Judging Panel

I have been a teacher of computer science and ICT for nearly 15 years and a head of computing for the past seven years. I have been involved with CAS since its inception and am a CAS Master teacher and a STEM ambassador. I also have  CPD Quality Mark  as an Associate Facilitator for the NCCE and as part of a government drive to increase the number of computer science specialists have engaged in teaching non-specialists computational thinking and pedagogy.

Carol Allen is an education advisor for ICT and Inclusion in particular supporting LGFL and providing strategic inclusion advice to Local Authorities.  Carol was named as one of the top ten educators for 2018 in the field of educational technology for her inclusion work, see #EdTech2018.

She has taught since 1980 in both mainstream schools – primary and high, and schools for students with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties.  Recognising, as an English specialist, that communication lies at the heart of all effective teaching, the majority of her work has centred on creative and engaging use of technology to support communication in its widest sense.

Carol works in partnership with many companies in the educational technology field as she holds a strong belief in sharing and collaboration across all participants in order to maximise the potential opportunities for her students.  In particular, she has designed products specifically for the Early Years market which are now in use in many schools world-wide – including 25 city tours of Australia.

Workshop/keynote presentations include FETC and  ATIA Florida, Illinois District educators summer conference; Denmark , BETT, Birmingham, Manchester, Geneva, Cologne, London and most recently, a five city road trip round Australia.

Carol is list owner for sld-forum, an international mailing list for practitioners and educators interested in the effective teaching and learning for those with complex barriers to learning.

All work centres on easy to replicate practice which is fun, achievable and creates communication enhancement opportunities.  Twin vices of caffeine and chocolate keep the energy sparky and the ideas flowing!

Martin Bailey has been a Primary School Teacher and Computing Subject Lead for over 20 years in various North East schools. He is currently employed in a part-time role as Digital Enrichment Leader at Lanchester EP Primary School (Co.Durham). Martin also runs his own company (Animate 2 Educate) where he works with schools all over the world delivering pupil workshops and staff training sessions with the aim of bringing the curriculum to life! Martin is also a lecturer at Durham University where he delivers the Computing element of the course to PGCE and BA students.

Rupert is Senior Partner at Cairneagle, the strategy and management consulting firm focused on the education sector both in the UK and worldwide. He specialises in business strategy and investment validation across Edtech, online learning and services to schools. He is also an investor in Edtech businesses in the UK, South East Asia, India and Africa.

Miles is Professor of Computing Education at the University of Roehampton. Prior to joining Roehampton, he spent 18 years in four schools, much of the time as an ICT coordinator and most recently as a head teacher.

He is a board member of Computing At School, the NCCE and the BCS Academy of Computing.

Over the years he has contributed to many computing projects including the national curriculum computing programmes of study, Rising Stars Switched on Computing, Barefoot Computing, and resources for the BBC and Microsoft.

He gives regular keynotes and CPD workshops on computing and education technology in the UK and abroad and has worked on a number of international consultancy projects involving curriculum development and CPD.

Andrea has worked in the education and publishing industries for over 30 years. In 2002 she founded educational publishing company Rising Stars specialising in the creation of books, digital content and online services for schools.  It grew to become one of the largest education publishing businesses in England and it was acquired by Hachette in 2015.  Andrea was BESA chairman from 2010-2013 during which time she oversaw the introduction of the BESA Launchpad service for fledgling edtech companies. She was awarded the BETT Outstanding Achievement Award in 2017.  Andrea continues to support a range of education technology businesses, is director of the Teacher Development Trust and is vice chair of Impact Multi Academy Trust in South London.

Beverly Clarke is a TechWomen100 Award winner (2022) and a leader in education. She was also a computer weekly longlist nominee (2022).  Beverly Clarke, seeks to raise the outcomes for all through understanding of and access to technology. She is an education consultant, published author, writer, coach, mentor, ambassador and trustee.

Previous roles have included serving as the National Community Manager for Computing at Schools (CAS) – part of BCS-The Chartered Institute for IT – responsible for the management and delivery of the  community of practice programme as part of the government funded National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) programme. The NCCE supports teachers in England with resources, training and guidance to teach computing with confidence.

