Have you ever thought about becoming a governor?
Our governors play a vital role in the success of the Hart Learning Group (HLG), proving a wealth of experience from across different social and professional backgrounds to ensure the group is well-run and high-achieving. We’re currently looking to build our Governance team – could you be part of the future of HLG?
Role: Chair
Committee: Corporation, Finance, Search
Appointed: 4 February 2019
Term Ends: 3 February 2025
Until retirement at the end of 2016, Andrew was Deputy Director for Children & Young People, within Children’s Services at Hertfordshire County Council. He led the county’s 14–19 Strategic Learning Partnership and was responsible for commissioning its 16–19 learning provision.
Before taking up a role at the county council in April 2008, Andrew was Chief Executive of Connexions Hertfordshire and had worked for 26 years in various strategic and management roles with DCSF (DfE) and its predecessor government departments.
Andrew was awarded an OBE for services to young people in the 2007 New Year Honours List.
Role: Vice-chair
Committee: Corporation, Audit, Finance
Appointed: 1 September 2019
Term ends: 31 August 2023
Philip has enjoyed an over 35-year international career in financial services and is now plural.
He is a Trustee of The Royal British Legion and chairs its Finance Committee. He is also a non-executive director (NED) at Bank of Ireland (UK) plc and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Codan A/S, Scandinavia’s third largest P&C insurer.
Philip served as a Governor of Aylward Academy between 2011 and 2019. Until 2017 he was the Group Finance Director of LV=. Other previous roles have included a Partner at PwC based in London and then Hong Kong.
Role: Safeguarding Lead Governor
Committee: Corporation, Quality & Curriculum
Appointed: 13 April 2020
Term Ends: 12 April 2024
Prior to her retirement in September 2019, Toni was the Director of Quality and Learner Experience at Barnet and Southgate College. In this role, she led the college’s quality processes and procedures and also managed a range of support services for students.
Toni has over 34 years of working in the further education sector and has held a variety of roles relating to curriculum delivery and support. She has a particular interest in students with learning difficulties and disabilities and began her career in the sector working as a course tutor on a supported learning programme.
Toni is passionate about the further education sector and the vital role it plays in changing people’s lives.
Role: Chair, Audit Committee
Committee: Corporation, Audit
Appointed: 1 August 2019
Term ends: 31 July 2023
Geoff has substantial experience in delivering private sector levels of efficiency and value for money while also delivering public sector accountability and maintaining probity, assurance and governance. As an experienced non-executive, Geoff has a close association with delivering financial rigour, and turnaround strategies for business development, while retaining a clear focus on Risk Management and Governance.
He has recently completed a term of ten years as Audit Chair for another FE College and has served in the same capacity for a local Primary Care Trust. He has a long-standing commitment to a range of charity work, including working as a volunteer with Medical Detection Dogs.
Role: Student Governor
Committee: Corporation and Quality & Curriculum
Appointed: 1 January 2023
Term ends: 31 July 2023
Role: Chief Executive and Principal of North Hertfordshire College
Committee: Corporation, Finance, Quality & Curriculum
Appointed: 20 November 2017
Term ends: ex officio
Kit Davies was appointed CEO of Hart Learning Group in April 2018, having undertaken the role on an acting basis from December 2017. He joined the Group in August 2015 as Deputy Principal of NHC and was promoted to Principal in September 2017.
Kit began his FE career in 2001, having previously lived and worked in Spain, Mexico and Japan teaching and training English language teachers. Kit is a fully qualified teacher, teacher-trainer and language specialist with a broad set of classroom practitioner and management skills gained from over 20 years of experience in a range of educational settings.
His academic background is in the field of linguistics, having completed a degree in Spanish at Portsmouth University and then a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics at King’s College London. He has one published book to his name, a secondary school book on the Spanish language and culture called ‘Spain Live’.
Role: Governor
Committee: Corporation, Audit
Appointed: 1 April 2021
Term ends: 31 March 2025
Dr Kate Barclay has a portfolio career working across high impact Science and Technology talent programmes including Skills Strategy Consultant with the BIA, Higher Education Institutions, Cell and Gene Therapy and High-Value Manufacturing Catapults. As a Chartered Chemical Engineer and Fellow of the IChemE, she has spent over 25 years in the Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry as a Senior Leader in Global R&D leading scientific project teams in commercial and clinical manufacture of parenteral, solid dose and novel device technologies.
