Staff Profile

What does your role entail?

I am the Senior Director of the Harris Institute with responsibility for our three DfE-Designated Teaching School Hubs in North East London, South London and South Essex. I oversee our Appropriate Body Services and the Harris Federation Main Provider Status of Apprenticeship Programmes as the named person and Designated Safeguarding Lead. Success for me is meeting the local professional development needs of all our school staff: teachers, leaders and support teams in a uniquely placed-based approach. By investing in our people, and the wider workforce, we are able to help create the best conditions for everyone to excel and the best education for our pupils to flourish.

What are your credentials/experience to your current position?

I was appointed in 2020 to lead one of the Department for Education’s very first Teaching School Hubs in the country and I am delighted that the sector continues to collaborate around these centres for excellence for system-wide improvement. I joined the Harris Federation with a mission: to strengthen and simplify the routes for effective and meaningful professional development. We now support thousands of participants on our courses every day and enable hundreds of schools to recruit and retain the best teachers and leaders in the profession. 

I am an experienced system leader, harnessing the power of partnerships across our region. I pride myself on being school-led and sustaining close relationships with the teachers and leaders in our schools. It is a pleasure to visit all school settings, trusts, local authorities, and professional development partners in Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Croydon, Epsom and Ewell, Haringey, Maldon, Redbridge, Rochford, Southend, Sutton, Thurrock, and Waltham Forest.  Since 2021 I have been a trustee for the Outstanding Essex and Thames Education. I also sit on the strategic board for several local Maths and English Hubs and chair the regional ITT group of TSHs and ITT Providers in the East of England.

I contribute nationally through my work with the National Institute of Teaching’s Research Committee and the Teaching School Hub Council’s Advisory Boards for ITT, ECF, AB and NPQs. I am also a member of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP). 

I followed my passion for English Literature and English Language by studying at the University of East Anglia (BA) before completing my teacher training with King’s College London (PGCE and MA). I was delighted to work on the London Curriculum as an author to the English resources. I am a champion of Creative Arts in the Classroom and have strong links to Shakespeare’s Globe, the National Theatre, and the Royal Ballet and Opera. I am still deeply rooted in my subject and am currently finishing a PhD with KCL, Comparing International Perspectives on the Core Knowledge English Curriculum, whilst continuing to challenge my thinking as an educational researcher. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time inside and outside the classroom as an English teacher and form tutor and developed an exciting extra-curricular partnership with First Story, bringing resident writers into schools to support pupils from KS3 to KS5 to establish their own creative voice. I have been a leader of High Challenge Teaching and Learning, a pastoral Head of House, an Assistant Principal in charge of KS3, a Vice Principal, a Director of a SCITT, and a Head of a Teaching School Alliance working at the forefront of school improvement, policy change, and reforms in schools. I am fortunate to have led organisations through the Ofsted inspection framework to Outstanding. I have spent seventeen years in educational leadership, specialising in the design, delivery, and strategic leadership of professional development, supporting teachers and leaders at every stage of their career. My work focusses closely on evidence-informed practice, particularly the work of the Education Endowment Foundation on improving the attainment and outcomes for all children. 

What is the highlight of your role?

The highlight of my role is being able to connect with a wide range of experts in the field and see such great practice at all levels of the education system. Whether that is a trainee teacher or apprentice reflecting on their journey to become a subject and phase expert, to the quality of their in-school support from their well-trained mentors and dedicated headteachers, to the exceptional system leaders, writing, facilitating, and continuously improving the wide range of training programmes now available. The DfE’s Teaching School Hub strategy has been successful in providing attractive career pathways for staff in the profession. It is a pleasure to work with these communities over a long period of time and to be part of the progress these colleagues are making. 

Memory is the residue of thought.

Daniel Willingham