Expert speakers from HFL Education

Liz leads the secondary, special, and alternative provision teams at HFL. With over twenty-five years’ experience in teaching and school leadership she has worked as an adviser and school improvement partner for HFL since its inception. Liz brings extensive experience in driving and supporting positive change with school leaders, as well as leading key strategic educational programmes and partnerships.

Anne leads HFL Education’s primary and early years teams. With nearly 30 years’ experience in education, Anne began her career in Hertfordshire classrooms before moving into school leadership and advisory roles. She joined HFL Education in 2017 as a District School Effectiveness Adviser and has since held key leadership positions, including Head of Primary Curriculum and Regional Team Lead. Anne brings a deep understanding of school improvement, curriculum design, and leadership development, shaped by her years as a headteacher and her commitment to supporting schools through complex challenges.

Penny has been a member of the HFL team since the beginning - she often jokes that much like a stick of rock, the letters HFL are etched through her core! Prior to joining HFL, Penny worked in several schools undertaking a variety of roles, culminating in her position as Deputy Head Teacher at one of the UK’s highest performing primary schools. In her role as English Adviser at HFL, Penny pioneered our work on reading fluency with the ambition that all pupils are empowered to become fluent readers who find joy in books. In 2023, Penny was awarded Nate’s Primary Award for her work in this area.

“This was one of the best talks on education that I’ve seen for a long time.”
—Jon Hutchinson, Director of Teacher Development and Curriculum, The Reach Foundation

Catherine joined the HFL Executive team as Director of Business Services in June 2019, bringing with her extensive experience of working with schools, settings and trusts on a broad range of issues relating to people, processes and products. As Director of Education Services, Catherine is the strategic lead for our finance, HR, technology and governance related services. In her career Catherine has led large procurement projects and programmes, formed and led multi-disciplinary teams to solve challenges and supported organisations to adapt to changing legislative and financial landscapes. Prior to joining HFL Catherine worked in the Education Leadership Team at Hertfordshire County Council where she developed an appreciation of the importance of recognising the unique characteristics of a school, setting or trust when developing solutions to the challenges they face.

Paul has spent 27 years in comprehensive education working as, amongst others, a Head of Sixth Form, Headteacher and Executive Headteacher across several schools.  He was involved in teacher and headteacher training prior to joining HFL.  He has a strong professional focus on improving educational outcomes for male students and, more generally, in developing pragmatic responses to educational challenges alongside the effective use of data to direct change in classroom practice.

Becky supports secondary schools, special schools and academies to strengthen leadership and accelerate improvement. With over 25 years’ experience in teaching and senior leadership in Hertfordshire secondary schools, she works closely with headteachers, senior and middle leaders, and governors and trustees to build leadership capacity and drive positive change. As former Head of Sixth Form, Becky has a particular interest in the quality of post-16 provision and is passionate about the power of education to promote social mobility and improve life chances.