Meet the MATCPD trainers!

Great professional development starts with great trainers. Our online CPD courses are led by experienced educators who understand the challenges and rewards of working in education, because they’ve lived it themselves. 

In this blog, we’re proud to introduce the passionate current and former school leaders, education experts, and specialists who design and deliver our CPD programmes. With backgrounds across a wide range of educational settings, they bring not only subject expertise but also a deep understanding of the importance of leadership and the challenges that school leaders face.  

Whether you’re a school leader or headteacher, our facilitators are here to support your professional growth with practical strategies, research-informed insights, and a shared commitment to making a difference in education. 

Let’s meet the people who make our courses meaningful, relevant, and impactful. 

Tamara Zaple Rolfs 

Tamara is an experienced executive headteacher, leadership trainer, and coach specialising in professional development that drives lasting change.  

An accredited DISC personality profiler, she helps leaders and teams build trust, connection, and shared purpose. Tamara is passionate about empowering school and trust leaders to lead with courage and create thriving, joyful communities. 

Tamara’s “Empowering High-Performing Teams”, “Team Leadership in Action”, and “Team Dynamics and the Power of DISC” courses will offer learners valuable insight into the best ways to build the most effective teams and deal with any snags that might occur. Book your place today on these popular courses. 

Michelle Gabriel 

Michelle is a chartered fellow of the CIPD and an experienced senior leader with over 16 years of HR expertise in the school sector.  

She’s worked in both outsourced HR services for schools and trusts and in-house as Director of HR for a midlands-based multi-academy trust and has been developing and delivering compelling staff workshops and training for over 10 years. She’s an ambassador for flexible working, passionate about making schools great places to work, and currently provides HR support and consultancy to schools and trusts nationally alongside her team at Capita Entrust People Solutions. She’s also an accredited workplace mediator, Safer Recruitment Trainer, and workplace coach. 

Michelle will be using her extensive experience to lead learners in courses focused on diversity and inclusion and various HR topics.  

Michelle’s courses include: 

• Introduction to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion 
• How to Prepare a Gender Pay Gap Report and Action Plan 
• Creating and Embedding an Impactful People Strategy and People Plan 
• Embracing Neurodiversity Awareness for Staff 
• Menopause for Thought: A Workshop for School Leaders and Managers 
• Disability Awareness for Staff 
• Using effective Succession Planning to support recruitment and retention 
• Anti Racism and Managing Diversity through Inclusion 
• Inclusive Recruitment 

Book your place today to avoid missing out! 

Justin Smith 

Justin is an experienced education consultant and former senior school leader with over 20 years in the sector. He is the founder of Chameleon Consultancy and Training, providing specialist marketing, income generation, and bid writing support to schools. A Fellow of the Institute of School Business Leadership, Justin has secured over £8 million in funding for schools and serves as an assessor for Best Practice Network. He is also Chair of MarCommEd (East Anglia) and a recipient of the Guardian/ISBL Marketing Award. 

Justin’s courses mainly focus on procurement, tendering, marketing, and income generation. His “Supercharge Your Bid Writing Skills” and “Effective Bid Writing for Schools” courses give learners practical tips and techniques to improve their success in bidding. His “Social Media 101 for Schools” and “Standing Out from the Crowd – 5 Essential Marketing Tactics for Schools" teach learners how to use key marketing strategies to boost their online presence. His “In it to Win it – Sustainable Income Generation for your School” course covers a variety of income-generating strategies, from working with PTAs and volunteers to launching crowdfunding campaigns and securing commercial sponsorships. 

Andrew Hamilton 

Andrew brings over four decades of experience working in schools, including 34 years in senior leadership roles. A former Headteacher of two large secondary schools and CEO of a seven-school MAT, Andrew also served 13 years as a National Leader of Education (NLE). Since retiring from headship, he has led a successful consultancy focused on school improvement, leadership, curriculum design, staffing structures, and financial management. One of the first two nationally accredited School Resource Management Advisers (SRMAs), Andrew is now a national lead practitioner in Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP). He leads training for ISBL and the Department for Education and developed the ASOT tool to enhance business manager practice in leadership, curriculum, and finance. 

Andrew's November course on Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP) is split into two parts, and both are now available for booking. Click here for part 1. Click here for part 2.

Dean Carson 

Dean is an experienced school leader with over 22 years of working in secondary schools across the West Midlands.  

As Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning and CPD, Dean specialises in developing staff skills and managing complex situations. Drawing on his extensive leadership experience and his unique background as a special constable with the Police, Dean brings practical, real-world strategies to help educators handle difficult conversations with confidence and clarity. 

Dean’s course, “Managing Difficult Conversations”, will teach you how to effectively manage any difficult conversations leaders may be faced with, offering expert tips on how to approach different scenarios through real-world examples. Book your place here. 

Dom Harrex 

Dom has over 20 years of experience in education, with a career spanning senior leadership, academy conversion, and trust-level financial and strategic roles. As former Associate Principal (Resources) at Longley Park Sixth Form in Sheffield, Dom led major restructuring and improvement programmes, achieving over £2m in cost savings and successive Good Ofsted outcomes. He has worked independently with a wide range of education and training providers, delivering strategic reviews, financial planning, and leadership mentoring. An accredited School Resource Management Adviser (SRMA) with over 20 successful deployments, Dom also mentors new SRMAs and recently served as Interim CFO for a multi-academy trust. His approach combines robust strategic thinking with practical insight into the human aspects of change. 

Dom’s courses, “Planning and Leading Restructuring” and “Developing Your Trust Strategy”, are both full-day sessions and open for booking now. 

