School partnerships alliance

Operations team

S.P.A. benefits from the wealth of knowledge and experience of its trustees, advisory board and operational staff, who are drawn together from across many sectors. What they all share is a passionate belief in the power of partnerships.

Oliver Blond

Chief Executive Officer
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    Oliver has led prestigious schools in both the state and independent sectors for seventeen years, as Head of The Henrietta Barnett School in Barnet, named State School of the Year during his tenure, and Head of Roedean School, a day and boarding school in Brighton. He is the Academic Director and a founding member of the PTI (formerly The Prince’s Teaching Institute), an educational charity delivering high quality subject-based professional development to hundreds of school teachers and leaders, and has been involved in this innovative start-up from inception to influence. After studying for a joint degree in English Literature and Philosophy, Oliver trained as an English and Drama teacher, and has since held roles of Academic Tutor, Head of English and Deputy Head, Academic, at schools in London, including North London Collegiate School and Wimbledon High School, before moving onto Headship. He has also worked as a school governor, and consultant on school development, and has made a very significant contribution to educational leadership in schools and partnerships in different sectors, including the charity sector for over 25 years.

Christina Astin

Associate
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    Christina is an experienced school partnerships leader and now helps schools to develop strategic partnerships for mutual benefit, especially cross-sector. She directs training programmes and speaks and writes on partnerships. In 2022 she launched #PartnerChat, a network for school partnerships professionals, hosting monthly virtual “breakfast briefings” to discuss topics relating to partnerships. She is also a school science consultant (having taught physics for 22 years) and is a sought-after leader of science leadership and physics-specific teacher training across the UK and beyond. As a Head of Science she co-founded Young Scientists Journal. She is an advisor and former trustee to the charity Physics Partners and she maintains a portfolio of corporate clients as a consultant on educational outreach. In 2022 she was appointed Chair of Planet Possibility, a consortium of five organisations working together with funding from the Institute of Physics to increase diversity in physics. Christina qualified as a Level 7 Executive Coach in 2022. She is proud to serve as a Kent Ambassador, and is a Fellow of both the Institute of Physics and the Chartered College of Teaching. She lives in Canterbury with her family where she sings in the cathedral as a deputy lay clerk.

Ian Davenport

Adviser
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    Ian has worked with S.P.A. since its inception, when he was the founding interim Lead. He now provides ongoing support on government and school relations.
    After graduating, Ian worked in The City for a number of years for Morgan Stanley and Arthur Andersen. He was the Head Master of Blundell’s, a housemaster and Head of Department at Radley College and an Economics tutor at Oxford University.
    Ian was also the founding CEO of the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation as well as starting the SpringForward project, working closely with the DfE.
    He has been an adviser to various educational organisations, including ISC. He has been a governor of a number of schools, both independent and state, junior and senior, as well having been the Chair of Trustees at The Royal Academy for the Deaf.

Clancy McMullan

Associate
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    Clancy has worked in education for over twenty years in a variety of settings across Yorkshire. Her experience stretches from classroom teaching to faculty management to examining. Throughout her career, devising and delivering staff training has been integral, at both whole-school and trust-wide levels. She is currently based at Vale of York Academy, York. Concurrently, Clancy has worked as coordinator of York ISSP, which is an equal partnership of thirteen secondary schools, (ten state schools and three independent schools), situated within the City of York. Its purpose is to provide a city-wide network of academic and enrichment opportunities for able and interested children in York. Over the years in her role as York ISSP Coordinator, Clancy has worked with other partnership coordinators both offering and seeking support through the valuable network that exists nationally. She joins S.P.A. as an associate to support the delivery of consultancy, CPD and resource development. Cross sector equality of access and delivery continues to be at the heart of Clancy’s partnership ethos. Celebrating the good practice across all schools to build and endorse the collegial nature of alliance through shared expertise, regardless of socio-demographics, she believes, is the key to promoting impactful partnership work with a child-centred approach.

Dr Margaret Hunnaball

Director of Programmes & Research
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    Margaret has 35 years’ experience as a physics teacher, with senior leadership experience in both state-maintained and independent secondary schools. Her final post was Principal Deputy at King’s College School, Wimbledon, which is part of the Wimbledon ISSP. Margaret has recently completed a PhD at King’s College London, conducting ESRC-funded research into cross-sector educational partnerships. Her research interests reflect her love of education: partnership working, leadership and holistic education beyond the formal curriculum. 
    As S.P.A.’s Researcher in Residence, Margaret brings a wealth of teaching experience in both state and private sectors, and also in research both within this country and around the world.
    Outside education Margaret is passionate about hockey, she was an International Hockey Federation (FIH) umpire and is now on the FIH Pro League Panel for Umpire Managers.  She also serves on the European Hockey Federation Appointments Committee and the FIH Rules’ Committee.

Dr Keith Watson

Associate
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    With vast experience of the educational sector, including as a CEO of a primary academy trust and being the leader of a Teaching School, Keith now uses that knowledge and experience as an educational consultant and coach. Keith worked for 30 years in primary education, mainly in Southampton, and for many years he focused upon school improvement through National Support School work and with the National College for School Leadership, particularly on research and development. His doctorate, from Southampton University, focused upon the development of assistant headship in England. Having also trained as a coach outside of education he now coaches many school leaders and leadership teams both on school improvement but also on their own personal development. Keith is also the CPD lead for the National Association for Able Child in Education Charity which includes delivering training and CPD across the country. Outside of his work Keith is a keen runner and triathlete who manages to get slower and slower year by year as well as maintaining a lifelong passion for history.