I am the person I needed to see when I was a child. But didn't have.
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That's what drives everything I do. Every training session, every coaching conversation, every time I walk into a school or sit across from a leader who has spent their career feeling like the only one in the room who looks like them, thinks like them, or lives like them.
I work in education because I believe schools should be places where every child (and every adult) can show up fully as themselves. Where belonging isn't a policy intention but a lived reality. Where the leaders at the front of the room reflect the children in front of them.
That belief didn't come from a textbook. It came from a life.
The Journey.
I didn't start out in education. After graduating with a BSc (Hons), I began my career as a Town Planner in the North West of England. In 1995, I followed my vocation and retrained as a secondary school teacher. A decision I have never once regretted.
What followed was more than two decades of school leadership, specialising in some of the most complex and rewarding work the education system has to offer. I spent 21 years as a headteacher leading specialist schools and provisions for young people with social, emotional and mental health needs. Children whose behaviour was often a signal, not a problem. Children who needed adults around them who understood that context matters, that culture matters, and that belonging is not a luxury.
During that time I led schools through periods of significant challenge and change, including schools placed in special measures. I served as President of the National Organisation for Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provisions (PRUsAP), and had the privilege of presenting to the House of Lords' Select Committees on the impact of exclusions on children and young people.
I hold the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and am a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching (FCCT) and a Specialist Leader in Behaviour and Attendance.
Why Good Gift?
The name comes from the Greek word Eudora: the name of my mother.
My mum, Eudora, was my greatest gift. She gave me the ability to listen. Really listen. With empathy, patience and genuine curiosity. That ability is the foundation of everything I do as a coach, a trainer and a consultant. I believe the best gift we can give ourselves and others is the freedom to use our strengths fully, in service of something that matters.
Good Gift exists to make that possible. For schools and for the leaders within them.
What I Believe.
I am driven by three values that show up in everything I do:
Sincerity. I say what I mean and mean what I say. No performance, no pretence.
Curiosity. I am genuinely interested in your context, your challenges and your potential. Every school is different. Every leader is different. I never stop asking questions.
Joy. Growth done well should feel energising, not exhausting. I bring warmth and humour to serious work, because I believe you can hold both at once.
I believe that brilliant schools start with brilliant leaders. And that brilliant leaders come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and identities. My specialist expertise is working with those who have had to mask, code-switch or shrink to fit in order to get to the table. If that's your experience, you will find in me someone who understands it. Not from theory, but from life.
Outside Of Work
When I'm not coaching, training or consulting, you'll find me at the gym or out volunteering at my local parkrun. Both, in their own way, are about showing up, keeping going, and being part of a community that cheers people on.
Let's Talk.
If something on this page has resonated with you, whether you're a school leader, a headteacher, an aspiring leader, or someone who just recognises themselves in these words, I'd love to have a conversation.
There's no obligation and no hard sell. Just an honest conversation about where you are, where you want to be, and whether Good Gift can help you get there.