Kate has been a Board member of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) since inception with specific responsibilities for policy and quality assurance.
Outside of work Kate volunteers as an Enterprise Advisory with Careers and Enterprise Company supporting local secondary schools in navigating post-16 education pathways, is a member of the Governing Body of North Hertfordshire Further Education College and active science industry ambassador on Hertfordshire Skills and Employment Board.
Role: Staff Governor
Committee: Corporation, Quality & Curriculum
Appointed: 4 September 2018
Term ends: 3 September 2022
Liz Calver has worked for North Hertfordshire College since July 2014 and, as a lecturer and Head of Curriculum, has the expertise and a strong track record in mentoring, coaching and supporting other staff.
As a Head of Curriculum, she works closely with staff teams and managers across the college and is proactive in helping develop and implement the policies and strategies of the Hart Learning Group.
Role: Chair, Quality & Curriculum Committee, Search
Committee: Corporation, Quality & Curriculum
Appointed: 1 June 2015
Term Ends: 31 May 2023
Lynne holds a BSc in Environmental Science and Geography. Until earlier this year, she was Technical Director of BSRIA, a test, instruments, research and consultancy organisation in the construction and building services providing specialist support services for design, construction, facilities management, product testing and market intelligence.
Professor Mary Malcolm is an independent consultant and has worked in the further and higher education sectors for 35 years. During a decade in the Middle East, she worked for the British Council, Shell, and the UAE Higher Colleges of Technology, teaching English, Computing and Business. She returned to the UK in 1997, joining Abertay University. As Head of Dundee Business School and then Vice Principal, she chaired the Tayside Wider Access Partnership and worked closely with FE Colleges in Fife and Tayside to establish progression routes across all subject areas.
In 2009 she moved to the University of Bedfordshire as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), where, as previously, she held executive responsibility for research, teaching and learning, and academic standards and quality on campus and in the University’s collaborative partnerships.
During this time, she also qualified as a Chartered Director (Institute of Directors) and undertook roles as an independent director of Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce, independent governor and subsequently Chair of Luton Sixth-Form College, a QAA auditor and reviewer, and a main panel member in the TEF subject pilot (2018-19).
She is committed to the challenge of ensuring that learners from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to take up and succeed in qualifications in subjects with long-term career traction, and those reflect new subjects needed for future jobs.
Richard has been working in the private sector since completing his Higher Education studies at the University of East Anglia, where he graduated with a Degree in Business Management and a Masters In Computer Science. Richard then worked for 15 years in IT sales working with a diverse range of clients from brussel sprout growers to large financial institutions and international defence contractors.
More recently, Richard has transitioned from leading sales teams to a company oversight role. In this capacity, he has helped organisations to define and share their Vision and Values whilst building a fantastic culture providing sustainable growth.
In the first two years in his current role, the business has doubled headcount and revenue and is set for continued sustainable growth, and Richard has undertaken several projects to make the workspace environment more sustainable. Recognition for these projects has come in the form of awards at local, national and international level and against competition as prestigious as Adidas and Canon.
Role: Governor
Committee: Corporation & TBC
Appointed: 1 June 2021
Term ends: 31 May 2025
Richard serves as the CEO of TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video game industry. Richard spearheaded a campaign to persuade the Government to introduce Video Games Tax Relief, thereby enabling employment in the industry to grow by an annual average rate of 9.9% since 2014. Richard established: the TIGA Games Industry Awards to drive excellence in the video games sector; the TIGA Games Education Awards to recognise superb students, education providers and promote best practice; and the TIGA course accreditation system to drive excellence in education.
Prior to joining TIGA, Richard served as Director of Communications at the Royal Academy of Engineering and was Head of Business Policy at the Institute of Directors
Richard serves on a number of Boards, including Passage Trading Services Limited and has held NED roles in education, charities and a non-departmental public body.
Richard was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year’s Honors List.
Role: Governor
Committee: Corporation, Quality & Curriculum
Appointed: 1 April 2021
Term Ends: 31 March 2025