Gareth Preen 

An experienced public sector and education leader, Gareth has over 20 years’ senior leadership experience as CEO, COO, and CFO across UK and international settings. A qualified accountant and NPQEL graduate, specialising in finance, operations, risk, and strategic planning. With extensive knowledge across all education phases - including early years, primary, secondary, post-16, and SEN - Gareth has led large-scale transformation and governance projects. Passionate about empowering school business leaders to grow their knowledge, confidence, and impact. 

Gareth’s courses, “Leadership vs Management", “Risk Management vs Risk Assessments; You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know", and “Introduction to Building Strong Business Cases", will help learners develop their understanding of key leadership concepts, giving them the confidence to handle and embrace the daily challenges leaders face. Book your place now. 

Kate Joiner 

Kate is a highly experienced governance professional with nearly a decade of expertise supporting schools, trusts, and public service organisations to deliver ethical and strategic governance. With a strong background in board development, compliance, and organisational growth, she equips boards to govern with clarity and confidence. 

As a governance consultant and Head of Governance, Kate leads external reviews, mentors board members, and develops frameworks that align governance with strategy. A former National Leader of Governance, she holds a Certificate in Academy Governance (Distinction) from the Chartered Governance Institute and is known for making governance practical, purposeful, and even exciting! 

Using her experience in governance, Kate will be leading three courses for us this September: “Understanding Governance in Education”, “Governing with Data: Asking Better Questions & Driving Better Outcomes”, and “Using AI in Governance”. Places are limited, so book your seat today! 

Kelly Hannaghan 

Kelly is a Mental Health and Wellbeing Consultant, Director and Founder of Mind Work Matters Ltd, and an award-winning motivational speaker, school improvement advisor, and published author. She works systemically with local authorities, MATs, senior leaders, and pastoral teams to create healthy work cultures and improve outcomes. 

As an expert trainer and coach for Senior Mental Health Leads, Kelly supports some of the most challenging school communities, delivering preventative and early help strategies. She is the creator of the Family Matters programme and has led national projects including the DfE’s Wellbeing for Education Return. Her work raises aspirations, engagement, attendance, and outcomes, earning recognition from the DfE, NCB, The Anna Freud Centre, and The Education Support Partnership. 

Kelly is leading a wide range of courses for us, mostly focused on mental health and wellbeing, along with leadership topics. Kelly’s courses include: 

• Workplace Wellbeing: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Your Workforce Well 
• Turning Tension into Trust:  Leading Effective Parental Partnerships 
• Advanced Mastermind: "Beyond the Gates:  Building Transformational Parent Partnerships" 
• The Ultimate Staff Wellbeing Guide for School Leaders: The 7 Pillars of Self-Care 
• Cultivating a Coaching and Supervision Culture in Schools 
• Leading with Wellbeing: Strategic Mental Health Leadership Across Schools and Trusts 
• How to Effectively Monitor a Whole School Approach for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education 
• Family Matters: Parent Empowerment Programme 
• Leading on ESBA - Emotionally Based School Avoidance 
• Nurturing Spaces: Crafting the Therapeutic Classroom Experience 
• Empowered Minds, Nurtured Spaces: Cultivating Behaviour, Brain Science, and SEL for Student Wellbeing 
• Train the Facilitator: Wellbeing Ambassador Programme for Student Wellbeing 

Neil Limbrick 

Neil has worked in education full-time since November 2000. He has worked in a range of schools and multi-academy trusts and is now a full-time IT Consultant and Partner at his firm, Limbrick Consultancy LLP. He also sits on various committees, including the Birmingham Association of School Business Management, and is Chair of the Sandwell SBM Network and an ambassador for the Association of Network Managers in Education (ANME). 

Under the guise of the EducationCollective, Neil supports a network of around 100 online communities, including education-based peer-to-peer groups, Teaching School Alliances, Headteacher consortia, and Commercial Software user groups. He was honoured with a fellowship by the Institute for School Business Leadership in 2015. 

A regular speaker at conferences, Neil provides training on a wide range of topics including cyber security, IT Strategy, website compliance, recruitment, asset management, GDPR, and communication strategies. Neil is passionate about the use of IT to support all aspects of school life, especially communication. 

Neil’s extensive experience means he is well-positioned to lead our IT courses this November. His “Building Digital Maturity”, “IT Compliance for Trusts”, and “Upskilling Your Digital Leads” courses will use key frameworks to give learners the practical tools and knowledge needed to lead or contribute effectively to the IT side of their school or trust. Book your spot today. 

Peter Radford 

Peter is an award-winning public speaker, educator, trainer, and author of Love Teaching Keep Teaching. With over 25 years of experience in education and leadership, he is the founder of Beyond This, an organisation dedicated to equipping students for life and work while empowering teachers and leaders to drive transformational change in schools. 

Peter specialises in whole-school improvement, personal development, and creating inclusive, people-centred cultures. He is GC Index accredited, has led two schools to achieve the UNICEF Rights Respecting School Award, and was recently named Diversity & Equity Speaker of the Year 2025.

Peter’s “How to Ensure You Retain More Teachers Next Year” masterclass will guide learners on how to create school environments where staff feel energised, valued, and inspired to do their best work. Book your place today. 

Ready to Learn with Us? 

We hope this introduction has given you a deeper insight into the talented team behind our CPD courses. Their diverse expertise and shared commitment to high-quality professional development are what set our programmes apart. Each trainer plays a vital role in supporting educators to reflect, refresh, and refine their practice. 

Our mission is simple: to provide high-quality professional development that’s rooted in real educational contexts and delivered by people who understand the difference great CPD can make. 

Whether you’re looking to lead with confidence, create a more inclusive environment, supercharge your bid writing, or stay up to date with the latest HR practices, you’ll find a supportive learning environment and expert guidance right here. 

Explore our courses today and continue your journey with colleagues who share your passion for learning.