Meet the Hub Team

Andrew has many years of experience working as a Teacher of Social Sciences in London and in York. He is obsessed with learning about cognitive Psychology and areas of social influence. In Sociology, he has a keen interest in social inequality linked to health care and education. Andrew has carried out a number of roles in the past such as Deputy Head of 6th Form, Head of Department, SLT and ITE Lead. In his spare time he loves spending time with his wife, two children and wider family. He likes to cycle through the wolds and the stunning countryside of Ryedale near to where he lives, although this is increasingly becoming more of a challenge!

“It’s a privilege to work with our TSH team and key partners across the region. Together we serve our staff through high-quality training and development where we support them to always be informed by evidence and empowered to succeed. Our young people deserve the best of us and our goal is to ensure they live a happy and fulfilled life.”

• ayoung@ahs.pmat.academy

Fiona is passionate about pastoral care and professional education to support students, teachers and leaders to be the best they can be. Her career in people development began more than two decades ago, developing coaching and mentoring programmes in industry and education across North America and Europe. She has been teaching for 17 years across the state and independent sector as a business and enterprise teacher, boarding housemistress and Assistant Director of Sixth Form. Fiona continues to have a real love of learning, having secured a masters qualification in Education and International Politics, she is currently completing her NPQ in Executive Leadership and continues to teach Business and Enterprise across KS4 and 5. As well as enjoying quality time with her son, husband and two dogs, she enjoys yoga, pottery, sewing, jewellery design and being outside as much as possible.

“I’m delighted to be working collaboratively and collegiately with fantastic colleagues from across our region, to give our young people a world-class start to life through the gateway of an excellent education.”

• fhopkinson@ahs.pmat.academy

I’ve worked at the National Curriculum Council, DfE, University of York, a pharmaceutical training and consultancy company, Burnholme Community College and then Pathfinder Teaching School Alliance which is now a teaching school hub. Somehow I’ve always ended up working in education without actually trying to work in education.

I’ve worked at Pathfinder for nine years and the thing I love about my job is supporting people! I love being able to answer questions and solve problems. I enjoy assisting applicants who apply for teacher training, seeing them through their year of training and then supporting them through their ECT induction years and onto becoming amazing teachers.

Out of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and travelling. I also have a love of rugby (watching not playing) and volunteer at York Knights Rugby League on match days. Again, this involves supporting people!

• lthompson@ahs.pmat.academy

Alison is a passionate enthusiast and advocate for primary education. Based on the coast, but having worked for school advisory services mainly across York and North Yorkshire as well as on national initiatives across her (so far!) forty year career, she has particular expertise in the teaching of reading and in assessment.

• abailey@ahs.pmat.academy

Bev has been in the teaching profession for over 30 years working in the Primary sector.

She is currently Deputy Head at Clifton with Rawcliffe Primary School as well as working part time for 5 years at the Teaching School in delivering ITT and NPQ programmes.

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family and her real passion is reading pleasure.

” I really enjoy being part of the Teaching School team and being involved in the ongoing development of current and future teachers”

• bwright@cwr.pmat.academy

After a very varied background working in accountancy, architecture and hospitality, I’ve worked at Pathfinder for just over seven years, providing administrative and logistical support to the Pathfinder Teaching School Hub. I really enjoy working as part of a team, interacting with teachers and support staff across the region and helping in whatever way I can. As someone who loves learning new things, it is very satisfying being involved in the delivery of CPD and NPQ events and it is affirming to see how much participants benefit and gain from their CPD and NPQ sessions.

Outside of the office, I enjoy rowing on the Ouse, baking, singing and spending time with my family. I also volunteer for local holiday youth orchestra, Yorchestra, another place where I spend lots of time meeting people, answering questions and finding solutions!

• jcole@ahs.pmat.academy

• obagnall@ahs.pmat.academy

John entered the teaching profession after many years in Church ministry, to share his passion for teaching RE. As well as being a classroom teacher, he had held various leadership responsibilities, across a number of schools, including being a subject lead for PSHE and Department Lead for RE and Philosophy, before moving into Senior Leadership as Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning. In recent years, he has gained considerable experience as a regional lead for the delivery of NPQ’s, first with Inspiring Leaders and now with Pathfinder.

“The NPQs offer an exciting opportunity for schools to collaborate across the region to further improve teaching and leadership in our schools, so that pupils can be taught by an expert teacher and led by expert leaders, who are informed by current, evidence-based learning approaches, designed to be adapted to particular school contexts.”

John is still a serving Church minister of a thriving Church in Whitby. He is married to Lisa and together, they have five children and two grandchildren, with five children. John also has a passion for football, being a lifelong, and long suffering but ever hopeful supporter of Newcastle United, convinced that the best is yet to come!

Before joining Pathfinder, Catherine was a primary school Headteacher on the East coast and has over twenty years of teaching experience. Catherine’s passion lies in supporting novice teachers to develop their craft and make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people. Outside of school, Catherine enjoys spending time with her family and canine best friend, Bones and she can often be found reading or watching a gritty crime drama.

“I feel privileged to support the development of Early Career Teachers across our region. It is wonderful to see the quality and dedication of those new to our profession and the impact they are having on young lives.”

Emma-Jane has worked in the Education sector for over 25 years.  After graduating from The University of Durham in 1996 she shared her love of the Spanish language to students of all ages in Malaga Spain.

After returning to the UK she worked in the printing industry for a short time, before returning to education, including a spell within the early years sector.

When the DfE launched The Teaching School’s Initiative in 2011, Emma-Jane was given the opportunity to support the development of a Teaching School on the North Yorkshire Coast. Teaching Schools marked a shift towards more school-centred training and development and were a pre-cursor to the Teaching School Hubs we have today.

Emma-Jane became the Lead for Scarborough Teaching Alliance, one of the few Alliances to be led by a maintained Nursery School.  She was also successful in the application for Scalby School to be designated as a Teaching School in 2016.

Currently working across all schools in her current Trust role focusing on teacher professional development and Initial Teacher Training, she is also seconded to Pathfinder Teaching School Hub as the CPD lead.

Outside of school life Emma-Jane enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and her two French Bulldogs.  She is also a keen gym goer, enjoys running and watching football.

Andrew’s previous teaching experience includes being both a Head of History and an Advanced Skills Teacher before moving into Senior Leadership. Even as a Headteacher he remains passionate about his teaching of History at both GCSE and A-Level, with American and Russian history favourite areas of study. Outside of school Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and as a family they enjoy travelling as much as possible. Andrew is an enthusiastic runner, a committed, if ageing, five-a-side footballer, and a lifelong fan of Newcastle United.

“I am extremely proud to be the Headteacher of Archbishop Holgate’s School and am passionate about helping all our students achieve and succeed. I do firmly believe that high quality education opens up a world of opportunities for young people and as teachers it is our responsibility to deliver the very best lessons each and every day.”