Neil has been a teacher, a director of education and a voluntary sector chief executive. Neil has over 36 years experience in education and has been a school governor, including a chair of governors, since 1976.
Neil has a professional reputation for integrity and wisdom, and a track record of assembling and leading high-performing teams.
To build on leadership and management experience, and in-career training on team building and mentoring, Neil completed a Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring accredited via Oxford Brookes University.
In his various roles Neil has worked closely, and at senior level, with head teachers and deputy heads, central and local government, international clients, many companies, and as widely as the worlds of professional football, libraries, and academia.
He was awarded an OBE in 2002 for services to education.
CV
After several years as a secondary school teacher in the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), Neil worked as a local authority education officer, eventually becoming a deputy director in the ILEA. On the abolition of the ILEA he was appointed as director of education for the London Borough of Greenwich. From 1993-2006 he was the founding director of the National Literacy Trust, a charity that works across the UK to raise literacy standards and promote reading.
In all these organisational leadership roles he employed coaching approaches.
Neil has been a frequent international consultant on establishing national strategies to promote reading and literacy, and whilst at the National Literacy Trust he also served on a number of Government advisory committees.
Neil has edited a book on inner-city education, following an HMI invitation to study English/USA urban education issues, and whilst at the NLT, he edited a book on building a literate nation.
Having completed an Oxford Brookes University accredited Diploma in Coaching & Mentoring, Neil now works as a consultant and personal/ organisational development coach and as a volunteer mentor and adviser to a variety of charities.
