Julie Sargent, English Consultant

Julie is an established English consultant with an extensive knowledge of the curriculum, assessment and effective learning and teaching approaches. She has a range of experience of teaching in primary schools across both Oxfordshire and Devon, including key roles in piloting and developing many aspects of English across the full Early Years and primary range.

Julie has designed and delivered many professional development programmes and training materials to support schools in English. Currently, she works alongside Oxfordshire Teaching School Alliance (OTSA), Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust (ODST) and many partnerships and MATs. Work includes delivering training, curriculum development, working alongside senior leaders and collaborative teaching experiences.

In addition, she has worked alongside a range of publishers, reviewing and developing education materials.

Most importantly, her passion and enthusiasm for engaging children in the curriculum is seen through her innovative and creative approaches, which inspire both teachers and learners. More recently, she has joined the ‘Opening Doors’ team and is an advocate for using high-quality texts to enrich the English curriculum. She is a co-author of Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary English: Pitching high and including all.

As a firm believer in working alongside schools, Julie is keen to ensure that support provided is bespoke to individual school needs.


Nathan Crook, Maths Consultant

Prior to becoming a maths consultant, Nathan taught children in Years 1-6 across three Oxfordshire primary schools, including those in both urban and rural settings. He therefore understands the nature of teaching mixed-age classes. During this time, he qualified as a Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST). It consequently led to him becoming part of the National College for Teaching and Leadership’s ‘small schools making an impact’ programme.

Driven by his passion for helping to ensure that all children access mathematics learning to the full, Nathan has more recently worked both in-person and remotely as an NCETM accredited independent maths consultant to support schools across the country in delivering high quality teaching and learning. As well as providing training, he has continued to work alongside classes and groups of children, as well as their teachers and support staff, to explore how they learn best.

Nathan also believes in the power of mentoring and coaching, around which he has refined his skills whilst working to complete the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) programme. He now provides leadership training to support schools with growing capacity, and is able to connect advice given with the latest Ofsted agenda

In addition to his day job, Nathan is an active member of the National Association of Mathematics Advisers (NAMA), which develops his understanding about the national mathematics landscape. He has previously sat on the Executive of the mathematics association until the summer of 2022.

Nathan currently works with a number of organisations, Multi Academy Trusts (MATs), individual schools and Maths Hubs across the country. As part of his work with Maths Hubs, he networks as a Local Leader of Maths Education (LLME).


Joe Burbank, Associate Maths Consultant

Joe has over 18 years of experience in primary education and possesses an in-depth understanding of mathematics teaching in the EYFS, KS1, and KS2. He served as the Assistant Headteacher at Stockham Primary School for 11 years before transitioning to a full-time role as an independent maths consultant. Throughout his career, Joe has held numerous leadership positions, including Acting Headteacher, Key Stage Leader and School Governor. His contributions were instrumental in Stockham Primary School achieving an Outstanding rating from Ofsted in 2019.

Joe believes that maths is an exciting, interconnected subject that all children can access, enjoy, and achieve in, regardless of their prior experiences. He strongly believes that all children need to master key mathematical knowledge and concepts, and being able to reason mathematically, make connections, and solve problems are the keys to long-term success.

Joe holds qualifications including the MaST (Maths Specialist Teacher Programme), NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship), and NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) Professional Development Lead Qualification. He serves as a Local Leader of Maths Education and facilitates Work Groups for the BBO, Mobius, and Enigma Maths Hubs. Additionally, Joe provides support to schools across Oxfordshire and beyond enhancing their maths leadership capacity and teaching and learning.

Experiences could include:
Leadership:
- Supporting senior and middle leaders with their analysis of performance data, quality of teaching and learning and standards of pupil’s work.
- Subject Leader Meetings.

Teaching and Learning:
- Whole School and individual professional development programmes.
- Team teaching sessions.
- Parent workshops.

www.joeburbankmaths.com


Nilofer Khan, Leadership and Management Consultant

Nilofer is an experienced and inspirational professional, highly skilled in school improvement.

For the last 13 years, she has been Headteacher of a very successful junior school in South Oxfordshire, initially taking the school from Satisfactory to securing a Good Ofsted judgment with outstanding features. During her tenure, the school has had three successful inspections.

Nilofer has extensive experience in leadership and management, learning and teaching and in assessment. Prior to taking on her Headship, Nilofer worked as a Lead Literacy Consultant and School Improvement Leader for Oxfordshire. These roles involved: working with schools to improve standards in learning, teaching and assessment; working closely with leadership teams and governors to raise standards and conducting Headteacher Performance Management. As a Headteacher, she has continued to provide school improvement support and has worked alongside senior leadership teams, middle leaders, teachers and governors, which has resulted in dramatically improved school systems and educational outcomes for all pupils. She helps schools to analyse their current situation and offers support tailored to the specific needs of the school and its pupils.

When working with schools, Nilofer provides the relevant balance of challenge and support, empowering leaders with renewed confidence to move their schools on. Nilofer has an infectious passion for education, with a determination to ensure every child is given the best all rounded education available. She has a relentless drive for school improvement and curriculum development.

In addition to the wealth of experience Nilofer has, she has also worked with schools in Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai, in reviewing their school systems and delivering training for school leaders and teachers.


Helen Lynch, Associate Maths Consultant

Helen Lynch is a qualified primary school teacher with senior management experience both in Maths and SEND. She has taught extensively across the whole primary age range in London and Oxfordshire. As a qualified Numbers Count teacher, Helen successfully led Numbers Count interventions and supported Teaching Assistants who led other Numbers Count programmes. Using her SEND experience, she specialises in diagnostic assessments of children in maths and devising learning plans for both progression and depth for all children across the attainment range. Helen worked in Oxfordshire schools as a Leading Maths Teacher (LMT) using her expertise to coach and improve subject knowledge in maths for teachers and support staff. More recently she led the Teacher Research Group (TRG) for mastery in her school leading sustainable Professional Development and lesson study with a main focus on reasoning and problem solving, independent learning and growth mindset. She has successfully completed her NCETM Professional Development Lead qualification in 2019. Helen currently works with a number of schools - both supporting teachers in improving maths lesson design in a developmental team-teaching setting, as well as running training for staff.


Sarah Gristwood,  Consultant

Sarah Gristwood, Consultant

Sarah has experience of working in primary, secondary, mainstream and special schools as a teacher, SENCo and school leader. Her commitment to inclusive school leadership and her creativity in finding solutions has defined her professional journey. Her leadership centres around everyone belonging and a belief that in order to truly overcome barriers to learning and meet the needs of children and young people, inclusion belongs at the heart of a school and should thread through the fabric of everything and everyone.

Alongside her teaching experience, Sarah is an experienced consultant and trainer. She has worked for the charity nurtureuk for a number of years, delivering their training courses and providing support and consultancy to schools as part of the London and Kent Violence Reduction Unit programmes. 

Most recently, Sarah has worked alongside her friend and colleague Sara Zumbuhl to establish Hearts and Heads - a relational, therapeutic and educational consultancy service. Together, Sarah and Sara bring a unique perspective to inclusive school improvement. They are passionate about supporting schools to reframe and rethink their approaches to behaviour, complex needs and mental health and wellbeing. Find out more at www.heartsandheads.com or contact us to arrange a free initial consultation hello@heartsandheads.com