Meet the team

Anton Francic	Principal Secondary Adviser, School Performance & Improvement Anton has a respected, successful track record in school improvement with over 37 years’ experience in the field. He previously led the school improvement service in Haringey and Kent to drive up standards and inspection outcomes in all phases. In Hackney, between 2005 and 2013, he designed an adviser programme and a dashboard approach to intelligence gathering and risk assessment. This ensured that service areas knew the schools they worked with well and could analyse and diagnose their needs to provide tailored support. The partnerships and trusting relationships from this led to rapid and sustained school improvement, transforming Hackney into one the UK's highest performing authorities. Currently, Anton leads the secondary team and Hackney Education's work on improving outcomes for Young Black Men, as part of Council's ten year programme. He has developed a partnership programme, now approaching its second year, aimed at supporting and developing leaders at senior levels in schools by pairing them with experienced and successful leaders from outside the world of education, who provide bespoke mentoring and coaching and a stimulus for growing personal capacity.
Jo Davey	The LIT Programme Lead Jo has worked in education as a teacher, subject lead and intervention programme manager since 2009. She is an experienced Literacy Specialist with a background in supporting both primary and secondary schools, and is skilled in educational assessment, interventions, research, and tutoring. Jo manages Hackney Education’s Literacy Intervention Toolkit (LIT) Programme, which employs evidence based strategies to increase progress in English, Literacy and the wider curriculum for the lowest achieving students in year 7. She also offers advice on assessment and intervention for reading and writing, and developing literacy across the curriculum. Jo has experience of guiding schools through re-evaluating their phonics provision and implementing assessment processes. Her interest in early reading and supporting children who struggle to gain the skills to read led to her to a Masters in Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) with The Institute of Education, London, and to become a qualified dyslexia teacher.
Bernadette Clinton	Modern Foreign Languages Consultant Bernadette has 40 years' experience of developing curriculum, assessment and pedagogy in schools, locally, nationally and internationally. She has taught in primary and secondary schools and is currently teaching on the primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme at Middlesex University, where she previously designed MA modules for teachers. Bernadette has managed a large Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Department and been an SLT member in secondary settings. She led the implementation of the Primary Languages Pathfinder as the Adviser in Enfield. As part of her role in Hackney Education, she runs the Spanish Initiative in Hackney and provides support to schools across London. Bernadette co-wrote the CILT book, “Leading the Way: Coordinating Primary Languages”. She is a British Council Ambassador with particular expertise in primary languages and the global dimension, and has run international courses across Europe and in Ghana, China and the USA.
Kate Moorse	16-19 Consultant Kate has over 40 years’ experience in curriculum, assessment and professional development at school, local authority and national levels. Specialist in history and the humanities curriculum, she has worked cross-phase as adviser/inspector for 3 local authorities; as Ofsted inspector and Curriculum Adviser for the Qualifications Curriculum Authority (QCA). Since leaving QCA, she has worked as a consultant to schools, local authorities and national bodies. She currently works with primary humanities co-ordinators in a number of London local authorities, as 16-19 consultant for Hackney Education and as a volunteer, developing training programmes for rural young women to teach EY/KS1 classes in rural north India and cross-phase professional development programmes in Delhi and other urban centres. She is also an Honorary Fellow for the Schools History Project.
Wendy Finan	Secondary Maths Consultant Wendy has over thirty years experience with secondary and post-16 Maths education working as a teacher and department-lead in schools and colleges across London, including in Redbridge, Walthamstow and Havering, and as the Director of Maths in a secondary school rated Outstanding by Ofsted. Currently, Wendy leads on Secondary Mathematics for Hackney Education, working with schools in and beyond Hackney to support and deliver school improvement. She is responsible for supporting and developing Mathematics departments, leaders and individual maths teachers, and delivering Mathematics network meetings. Wendy works with schools to develop their departmental processes and ensure that leaders are aware of and able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of and rationale for the intent, implementation and impact of their curriculum.
Marlene Wylie	Creative Education Consultant Marlene works across a wide variety of regional and national organisations. Having trained originally as a textiles designer she has taught art, craft and design in schools at primary and secondary level for over 20 years. Operating in a strategic and co-ordinating role has resulted in the forging of professional relationships and contacts at key institutions in the field of Art, Craft and Design advocacy. She is recognised as a Consultant Member of the National Society of Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) as well as The Design & Technology Association (DATA) and having served as Vice President for (NSEAD) continues to support the growth and objectives of these organisations through a network of school meetings, events and activities across the country.