Our judging process is independent, robust and peer-led, with all judges volunteering their time to support the Awards. The panel is comprised of experienced professionals from across the ITT sector and wider education community, including current practitioners and individuals with recognised expertise in teacher training and development.
We are sincerely grateful to our judges for their commitment and professionalism in ensuring a fair, thorough and credible process. Their contribution plays a vital role in recognising and celebrating the outstanding work taking place across the sector, something that is particularly important in the current landscape.
INNOVATION IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Victoria Hedlund
AI Bias Girl, Researcher and Consultant
Victoria is a thought leader, researcher and consultant focused on fair AI use in education. Known as the ‘AI Bias Girl,’ she creates practical awareness and mitigation strategies for educators and leaders, using her research of emergent AI bias in educational contexts. She is a major voice in AI pedagogical alignment and has contributed to the updated DfE and Chartered College Safe and Effective Use of Generative AI in Education Guidance, and to the British Computing Society's AI course ‘AI Confidence’. She is editor of AI Bias in Education and author of 100 Quick GenAI Prompts for Teachers and Educators. She sits on the advisory board for the Institute of AI Education, is a member of the Centre for Digital Information Literacy in Schools Expert Working Group, and is part of Oxford University's AIEOU network. She convenes the Teacher Education AI Network (TEANs).
Keith Ford
Responsible Officer: ITT and Training, Somerset Council and Interim Chair Elect of NASBTT
Keith has over 25 years’ experience in primary teaching. As a class teacher, middle leader, senior leader, Head teacher of both small rural school and large Primary School including Autism Centre. Across his career he has always supported Initial Teacher Training and Education, so to be leading on ITTE at Somerset SCITT is a real privilege.
Keith has been a governor of various primary and secondary schools alongside his professional roles, giving him an understanding of the strategic importance as well as the accountability of governance.
Being a trustee for NASBTT is a real honour. The opportunity to represent trainees, mentors, and providers, providing a Southwest voice to the sector alongside championing ITTE at every possibility.
IDEA AWARD
(INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND ACCESSIBILITY)
Yamina Bibi
Education Project Specialist, Chiltern Teaching School Hub
Yamina Bibi is an award winning former Deputy Headteacher, author and English Teacher from London. Yamina is currently the Chiltern Teaching School Lead for Strategic Partnerships and School Transformation leading a range of projects including the Mission 44 funded Increasing Diversity in ITT project in partnership with Being Luminary and Chartered College of Teaching.
Her work on school transformation includes working nationally with schools as part of Department for Education’s RISE team to raise standards and outcomes in targeted DfE schools.
As well as this, Yamina is nationally and internationally recognised Teaching and Learning Consultant empowering schools to enhance teacher and leader practice and implement equity led policies and processes to support all students and staff to thrive.
As author of ‘The Little Guide for Teachers: Thriving in Your First Years of Teaching’, a podcast host and a contributing writer to a number of other publications, Yamina’s impact is far reaching and wide across the sector. This has led to her receiving numerous accolades such as the Times Educational Supplement’s Team English of the Year, We Are The City’s Rising Star Award in Education and Academia, Jack Petchey’s Leader Award and Pearson’s Unsung Hero.
Alongside her writing, Yamina is a Founding Member of South Asian Educators’ Network, a Belonging Effect Associate Trainer, Bell Foundation Licensed Practitioner and #WomenEd Network Leader driving diversity, equity and inclusion across the education sector.
Jagdeep Pabla
Founder of the Education Workforce Foundation
Jagdeep Pabla is Director and Founder of the Education Workforce Foundation, a national platform focused on strengthening the education workforce by bringing together education, employers, research, business and policymakers. The Education Workforce Foundation’s flagship programme is the National Education Diversity Awards (NEDA), the UK’s first national platform to recognise inclusive and sustainable workforce cultures.
Prior to entering education, Jagdeep worked in the global medical communications industry, before becoming a teacher, Head of Science and senior school leader. She now draws on experience from inside and outside the sector to bring a cross-sector perspective to workforce sustainability, inclusive workplaces and leadership across education.
ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
Damilola Dauda
I am honoured to serve as a Trustee for NASBTT, bringing a decade of global experience in primary and secondary education. Having lived and worked in Nigeria, Peru, and the US, and with a background in Engineering and Public Administration, I offer a diverse perspective to the board. I firmly believe in education as a human right and in empowering both students and teachers to actively participate in their own growth.
I am currently Interim Head of Governance and Operations at JUSTICE, a law reform charity. Prior to this, I held senior roles at the Teacher Development Trust, East London Teaching School Hub, and Mulberry College of Teaching SCITT, leading on programme and operational delivery to strengthen teacher and school leadership development.
David Parker
NASBTT Trustee and Former Director of ITT, Essex Schools ITT
I am proud to be a NASBTT trustee and represent those members who work with HEI partners to deliver school-based teacher training. I have been the Director of Essex Schools ITT for the past 11 years, during which time we have grown from a small partnership working with 6 secondary schools to a much larger partnership working with over 40 secondary schools. We work with schools in Epping Forest, Harlow, Chelmsford, Brentwood, Havering and beyond.
I have only recently stopped teaching after 36 years in the classroom and over two decades in school Senior Leadership roles. Having been a NASBTT board member and now trustee for many years I have been delighted to see how the organisation has grown and become both an advocate for all in teacher training and a provider of high-quality resources and training for our members.
MENTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
Keith Ford
Responsible Officer: ITT and Training, Somerset Council and Interim Chair Elect of NASBTT
Keith has over 25 years’ experience in primary teaching. As a class teacher, middle leader, senior leader, Head teacher of both small rural school and large Primary School including Autism Centre. Across his career he has always supported Initial Teacher Training and Education, so to be leading on ITTE at Somerset SCITT is a real privilege.
