ETF national safeguarding & prevent strategic group

Andy is a highly experienced education specialist, having worked in the sector for over 30 years including senior leadership roles with Training and Enterprise Councils, LSC and the Skills Funding Agency. He currently holds board and advisory panel positions with leading FE and HE organisations.

Andy’s specialist areas are skills research & policy, public procurement, regional development funding, and quality standards, having been involved in multiple Ofsted inspections. At present he is supporting a number of organisations with project development, tendering applications  and in making applications to the revised RoATP processes.

Annmarie is an experienced national/international trainer, coach, mentor and consultant. She holds a PGCE and is qualified to Masters Level in both Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring. She has held a wealth of national contracts over the past 20 years predominantly with the post 16 Education sector supporting quality improvement in Maths and English. She is an associate for the ETF and a professional development lead for the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Maths. She has developed and delivered a wealth of national professional development training for teachers, assessor and Managers across the post 16 sector as well as bespoke  CPD particularly focused on Maths, Embedding, Coaching and mentoring etc. Annmarie a written some and delivered many of the national ETF programmes. Truly passionate about learning and development Annmarie is a highly engaging facilitator consultant and Coach.

Since leaving full-time employment with Ofsted in 2015, Marina has specialised in supporting further education and skills leaders to rapidly improve their provision and improve people’s life chances through learning.

Marina has 23 years’ experience of inspecting all aspects of the Further Education and Skills and is a current Ofsted Inspector. As Ofsted’s Deputy Director for Further Education and Skills, Marina was responsible for Ofsted’s inspection policy and methodology and led the development of the 2015 Common Inspection Framework. Prior to that Marina was a Senior HMI and a HMI with a wide range of responsibilities including that quality of inspections and inspector training. Marina developed and delivered Ofsted’s Masters’ Degrees in Inspection and Regulation with the University of Warwick and with the Institute of Education.

Marina is a Governor of a ‘Good’ College and helps Colleges and ITP boards learn how to support, challenge and work effectively. Marina is in strong demand as a speaker, trainer and coach.

Rachael Bishop has worked across a variety of sectors over the past 19 years including social care, charity organisations, primary, higher and further education, The NHS, Mental Health Services, Her Majesty’s Prison Service, The Police, Substance Misuse, Youth Offending and many corporate commercial industries such as construction and engineering.

Rachael is a qualified, passionate, and energetic consultant and trainer with vast experience to share from her previous roles as the Head of Safeguarding, Human Resources, and Employee Wellbeing across a number of organisations. The FE and HE sector are where her passions lie, supporting providers to strengthen their safeguarding arrangements and to support all stakeholders in the process by offering consultancy, audit, and bespoke/accredited training.

Sheila has worked in the further education sector for around 35 years, starting her career as a teacher and progressing into leadership roles. She has worked as a full-time inspector for three inspectorates; the Further Education Funding Council, the Adult Learning Inspectorate and finally Ofsted, where she held a senior role managing and quality assuring inspections in the Northeast, Yorkshire and Humber region. Since 2020, she has worked as a consultant supporting leaders, governors and teachers/trainers to improve their provision and practice.