Sue Tunnicliffe

Senior Trust Improvement Officer - Leadership and Governance, Kent County Council and OLP Board Member

Sue has over 30 years of experience in education as a primary school teacher, Headteacher in three schools, and a range of School Improvement and Partnership roles at both Local Authority and Academy Trust level.

Her teaching career started in a challenging school in South East London where for eight years she held a variety of posts of responsibility culminating in the acting headship position. Headship of a large school in the middle of the Elephant & Castle soon followed and she was tempted away from London by the prospect headship of the first new primary school to be built in Kent in over 20 years!

This wonderful opportunity, along with taking on a lead role for a group of schools and working in partnership with Kent County Council to support a process of transformation within schools opened many exciting doors. A position of Local Education Officer allowed her to continue her work in encouraging collaboration amongst schools specifically in the north of the county. Several other Local Authority School Improvement roles followed including Kent wide responsibility as the Senior Improvement Adviser for Leadership & Governance.

The opportunity to work as a Senior Improvement Officer for a group of schools in a newly formed Academy Trust was too good to miss. The Trust has grown substantially. Sue’s most recent exciting project has been overseeing the opening of a primary phase for our inaugural secondary school, establishing it as an all through school, one of only two in Kent.

Sue has led a group of primary and secondary teachers on a Teachers International Professional Development Programme to Switzerland and has visited America several times to study aspects of educational development on both the East and West coast. She is passionate about the educational benefits colleagues gain from working collaboratively with colleagues both within Kent and wider afield.

Sue is committed to ensuring the very best for all children, and adults within schools. Developing leaders who understand people and have the skills to lead with humility is a passion. She maintains her close contact with a whole range of schools through membership of the governing body of two Kent schools and through facilitating a range of leadership courses working in partnership with an international consultant as well as OLP.