Leaders in education

Leaders in Education You Should Follow in 2023

At Edurio, we spend a lot of time meeting, reading about, working with, and engaging with some of the most impactful educationalists and school & trust leaders. This year we have decided to share 20 of these School/Trust CEOs and 20 thought leaders in education to follow on social media in 2023.

Don’t miss out! Read our curated list of must-read education leadership books for 2024.

20 Thought Leaders in Education to Follow in 2023

Here’s a list of 20 thought leaders and social media influencers with which more people should follow and interact in 2023. Ordered alphabetically by first names.

Amjad is a teacher, trainer, TEDx speaker and Senior Leader. Amjad has spent his teaching career working in challenging, diverse schools. He is a qualified SENDCO and was also trained as an Advanced Skills Teacher in Teaching and Learning. Before stepping into the world of education, he spent time as Play Worker and Teaching Assistant in Young Offender Prisons.

Rebecca Francis CBE FAcSS FBA specialises in educational inequalities. Since January 2020, she has been the Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Before joining the EEF, she was Director of the UCL Institute of Education at University College London. She has also been the Director of Education at the Royal Society of Arts (2010–12) and an advisor to the Education Select Committee of the House of Commons since 2015.

Bennie is an award-winning speaker, writer and trainer on diversity in schools and the curriculum and a deputy headteacher. Alongside supporting schools to diversify their curriculum, she is the author of ‘A Little Guide for Teachers: Diversity in Schools’ (Sage Education) and has been featured in educational books on the topic of leadership, diversity and English teaching.

David Weston is the CEO of the Teacher Development Trust, and Former Chair of the Department for Education CPD group. He is an author, school governor, a former secondary maths and physics teacher and a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Emma Knights is the CEO of the National Governance Association. Before that, she worked in several roles in the voluntary sector, particularly in the Legal Services Commission, Citizens Advice and the Local Government Association. She also leads projects on child poverty and educational attainment. Emma has written on a wide range of topics and is a co-author of the Chair’s Handbook.

Falling pupil numbers is a big issue for governing boards, some already overseeing primary mergers, and not just in London. Will become a more common topic at leadership strategy days in 2023 https://t.co/cOkB1wBDYZ

— Emma Knights #VisibleGovernance (@NGAEmmaK) January 7, 2023

Geoff Barton is a founding fellow of the English Association and writes for various newspapers and journals. He was a longstanding member of the ASCL Council and became General Secretary of ASCL in April 2017. Geoff most recently edited ‘If I Were Education Secretary…’: Views from the Frontline.

As one of the more prominent EDI leaders in education, Hannah is a leadership & development consultant, coach and trainer, a DfE coach for the Women Leading in Education initiative, and an advocate for flexible working. Hannah specialises in diversity, equity and inclusion and is the Company Director of Diverse Educators.

James Pope is the founder of HeadsUp4HTs. He has extensive education experience as a teacher, leader and mentor. He is also a Director at EInspir and an Exec. Director at Wholeeducation.

I am endlessly hopeful and positive about the work of our education system and the impact on young people… reinforced over the last 48 hours through conversation with wonderful organisation leaders in the @bigchange_ and @WholeEducation networks… inspiring people!!

— James Pope #HeadsUp4hts (@popejames) December 8, 2022

Jeffrey Boakye is an author, broadcaster, educator and writer with an interest in issues surrounding education, race, masculinity and popular culture. Originally from Brixton in London, Jeffrey taught English to 11- to 18-year-olds for 15 years. Jeffrey is the author of several books, co-host of BBC Radio 4’s double award winning Add to Playlist, Senior Teaching Fellow at Manchester Institute of Education, an occasional journalist and provides CPD and student sessions at schools and universities and talks for companies.

Kate helps schools and other education organisations better evaluate what they do and prioritise what makes the most significant difference for young people. She also co-founded the Leading Women’s Alliance.

Leora Cruddas is the Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts – the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England. In recent years Leora has advised successive governments and sits on several Department for Education Advisory bodies, including the Head Teacher Standards Review Group.

Loic Menzies is a researcher and policy specialist. He was previously CEO of the think-tank ‘The Centre for Education and Youth’. Loic has publications around educational marginalisation, the teaching workforce and accountability. Most notably, his edited collection “Young People on the Margins” was published by Routledge in 2021.

As Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza takes on a crucial role, sitting at the heart of the Government, delivering for children, and championing their voices and needs.

Good to contribute to #fileon4 about warnings the cost of living crisis will see more children going into care. Supporting families & early family help matter so much & I share why we must do more for families – & especially those with disabled children. #FamilyReview https://t.co/3Nar6Ev32q

— Dame Rachel de Souza (@Rachel_deSouza) December 21, 2022

Ruth is Head of School in Plymouth, England. She is an experienced senior leader, trainer and coach and the founder of @DisabilityEdUK. In addition to this, Ruth is a National Leader for WomenEdEngland and has written a chapter on leading with a disability for the forthcoming book ‘Being 10% Braver’. Ruth has written a number of articles on disability for various education and disability magazines. She has recently become Vice Chair of Governors in a local secondary school and she hopes through DisabilityEdUK we will attract more disabled people to governing bodies and Trust Boards.

Russel is the CEO of TeachFirst, particularly interested in unlocking the potential of all children to ensure that opportunities in life are not predetermined by wealth or background. Russel was the National Association of Head Teachers General Secretary until September 2017.

Sufian Sadiq is a passionate activist within the educational landscape, particularly around equity and inclusion. Sufian is the Director of the Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust. He is also a Fellow and Board Member of the Chartered College of Teaching and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors.