Susanna is the CEO of the Ridgeway Learning Partnership; a community MAT in west Hertfordshire where the vision is to create a seamless learning journey from 3-19 for all students in the locality.    Susanna has had the priviledge of working in education for over 30 years; teaching/examining Design Technology and Business and Economics as well many leadership roles across a five schools.   She has been driven to provide the very best education for all students and keeps this at the forefront of her decision making.    Susanna is a leadership coach and works with colleagues in education as well as industry.  She is also on the ASCL Council supporting and representing Headteachers/CEO’s with the demands of the role.  Susanna has a unique ability to change organisational cultures and bring about sustainable improvements within schools.  Her understanding of leadership and technological innovation in education will bring a useful strand to the judging team.

I celebrate my 20th year in education this year and currently I work as an e learning adviser for Link2ICT, in partnership with Birmingham Authority.  I am passionate about the use of technology to enhance learning.   I qualified as a primary school teacher and spent 14 years teaching in a large inner city primary school in Birmingham. The school became very successful at using technology to support learning and I had the opportunity to become involved in many projects both nationally and internationally.

I also taught the PGCE ICT programme at Birmingham City University from 2005-2010.  I support schools across the West Midlands to encourage them to use technology helping them make best use of technology in school.

I lead on digital technology for teaching and learning at Wimbledon High School, a Microsoft Showcase School. I am particularly interested in working with teachers to evaluate the use of technology for teaching and learning, implementing evidence-based practices. We are developing a culture of innovation and I work closely with STEAM colleagues, in particular on the design of our forthcoming new building, the STEAM Tower. I collaborate on digital strategy with my peers across the Girls’ Day School Trust, most recently contributing to the Futurelearn MOOC, Digital Skills for Teachers. I am also a member of the ISC Digital Strategy Group.

He has had extensive experience in schools and colleges as a teacher,lecturer senior manager, Principal and  Governor. He has worked with Head teachers and senior leaders in developing leadership skills for the National College of Teaching and Leadership and advised DfES on the FE Principals Qualification.

Bob is also Chair of Governors at Northern College and Vice Chair of Governors a Trafford school.

He has been Toshiba’s Education Adviser for 16 years and is a writer, presenter and researcher on mobile learning, digital technologies and next generation learning.

Bob regularly visits the Palo Alto campus of Stanford University to research current developments and is a participant in the “education’s digital future” project and is a judge at the Stanford Graduate School of Education Learning Design with Technology Masters programme.. Bob is also a judge for the BIS/Innovate UK Learning Technology-Design for Impact fund,

He is a Board member of the UfI Trust, YMCA Training and Awards and is a Judge for the BETT Awards and TES FE Awards.

Bob has recently been invited to join the BIS FE and Skills Area based review advisory group trying to reshape the FE landscape towards a more digital future.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Ysanne works with schools, academies, local authorities and education suppliers helping to shape how technology can make a positive difference in the quality of children’s learning and the professionalism of teachers. Recent work has included evaluating new technologies and apps, teacher training, delivering professional development and creating peer-peer online collaboration opportunities using IT.

Ysanne is an experienced judge of EdTech awards including recent WorldDidac Awards and previously Becta and  Bafta Education TV Awards. She often speaks at education conferences sharing experiences from classroom research and observation. She is a Director of Teem Education where she set up TEEM software evaluation service and is now a consultant delivering a range of EdTech projects in early years and beyond. She is a qualified maths teacher, governor of two schools and a Fellow of the RSA.

I have been involved in education for over 30 years. I started in the education section of the Architects Department of the Greater London Council before becoming a Special Needs Assistant at a secondary school while raising my family.

Further roles included community and family learning, International School Links, Education Business Partnership steering group membership and a founding member of our local confederation of schools. I helped set up and manage the school’s Maths and Computing Specialist School programme. I am currently Learning Resource Centre Manager and Careers Coordinator. I am also a school Governor and Academy Director.

Amanda is a Senior Inspector, working for Havering Education Services.  She has 20+ years’ experience working across the primary and secondary sectors, as a teacher, leader and school improvement adviser.  Computing, online safety and effective use of EdTech are her specialist areas.   She is a School Improvement Professional (SIP) and LA Quality Assurance Inspector for primary schools in Havering, supporting and challenging on whole school improvement as well as quality assuring the provision for Early Career Teachers.

Amanda has worked with Rising Stars on the development of the BETT Award winning Switched on Computing, Switched on Online Safety and other titles.  She has worked with the Department for Education to support the creation of the education technology content of the Teacher Workload Reduction Toolkit. Amanda is a NaaceMark Assessor and has assessed and supported primary, secondary and special schools.  Beyond work, Amanda is a governor of a primary school in Essex.