Keith has been a governor of various primary and secondary schools alongside his professional roles, giving him an understanding of the strategic importance as well as the accountability of governance.
Being a trustee for NASBTT is a real honour. The opportunity to represent trainees, mentors, and providers, providing a Southwest voice to the sector alongside championing ITTE at every possibility.
George Pearson, MA (Cantab) PGCE
Director of Partnerships & Revenue, Anspear
Originally a secondary science teacher, George has been running educational publishing businesses
for 40 years. Now a founding director at Anspear, he is involved in providing online resources for
ITT through a long-standing partnership with NASBTT. The business, restyled as a learning
company, specialises in collaborating with universities to deliver in-work degrees through its
proprietary digital platform.
George is an experienced school governor, MAT trustee and member.
SCITT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Kim Francis, NASBTT Vice Chair
ITT Consultant
I led a successful GTP and SCITT partnership for 11 years as well as being the LA’s NQT Induction Co-ordinator, chairing the Yorks and Humber provider network and serving as a member of ITTAG for eight years. Prior to that, I taught secondary English for a period of 28 years serving as a subject mentor and ITT Co-ordinator for much of that time.
I joined the NASBTT Management Team in 2014 and have co-ordinated/co-developed a number of projects including the Curriculum Development and Assessment and Subject Knowledge for Teaching Toolkits, Management Support Partner programme, Ofsted Inspection preparation workshops, including collation of NASBTT’s annual inspection analysis reports. I am also an experienced ITT external moderator.>
Needless to say I am passionate about all things ITE. I was proud and humbled to be awarded with NASBTT’s first Outstanding Contribution to ITT accolade in 2019.
Stephanie Rodgers
Deputy Headteacher - Curriculum and Assessment, Dr Challoner's Grammar School
Stephanie Rodgers is currently Deputy Head at a selective grammar school in Buckinghamshire and her senior leadership responsibilities have included the set up and leadership of the Astra SCITT which has been through the ITE Ofsted inspection process in both 2018, as a new SCITT and in 2023, under the current ITE inspection Framework.
Stephanie also led the reaccreditation process for the Astra SCITT as part of the ITT Market Review and the formation of the Astra Teaching School Hub (Buckinghamshire). Now an Ofsted inspector for ITE and a Trustee of NASBTT, Stephanie is keen to share her experiences and expertise in order to support others in the ITE sector.
HEI OF THE YEAR AWARD
Elaine Sharpling
Director of Research and Enquiry, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Elaine Sharpling is Director of Research and Enquiry at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where she leads work focused on strengthening research-informed practice in teacher education. With extensive expertise in understanding and conceptualising quality in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), she is particularly interested in nurturing research dispositions in student teachers and building meaningful partnerships between schools and universities.
Originally from Birmingham, Elaine began her career in school-centred teacher education and later served as Deputy Director of a school-centred partnership. These experiences shaped her belief that the strongest teacher education programmes are built when school-based and university-based teacher educators work collaboratively to support the development of future teachers.
Elaine is an active member of the International Teacher Education Research Collective (ITERC) and currently serves as Chair of the BERA Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN) special interest group. Across her research, leadership, and professional engagement, she is committed to creating spaces where educators can enquire together, learn from one another, and contribute to developing new insights into teacher education.
Professor Martin Hagan
Director of Academic Affairs, St. Mary's University College
Professor Martin Hagan is the Director of Academic Affairs at St. Mary’s University College. With over 27 years’ experience in teacher education, he has established a distinguished career spanning teaching, academic leadership, educational policy development and research.
Martin began his professional career as a primary school teacher, specialising in music education. Following his undergraduate studies, he completed a Master of Education in Educational Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education Management at Ulster University, and a Doctor of Education in Learning, Leadership and Policy at the University of Bristol.
Throughout his career, Martin has developed extensive strategic partnerships with schools, universities and educational organisations across the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe and the United States. He has served as an external examiner for seven universities across the UK and Ireland and has acted as an external advisor and consultant for the development, review and validation of a number of teacher education programmes.
Martin has also made a significant contribution to educational policy and system development. He has worked closely with the Department of Education for Northern Ireland on a range of teacher education initiatives and served as a member of the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland from 2015 to 2021. He has held the positions of Chair and Vice Chair of the Universities' Council for the Education of Teachers in Northern Ireland (UCETNI), and most recently was appointed to the Executive Board of the Association for the Study of Primary Education.
His research is grounded in qualitative inquiry and focuses on teacher education across the continuum of professional learning, from initial teacher education through to leadership development. Drawing on extensive experience across multiple education systems, his work explores the nature of professional learning and its relationship to the formation of professional identity. He has published widely in this field and has presented his research at regional, national and international conferences. In addition to delivering keynote addresses, he is regularly invited to contribute as a panel discussant on contemporary issues in teacher education.
SERVICES TO THE SECTOR AWARD
Professor Samantha Twiselton, OBE
Emeritus Professor at Sheffield Hallam University. Independent education consultant and advisor for the English and other governments and other organisations.
Sam’s expertise mainly focuses on teacher and school leader development and she has been heavily involved in the many changes to ITT over the years.. She sits on many government advisory groups.
In June 2018 she was a recipient of an OBE for services to Higher Education.
Gareth Conyard
Gareth is an experienced public policy leader. Most recently, he led the Teacher Development Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting the effective professional development of school leaders and teachers. Prior to joining TDT in 2022, Gareth was a senior civil servant at the Department for Education, a nineteen year career that saw him work on everything from early years to higher education (and a two year stint on development education at the then Department for International Development). He published his first book Improving Education Policy Together, co-authored with Nansi Ellis, in 2024.