Experienced school improvement adviser with particular expertise in teaching and learning and SEN, now working freelance.

Consultancy experience

• Worked as an Ofsted inspector for 20 years, inspecting special schools and SEN provision in mainstream school (1998 – 2018).
• Lead reviewer for Challenge Partners (2017 – now).
• Working as external adviser to schools across the UK.
• Moderating the judgments by senior leaders of the quality of teaching and modelling effective feedback.
• Coach of senior and middle leaders, governors, and classroom teachers.
• Self-evaluation and school improvement planning.
• School and departmental reviews, for example the quality of teaching, the curriculum, personal development, behaviour, leadership.
• Specialist in SEN – review of provision, evaluating pupil progress, providing practical advice.
• Completed several local authority wide reviews of aspects of special educational needs provision such as specialist learning centres.  Collection and analysis of student voice.
• Delivered whole school training in mainstream secondary and primary schools, special schools and PRUs.
• Head, deputy head teacher and other senior appointments.
• Extensive governor training.
• Safeguarding reviews.
• Conference presentations eg for SSAT, NAHT, London Challenge and academies.
• Particular interest in the needs of able pupils.
• Extensive head teacher performance management.

School improvement experience

• School improvement adviser for Wiltshire Local Authority leading on special educational needs, cross-curricular issues, middle leadership training, secondary NQTs, teaching assistant professional development, G&T provision, workforce reform (1997 – 2007) and focusing particularly on schools in difficulty.
• Led whole school reviews.
• Experienced trainer on a wide range of subjects- SEN, pedagogy, governor training.
• Assessor for national Challenge Award for able, gifted and talented pupils.
• Lecturer on teacher training courses.
• School Improvement Partner (and equivalent) in a range of secondary schools (including an all boys’ school and a girls’ grammar) pupil referral units and special schools (including complex, ASD and BESD schools) (2004 – 2010).
• Senior education adviser for I CAN, the national charity for children with communication difficulties (2007 –2014) which has special schools for children aged 5-19 with complex communication difficulties.  Delivered a range of I CAN whole school programmes such as Secondary Talk and Talk Boost which develop the schools’ ability to improve children’s communication skills.
• Special needs coordinator in a mainstream secondary school (1990 -1997).

Qualifications and Teaching Experience

• Degree, University of Durham, PGCE, University of Bristol, M.Ed, University of Bristol.
• 14 years in secondary, special schools and working with adults, including one year in a multi cultural school in Australia. Class teacher of English, Maths, French, Humanities.

cliverobson@hapsfordassociates.com