MARCHES TRAINING - Key Persons


Cavelle Priestley-Bird

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director - Alliance
  • Executive Director for Alliance of Leading Learning / Director of NPQ Programmes - National and International
  • Executive Director of the Alliance
Cavelle is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Leading Learning. She was a senior leader in a wide range of schools for over twenty years, provider of professional learning programmes across Cheshire East and the Director of "The Leadership Academy" at Edge Hill University. Cavelle has also driven major bespoke projects with city councils in transformational leadership with measured results in schools across whole local authorities. She has secured a reputation for building high performing teams and has a wide range of experience in leading and advising on appropriate whole school improvement strategies, whilst embedding the latest thinking on pupil- centred learning. Cavelle has worked with the DfE on the NPQ programmes from a new initiative in 2012 to now having an established reputation for high quality leadership training, with over 10,000 school leaders and governors accessing the leadership programmes she has developed. Cavelle has strategically grown the brand of the Alliance of Leading Learning and NPQs both at national and international level, developing projects in Hong Kong, Nigeria and more recently the Netherlands - where she has launched the unique international NPQH in partnership with British International School, The Hague. Cavelle is keen to harness the expertise of the very best schools and school leaders she has the privilege of working with to further develop the "gold standard" professional learning and school improvement projects the Alliance of Leading Learning are now renowned for. Developing leaders of change and harnessing the energy and expertise of our school leaders to drive school improvement.

Claire Turner

Job Titles:
  • Director of Learning
I love seeing the energy and enthusiasm in schools, the lightbulb moments, the creativity and the teamwork.

Elaine Robinson

Job Titles:
  • Lead Associate

Kate Aspinall

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Manager
Securing the best learning provision and providing opportunities for people wanting to join teaching as a profession.

Paul Fisher

Job Titles:
  • NPQH Consultant Facilitator
I believe that everyone matters and I am in a profession that constantly strives for improvement.

Sarah Finch - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • CEO of the Marches Academy Trust
  • CEO of the Marches Academy Trust / Consultant for NPQEL NPQH
Sarah is the CEO of The Marches Academy Trust, a multi-academy sponsor based in Shropshire. There are currently 10 schools within the Trust, five primary and five secondary. As CEO, Sarah continues to drive the Trust to expand, employing its capacity and experience to inspire and motivate students and staff and create a family of academy schools with a shared set of visions and values. She monitors standards within the Trust, evaluating the progress of sponsored schools and reports on her work to the Board of Trustees. Sarah is an NLE and an advanced facilitator and source of expertise and consultancy for the design and delivery of the NPQH and the new NPQEL. She is also a National College for Teaching and Leadership Fellow and was key in developing education policy and recommendations for ministers for the changes to recruitment of teachers, development of teacher training in schools and professional development opportunities that retains people in the profession. Sarah believes in outward facing and visionary leadership and she is intent on the Alliance of Leading Learning achieving its vision to embrace the school led system; working closely with lead partners, to provide gold standard professional learning and school improvement projects nationally and internationally. Working with our family of schools, connecting with the children and young people and watching them grow, thrive and achieve.

Simon Bramwell

Job Titles:
  • NPQEL Consultant Facilitator
I love sharing my knowledge and experience in leading groups of schools.