Steve Chalke MBE is a British Baptist minister, the founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, a former United Nations Special Adviser on Human Trafficking, is a social activist. He is also the author of a large number of books and articles as well as a former presenter and now regular contributor and commentator on television, radio and other media.

Stephen is the Chief Executive of the Institute of School Business Leaders. Previously a finance director in the UK education system, Stephen has a 20-year career history in operations and finance, working at a senior level in both the public and private sectors.

Tom Rees is the Executive Director of Programmes at Ambition Institute. Tom served on the Regional School Commissioner’s headteacher board and is a trustee of two Multi Academy Trusts. In 2019, he was appointed by the Department of Education to the Headteachers’ Standards review group.

‘A Good Life’ argues that whilst the Green Paper is a accurate in identifying lots of challenges within the SEND system, there is a more fundamentally important challenge the Green Paper does not yet recognise…

— Tom Rees (@TomRees_77) December 12, 2022

Viv has been in the education profession for over thirty years. She is a former primary Headteacher and over twenty years ago was one of the youngest Heads in the country to turn around a failing primary school.

20 school trust or MAT CEOs to follow in 2023

Throughout 2022, Edurio engaged with many CEOs and trust & school leaders. During that time, we collated a list of CEOs who we found interesting and active on social media. This list brings together 20 inspirational leaders in education who also happen to be school or trust CEOs worth following on social media in 2023.

Wayne is the CEO of Greenwood Academies Trust, which consists of 37 open academies. GAT is a ‘not for profit’ organisation, and any income received is spent for the benefit of our pupils.

Cathie is the CEO of REAch2 Academy Trust, the largest primary-only academy trust in the country. They currently support 60 primary academies across England, all of whom share the trust’s mission to provide the best possible education for our young people.

At the heart of this mission is the unshakeable belief that every child deserves a rich, rewarding education, regardless of their background or geographical location.

Martyn is the CEO of the Outwood Grange Academies Trust, an education charity and not-for-profit sponsor of primary, junior and secondary academies. The Trust is recognised nationally as one of the highest-performing families of schools in the North of England.

So very proud of all the students and staff @OAEasingwold … from Special Measures to OUTSTANDING at first @Ofstednews inspection. Great school getting superb outcomes and supporting children from 11-18 in @northyorkscc

— Sir Martyn Oliver (@martyneoliver) September 20, 2022

Debbie is the CEO of The Island Learning Trust, which consists of three primary schools. The trust is committed to creating a learning community in which children are perseverant, resilient risk-takers who take responsibility for their learning and develop their critical, creative and social abilities fully.

Jonny is the CEO of The Education Alliance Multi Academy Trust, an established MAT developing collaborative partnerships with academies across the Humber region.

We regularly partner with various leaders in education to discuss aspects of pupil learning experience, staff wellbeing, and parental engagement. Follow us on social media to get the latest updates on our research first!

Benedick Ashmore-Short

CEO of The Park Academies Trust (5-school trust)

Topics to follow for: community ethos, educational change & news

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

Cassie Buchanan OBE

CEO of Charter Trust (6-school trust)

Topics to follow for: educational research, leadership in schools, community ethos, educational development

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

Dan Morrow

CEO of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (large MAT)

Topics to follow for: educational resources, UK educational policy, leadership in schools

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

A day of staff collaborating, connecting and challenging each other.
Days like these can fuel a whole term.
Feeling very lucky indeed to work with such brilliant colleagues across @DartmoorMAT

— Dan Morrow (@MoreMorrow) January 3, 2023

Gavin Booth

CEO of Infinity Academy (large MAT)

Topics to follow for: leadership in schools, educational successes, teacher training, CPD

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

Jon Coles

CEO of United Learning (large MAT)

Topics to follow for: sports, leadership in schools, trust management

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

Edurio has been supporting United Learning in feedback collection since 2016. Leaders in education as much as true pioneers of stakeholder feedback — our partners within United Learning have revealed that “What’s been really interesting is that sometimes it’s given us an insight into an issue we thought we understood very well“.

Lesley Gwinnett

CEO of Endeavour Learning MAT

Topics to follow for: leadership in schools, equality in schools, inclusive education

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Liz Robinson

CEO of Big Education (3-school trust)

Topics to follow for: educational politics, inclusive education

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Luke Sparkes

CEO of Dixons Academy Trust

Topics to follow for: workplace culture, educational research, leadership in schools, inclusive education

Never has our mission @DixonsAcademies been more important:

To challenge educational and social disadvantage in the North.

Many minds, one mission! https://t.co/JFxNpjcZhA

— Luke Sparkes (@ldsparkes) October 22, 2022

Marie Sweetlove

CEO of Fortis Trust (2-school trust)

Topics to follow for: educational politics, literacy in education

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Paul Smith

CEO of White Horse Federation

Topics to follow for: leadership in schools, school trust communities, educational insights

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Rebecca Boomer-Clark

CEO of AET

Topics to follow for: educational policies, school management, leadership in schools, work-life balance

Richard Gill

CEO of Arthur Terry Learning Partnership

Topics to follow for: leadership in schools

Follow on Twitter
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Rowena Hackford

CEO of Astrea (large MAT)

Topics to follow for: leadership in schools, educational resources

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Sajid Gulzar OBE

CEO of PACT

Topics to follow for: leadership in schools, UK educational politics, community ethos

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

Stuart Lock

CEO of Advantage Schools (4-school trust)
Topics to follow for: leadership in schools, career opportunities, school culture

Follow on Twitter
Follow on LinkedIn

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