About us

Sally is an Associate Director in Public First’s Education Practice where she leads work on schools and post-18 education policy. Her recent work includes the future of state funded tutoring in schools and colleges, the attendance crisis, and a review of the collaborative outreach programme, Uni Connect. Sally joined Public First from London Higher where she was Head of Policy, leading the Policy Team and representing over fifty London HEIs across a range of policy issues. Sally started her career at Dyke House College in Hartlepool and worked on access and participation policy at fair access charity, The Brilliant Club. She has an undergraduate degree from Durham and completed her PhD at UCL on the relationships between schools and universities in supporting progression to higher education. Sally is a trustee of fair access charity, The Elephant Group. 

Dr David Godfrey is an Associate Professor in Education, Leadership and Management at UCL Institute of Education in London and Director of Academic Programmes in The Centre for Educational Leadership. Previously, he was co-director of the Centre for Educational Evaluation and Accountability until 2018 and prior to that he was a lead inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate (PFE). An advocate of research-informed practice in education, his projects and publications include research-engaged schools, school peer review, inspection systems and lesson study. Prior to this David worked for many years as a teacher at home and abroad including at a large sixth form college where he taught Psychology and was an Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning.

Rosna is the Organisational Lead for Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion at NHS England. Her work includes leading transformation through an organisational development (OD) lens at a time of unprecedented change. She joined the NHS in 2007 and has served in a range of roles from commissioning to community health services and working for one of the largest Acute Trusts in the country. Rosna was previously the Director of Implementation for the International Consortium of Health Outcome Measurement (ICHOM), a think tank founded by Harvard Business School. She led collaborations and delivery with international governments, industry and global partners including Danish Regions, Roche and Heart Foundation Australia to drive improvement in healthcare systems and patient outcomes. Rosna has also served as a Trustee for The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London as well as her own former primary school in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Rosna read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford and holds a Masters with Distinction in Postcolonial Studies from Goldsmith’s College, University of London.

Deborah is a Professor of Special Educational Needs, Disability (SEND) and inclusion in the Institute of Education at the University of Derby. Deborah began her career working in an Inner London primary school and her first class included children with disabilities and exceptional needs. This was because the Local Authority (the Inner London Education Authority or ILEA) implemented a progressive policy of inclusion. Deborah became very interested in how mainstream classes could become more inclusive for pupils with SEND and she worked as a SEND Co-ordinator and Deputy Head and her leadership work focussed on inclusion. She has worked as a teacher educator for SEND and inclusion for many years and her specialist research has explored inclusive teacher development in the context of a school/university partnership. Her recent research has investigated school leadership for inclusion and SEND in collaboration with 62 schools in the City of Derby. She has also directed research on policies for inclusion for the Government of Ireland Deborah has also edited a special issue of the British Journal of Learning Disabilities focussing on how education might develop as a more powerful catalyst for social inclusion.

Katie is currently Director of Higher Education and Well-being at the Council of International Schools. Prior to joining CIS, Katie worked as a safeguarding, child protection and employment lawyer in London, where she helped her law firm to establish its Safeguarding Unit. Katie has also worked in the areas of human rights and public interest law in Argentina and Hungary. Katie has recently completed a professional doctorate focusing on the role of legal and cultural norms in building effective school responses to child abuse. Katie is currently a trustee of Childnet International. Katie speaks fluent French and Spanish

Recently retired senior civil servant at the Department for Education. Peter’s roles in the civil service covered a wide range of policy, delivery and finance positions.  These include: policy on counter extremism in the education sector; regulation of independent schools, setting standards, commissioning inspections, and taking regulatory and enforcement action when schools failed to meet the standards; proposals on the oversight of home education, to ensure all children receive a suitable education; setting policy and guidance on safeguarding in schools; establishing academies to replace underperforming schools; new arrangements for barring unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults; and reforming higher education student finance policy.  Peter has worked with a broad variety of stakeholders and external partners, including public, private and voluntary sector employers, nationally and internationally. Education: Peter holds a degree in mathematics and a PhD in theoretical physics.