Return to Page A A A A M L XL

Teaching School Hub Central Team

Jo Heaton

OBE Strategic Lead for Teaching School Hub

CEO of Northern Lights Learning Trust

Jo believes professional development lies at the heart of school improvement and that collaborative working is key to achieving our vision.  

As CEO of a MAT and an experienced NLE who sits on the RSC Advisory Board and a range of DfE groups, she recognises the importance of our Hub working in partnership with all schools, MATs, LAs, Dioceses, curriculum hubs and other strategic educational partners. Collaboration ensures that the Hub has the best impact on pupil outcomes and the professional development of all staff across our region.  

Jo is extremely proud of the collaborative approach Northern Lights takes and the impact seen from our ITT provision.  

Zoe Thompson

Director of Teaching School Hub

Leading the Teaching School Hub, Zoe has a passion for teacher professional development, including a real belief in the impact that ITT and the ECF have on our education system. Supporting the Teaching School Hub Council by sitting on the ECF Advisory Board, Zoe is at the forefront of ECF developments and is proud to have influence, supporting our schools in the North East.  

Zoe is an experienced teacher and SENDCo across multiple schools and shares the Teaching School Hub’s ethos of fundamental partnership working, with immense pride in the collaborations developed across the region.     

Sarah Hardy

Deputy Director of Teaching School Hub

Sarah is an experienced teacher and senior leader who has mentored teachers at every stage of their careers and values the importance of CPD for all. Supporting the Teaching School Hub Council by sitting on the NPQ Advisory Board, Sarah feels strongly about the development of professional qualifications to support teachers at every stage of their career, showcasing the impact across the region.   

She has worked in areas of high deprivation and fully embraces the Hub’s ethos of putting children at the centre of everything. Her most recent personal CPD includes qualifying as an Attachment Lead and Designated Senior Mental Health Lead.  

Hayley Swinhoe

Finance and Compliance Lead

Hayley has worked in the public sector since graduating from university in 2008, working within various roles in HR and finance. She has worked for Northern Lights Learning Trust since 2014. She has vast experience of public sector funding in particular funding in the education sector as well as a working knowledge of HR practices.

Hayley plays a vital role in overseeing the recording of income and expenditure reporting when necessary to the TSH governance committee. She is responsible for ensuring funding is spent within the grant conditions and setting the annual and 3-year budgets for the Hub. Hayley manages all elements of HR and recruitment within the Hub including liaising with HR advisors when required.

Keely Smith

Admin and Relations Manager

Keely has worked in education for 20 years and before moving to work at Northern Lights Teaching School Hub, was Office Manager at a successful primary school.  

She shares the Hub’s vision of supporting teachers in their professional development to help fulfil the potential of all children and young people.  

Nicola Jaconelli

Admin Assistant

Nicola has worked in the area of children’s safeguarding for the last 24 years before moving on to a new challenge within the Teaching School Hub. Nicola supports the Teaching School Hub team to provide the best professional development to ensure the best education for children and young people.

Rachel Hunt

ITT Lead

Having joined Benedict Biscop CE Academy in 2010, I have been Assistant Headteacher here since 2017. Within my role as Assistant Headteacher, I am lucky enough to teach in Key Stage One, as well as proudly lead the Key Stage team. I am also Curriculum Lead, I love to work with our subject leaders across school to drive forward and embed new approaches to our curriculum that ensure it is always exciting, engaging, relevant and balanced.

I have a passion for developing others; it is the best feeling in the world to watch someone ‘fly’ professionally and know that your support and input played a pivotal role in this. This passion feeds directly into my other role – I am the Strategic Lead for our Primary Initial Teacher Training course. Since 2016, I have worked closely with Durham SCITT, our accredited provider, to carefully develop a bespoke, forward-thinking, supportive postgraduate training programme that is rooted in educational research. I believe our trainees really do get the best start to their teaching career – with a balanced curriculum that ensures plenty of opportunity for the development of teaching practice/experience in the classrooms of exceptional schools, backed up with professional studies sessions where they are given the opportunity to link their practice to theory and reflect on their experiences so far -thinking about how to move forward to be the best teacher they can. We work alongside engaging, credible, knowledgeable experts in the field to ensure the curriculum delivered is top-class. We are also committed to ensuring the support and guidance our trainees receive is outstanding, working very closely with our school-based mentors to upskill and develop them professionally in the coaching and mentoring role.

Cookie Policy | Privacy Policy
Admin

Privacy Policy

We regard your privacy as important and any personal information you give to us will be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulations.

We do not store personal information about individuals who visit this site except where they provide contact information via our contact us page and contact forms available on various pages throughout the website.

Any information you provide will only be used for the reasons specified and it will not be shared with any third party without your consent, unless required by law.

Your contact details are kept securely and are only accessed by authorised members of staff as part of the provision of school services. If you do not wish us to keep this contact information please tell us.

This website uses Google Analytics which provides statistical data about the usage of the site. This information is not used to identify individuals, but is collected to provide us with an understanding of the areas of interest on our site and how our site is being used.

If you are connected to the internet you will have an IP Address. This may take the form of a figure, such as 333.333.22.1. The address will be automatically collected and logged as part of the connection of your computer to our web server and may be used to determine the total number of visits to each part of the site. This data is not collected and used for other purposes.

This website contains links to other websites. The School is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites or organisations and recommends you consult the privacy information on those sites.

This policy will be reviewed and updated versions will be posted on the website.

If you have any questions about the use of your personal information, the Information Commissioner is the independent regulator for both Data Protection and Freedom of Information.