Maureen Deary
Further Education and Skills and Independent Schools Inspector, Strategic Adviser in Quality for the FE and Skills Sector
Maureen is a current practising Ofsted Further Education and Skills inspector and lead inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). She inspects and provides consultancy support across all FE and Skills provision and a wide range of sector areas sectors. She works with a range of colleges, prime and partner contracting organisations, undertakes New Provider Monitoring visits and inspects private and residential schools and colleges for ISI. She is a consultant and adviser in quality development support and improvement work for all of the above organisations and has supported organisations for over thirty years in the state, private, schools, further and higher education sectors. In the past Maureen has worked for an number of awarding bodies approving new centres, developing qualifications, acting as a Chief Verifier and Principal Examiner both in the UK and in Asia.
Her specialist sector areas are: health and social care, childcare and early years, sport, leisure, travel and tourism, business and law, employability, English, and maths. Maureen is an expert in apprenticeships and is a governance board member of three national workplace grade 2 good providers. She has lived and worked overseas in the education sector and has held representative sports coaching posts to national level.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Vikki Sylvester
Owner & Managing Director Acacia Training Ltd, a national workplace learning provider
Vikki’s career started in nursing, and subsequently moved into education. She is the CEO of her own business Acacia Training Limited, a 20 year-old work-based learning provider delivering across the UK. She is also an Executive Director of Acacia’s parent company, MBH Corporation Plc which is a global company listed in Frankfurt where her role is to ensure the group companies are represented and driving strategic direction. Other roles include Chair of Governors for a first school, Vice- Chair of the Staffordshire & Stoke Skills Partnership and more recently a board member on the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.
Craig Potter CMgr MCMI
Performance & Standards Director
As Performance & Standards Director at Davies Learning Solutions (formerly known as FWD Training & Consultancy), Craig has had a significant influence in the continued growth and expansion of their apprenticeship provision. They have grown, from 300 apprentices in 2017 to over 1,200 currently in the insurance and financial services sectors. During this timeframe and whilst driving forward this growth, Craig is proud to continue to see an increasing upward trend with their apprenticeship achievement rates, which are significantly above NAR.
Davies Learning Solutions achieved reasonable progress in all three Ofsted New Provider Monitoring Visit themes in July 2018. Craig has been instrumental in their consistent and stable position within the sector, and as a leader for their quality development and improvement work, has been well supported and challenged by their board of directors and Maureen Deary, who is a member of their Quality and Standards Board and has been thier Strategic Adviser since January 2018.