Platform Speakers

Phil Neal – Managing Director: SIMS, Capita Children’s Services

To many of you, Phil will need no introduction.  An ex-teacher, Phil has been with Capita since its inception in 1994 and is the vision behind the SIMS management information system.  Responsible for business strategy and the future development of SIMS, Phil is well placed to understand the SIMS customer base, spending up to 50% of his working time with schools and Local Authorities.  His relationship with SIMS stretches back to 1985 when he and colleagues at Bedfordshire Local Authority developed a system that would help schools deal with the administration of managing pupils records. This was the software that eventually became SIMS.

Nadine Dereza – Conference Host

Nadine is an award winning journalist and is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced presenters in business and finance. She has presented for CNN, Simply Money, BBC, SABC and Summit TV.
Nadine has chaired and facilitated conferences and live events for a vast range of diverse businesses and organisations. As well as interviewing many CEO’s on their company’s financial results, she has also presented reports on all the major business and financial stories.

Jane Lodge – Data and Assessment Strategy Manager, East Riding Local Authority

Jane started teaching in 1981, in a middle school in North Tyneside and has since taught in a 13-18 school, a primary school, an 11-16 school and an 11-18 school.

From her most recent teaching post as Head of English in a challenging secondary school, through KS3/4 English Consultant, Senior Adviser for English in N Yorkshire and now the Use of Data and Assessment Strategy Manager in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Jane has maintained and developed an interest and belief in the power of data to effect change. Specifically, the power of knowledge about what a pupil could possibly do against a detailed knowledge of what they are currently doing, to inform teaching and learning that is personalised to that pupil.

She is now a full member of the CIEA and is an accredited School Improvement Partner currently working with 12 primary schools.

Qualifications
B A Philosophy
M Ed Literacy
PGCE

Publications
Letts – KS3 English revision guide
Progress in English and various other contributions for the National Strategy 

Edward P Gibson - Chief cyber Security Adviser (CSA), Microsoft Ltd UK

Ed is the primary spokesperson for Microsoft Ltd UK on all cyber, hi-tech, internet security matters.  This includes serving as the senior adviser to Microsoft’s customers, partners, government elites, and the public on how to best respond to the current security environment - from internal leakage of intellectual property to best practices for online cyber security - and how to improve their security through Microsoft's solutions and services.  One of the key skills Ed brings to Microsoft is his ability to forge and maintain strategic alliances across public and private sector organisations in an international environment.  He is the link between Microsoft and industry specialists, government and academia, law enforcement and commerce, facilitating the sharing of security knowledge between these disparate groups.

Ed’s knowledge and experience was gained through a 20-year career as a Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  He specialised in investigating economic espionage, complex money laundering, cyber fraud schemes, and intellectual property theft.  From 2000-2005, Ed was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in London as the FBI's Assistant Legal Attaché in the UK and Ireland responsible for all FBI Hi-Tech, Internet Extortion and Blackmail, Cyber Terrorism, Infrastructure Protection, Intellectual Property, and Crimes against Children investigations.  His focus on how criminals exploit the internet and his investigative abilities have made him an ideal figurehead for Microsoft's efforts in secure computing.

Before his appointment to the FBI, Ed served for 5-years as a lawyer in the General Counsel’s Office for a multi-national corporation based in the U.S.  He is a qualified Solicitor in England and Wales, completed a 2-year ‘computing’ program at Oxford University, serves on several technology association Advisor Boards and Steering Committees, is a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society.  Since taking on his role with Microsoft UK, Ed has lectured widely on world-wide cyber-threats and internet crime, social networks, and e-business & risk management.  He is a sought after speaker given his ability to bring current security problems to life and make IT personal.  Contact Ed by e-mail at EdGibson@Microsoft.com

Roger Green – Head of Service, Information Sharing and OneVision, Cambridgeshire County Council

Following 14 years secondary teaching, with pastoral and curriculum responsibility, Roger took on a new role within the Local Authority at the time of TVEI, focussing on the implementation of devolved staff training and development. In subsequent years he developed responsibility for delivering support and guidance to headteachers, school staff and governors in the use and interpretation of pupil performance data and self-evaluation. This provided the challenge and significant scope to enable the development of expertise and establishment of excellent working relationships with school, local authority and DCSF colleagues.

Restructuring to create Cambridgeshire Children and Young Peoples Service provided the opportunity to take on the role of Head of Information Sharing and OneVision. Current work is focussed on managing all aspects of delivering information sharing to support Every Child Matters, including: provision of Information sharing guidance, resources and training, strategic development and implementation of Capita One (Cambridgeshire Children’s Service System), ContactPoint and early adopter planning for national eCAF to children’s workforce practitioners and partners across Cambridgeshire.

Matthew Nall – MIS Programme Manager, Cambridgeshire Education ICT Service

For the last 10 years Matthew has been responsible for managing the support of Management Information Systems in Cambridgeshire's 250 schools, principally SIMS.  Prior to that, he had a successful teaching career in several schools and on moving to Cambridgeshire was responsible for providing technical support to Cambridgeshire's central teams in the then Education Department.

Matthew has also worked with DCSF on the CBDS project board including work on school workforce and maintains close links with colleagues through ICES.  His main focus is on leading strategy for the use of school MIS in Cambridgeshire, and keeping the profile of schools' use of MIS high.

Richard Randall – Principal Adviser, e-learning and Information Management, Somerset County Council

After Graduating from London University in Botany and gaining a PGCE from Exeter Richard started teaching in a 14-18 secondary school in Newquay, Cornwall.  During 12 years at the school he was given responsibility for curriculum and administration and started to programme a Commodore PET to support this work.  Richard took a one year secondment to evaluate and implement Management Information Systems for Cornish schools, this turned into a permanent post after 2 years.  Richard headed up the SIMS Support Team for 10 years until being transferred into central IT to Programme Manage the implementation of new Financial and HR/Payroll systems for the authority.  After 2 years he was transferred back to Education (with the SIMS Team) as Information Manager assuming responsibility for Capita EMS as well as schools administration IT and the Information and Statistics Unit.  In 2000 he became Chair of the South West Grid for Learning.

Richard took up the post of Principal Adviser and Group Manager ICT with Somerset County Council in 2001 which added the Curriculum ICT support team to the other strands; this allowed the formation of a single group which could concentrate on delivery of an agreed strategy.  Richard still has this role today but the Outdoor Education Service, The Somerset Music Service and Business Transformation have been added over the years.

Current work includes the implementation of the Somerset Learning Platform and implementation of Capita ONE as a single system for the Children and Young People’s Directorate. 

Russell Andrews - Director Education and Planning, PfS

Russell is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on school transformation and design. He works widely with a range of educational and construction partners on behalf of Partnerships for Schools and the Building Schools for the Future programme.

As Director, Education and Planning, at PfS, Russell oversees a team of education directors, ICT advisers, design managers and sports advisers responsible for supporting local authorities as they bring together their education, estate and design strategy for BSF and develop this through their capital programme.

Russell has worked at a senior level in local authorities on school effectiveness and estate planning and prior to that taught for 16 years. Before entering teaching Russell trained and worked in the engineering sector as a graduate design engineer, engaged in a number of civil and nuclear construction projects.

He is a governor at a school that has recently been through a successful re-build programme and has a strong interest in the challenges of transforming learning and inclusion for all learners, particularly in the inner-city context.