Harry James has extensive experience in school governance. He was a National Leader of Governance Advocate for the south of England overseeing the work of NLGs in that area supporting chairs of governors, chairs of trusts and governing and trust boards across the whole range of their duties.

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Harry has chaired boards in a wide range of settings including; a Multi Academy Trust of Special schools, mainstream primary and secondary schools, Alternative Provisions and Pupil Referral Units, and a 6th Form College. He has also chaired a number of Interim Executive Boards.

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He has conducted numerous External Reviews of Governance (ERGs) of all types of school and Multi Academy Trusts. He has been an external advisor for Headteacher recruitment and performance management; and has led various panels such as complaints investigations, disciplinary and appeals.

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Harry is a founder member of IGoVs (Independent Governor Services) which is a team of ex NLGs who support governing boards across the country. He has been a coach and mentor for the Teach First programme, was a contributor to the Department of Education's Governance Handbook, and co-author of the DfE's SEND Governance Review Guide.

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Harry was a trustee of Education Support, a charity that helps all education staff; and is currently chair of West Berkshire Citizens Advice.

Before taking early retirement, he was Director of Communication for The Post Office.

Mary is an experienced school and Trust leader, having held three Headships and served as a CEO.

She is a current Ofsted Inspector with strong expertise in safeguarding, SEND, curriculum, behaviour and leadership development. She currently supports schools across the South East and Midlands with improvement and governance.

Andy is Director of Education for Maiden Erlegh Trust, a family of 11 primary, secondary and special schools across Berkshire and South Oxfordshire. In this role he is responsible for the quality of education provision of around 5000 children and the professional development and support for over 800 staff.

A former secondary RE teacher and Headteacher, Andy has over 20 years of experience in school leadership and school and academy trust development. He holds an MSc in managing school improvement, with a particular research interest in staff professional learning. 

Andy has been a part of a number of governing boards and IEBs and is an experienced contracted Ofsted team inspector. He also supports the wider system as an experienced facilitator on the NPQH programme and is a trained leadership coach. 

Before coming to work for the Local Authority, I worked in a local primary school in a range of roles, from phase lead, to curriculum lead, to headteacher.

In 2024, I came to join West Berkshire Council as our Virtual School Head, with a duty to support the education experiences and outcomes for our children in care and those supported by Children's Services. This role requires me to have a secure and up-to-date knowledge of the education system and pedagogy, inclusive practice in schools, and my work has already improved outcomes for the children in care we support.

I am also currently supporting the Rees Centre (University of Oxford) with their research into relational inclusion in schools, and am one of the lead Virtual School Heads developing an effective self-evaluation tool for Local Authority Virtual Schools, working in collaboration with the National Association for Virtual School Heads (NAVSH) and a regional group of professionals.