Laura has been a member of the senior leadership team since 2014 and a Principal within Quest Trust for four years.  She has worked across education for over 19 years and started her career as a Learning Mentor. Following this, she worked for five years within the local authority developing the PSHE&C curriculum in schools and developed film resources linked to schemes of work to enhance children’s social and emotional development.

As a Principal and digital lead within the Trust, Laura champions the use of technology and Ed Tech to transform children’s learning as well as reduce teacher workload. She has an unwavering ambition for children to experience learning that balances the talent of the teacher with the sophistication of the technology. Laura believes that it is imperative to strike the balance of the real world with the use of technology to impact on children and provide them with vital digital and life skills needed for an ever changing global climate.

John is The Director of Innovation at the Family of RGS Worcester Schools, a member of the SLT, an Apple Distinguished Educator and a teacher. John ensures that the Four, Apple Distinguished, RGS Worcester Schools remain at the forefront of digital strategy and continue to offer world-leading, award-winning digital teaching and learning.

John regularly delivers presentations on EdTech, CPD, digital strategy, leadership and management and has written for publications such as the TES, BETT Newsletter and Independent Schools Magazine. John has worked in the state, independent and international sectors and continually ensures pupils, parents and colleagues develop and build meaningful digital skills, knowledge and culture.

Nick Joseph is a qualified secondary teacher, with a PhD in medieval European history. Before moving into secondary education, he taught in the HE and FE sectors, and mentored disadvantaged learners across the age range from eleven to post-retirement. He has also worked in an IT company specialising in software for schools.

Nick Kind is a Managing Director in Tyton’s strategy consulting practice and is based in the UK. Nick joined Tyton Partners in April 2019 as a Senior Director, bringing over 20 years of experience in strategy, investment, corporate development and digital product management, with the vast majority of his time concentrated in the education sector.

At SEG Ian focuses on M&A, strategy, and measuring and optimising the impact our services have on learner outcomes..

Following a career in finance which culminated in him chairing the Finance Industry Standards Association, Neil was asked to volunteer his skills in business to what was then the Pre-school Learning Alliance. In 2008, Neil was appointed as CEO. He has been a strident leader of the largest early years membership organisation in the country, overseeing its rebrand to the Early Years Alliance in 2019 – a change that reflected its ambition to give a united voice to all involved in caring and educating young children. Neil has fronted numerous sector campaigns on fair funding and notably the mental health of the early years workforce, Minds Matter.

John has worked in EdTech for over 20 years most recently as Managing Director for Renaissance Learning with responsibility for UK and Australia. Prior to that John spent 5 years as head of sales and marketing for Bromcom Computers PLC. He is a school governor and is a board member of the Southfields Multi Academy Trust.

Dr. Neelam Parmar currently works as Director of Educational Technology, Digital Learning and Innovation at Ashford School and as Educational Technologist at United Learning. She also works as Educational Technologist for the United Learning Group of Schools. Neelam draws on her research and practical experiences of working with technology and regularly presents around the UK and internationally on the role of EdTech in education, providing strategy, roadmaps and CPD programmes for blended and online learning approaches. She is the author of the ‘Digital Literacy in the Primary’ series and ‘Digital Parenting’ book. Neelam is an award-winning professional, international researcher, author, thought leader and speaker on effective technology, pedagogy and curriculum integration within education and is currently engaged with the Department of Education (DfE) EdTech Leadership Group, #EdTechImpact workshops and @WomenEdTech movement.

I am also an educational technologist at United Learning

Bukky Yusuf is a Secondary Science teacher, Science senior leader and consultant. She has spent over a decade in London schools, teaching Science, A level Chemistry and Level 3 BTEC. In her previous school leadership role, she led whole school Ed Tech programme to enhance teaching & learning.

As part of her commitment to increase diverse leadership within education, Bukky uses social media to participate with a number of initiatives including WomenEd and BAMEed. She is a London Regional Leader for WomenEd and is registered as a leadership coach in programme run by the Department for Education.

She presents at regional and national conferences to support the development of educators at all levels. She also champions grass root projects that help colleagues maintain their well-being. Bukky is a prolific member of the Twitter community (@rondelle10_b) and regularly blogs.