Meet the Team

Hello, I’m Sonia Gill. I’m an educational leadership coach and author of two #1 ranked books. I specialise in making Primary schools outstanding.

I’m a qualified teacher and was selected for the John Lewis leadership program where I led many multi-million-pound business areas.

Since 2011 I’ve supported hundreds of school leaders and head teachers across the UK, enabling them to move to outstanding, creating the school they’ve dreamt of leading but haven’t yet achieved.

My mission is to make every school in the UK outstanding; yes, in terms of Ofsted, but also in being centres of excellence in all of our communities.

Find out more in our story

Hi I’m Steve Bassett and I’m a Heads Up trainer.

I have 39 years of working in education behind me, 23 of those in continuous, primary school headship as well as three interim headships of schools in very challenging circumstances.

In the last 6 years I have specialised, and am still specialising in ‘School Improvement’, recently, for example, working with a school by adding capacity to its Leadership and Management, they were RI and dangerously close to Special Measures and a year later moved to ‘Good’.

Hi, I am Sophie Bevan and I'm a communication coach.

I graduated from the Drama Centre London in 1992 and began a professional acting career in Theatre and Film. As time went on I became more interested in using my skills as an actor in the world of personal communication and development, helping businesses to expand their skills in communicating mainly with their ideas and themselves. This included working for businesses such as KPMG, Citi Bank and Barclays Capital.

Since bringing up 2 children and getting involved in their education I have become passionate about helping schools with the same process I have been helping the corporate sector with.

To get to outstanding, which is what Heads Up is all about, schools need to communicate their vision and values with the right energy and passion. I am here for Heads Up to help head teachers communicate verbally when under pressure with as much impact as is possible so messages are heard, resulting in another step closer to being outstanding.

Hi, I’m Maria Brosnan and I’m a Heads Up Trainer and educational leadership coach.

I’ve worked with schools for over 12 years in my capacity as co-founder and CEO of companies the Story Spinner and Striver. We developed award-winning resources and I’ve delivered hundreds of Inset training sessions in primary literacy across the UK.

I was a Director on the Board of the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) for 5 years and Chair of the EdTech special interest group.

I’m passionate about education as a powerful agent for change in the world and look forward to supporting you in your journey to outstanding.

Hello, I’m Lilian Flynn and I’m a Heads Up trainer

I have spent over a decade in the education and training field, teaching both primary and secondary school students in a teaching career that has taken me from Dublin to Abu Dhabi to London. I am also a qualified coach and I hold an MSc in Applied positive psychology and coaching psychology.

Two of my passions are, education and helping others realise their full potential. I love being part of the mission to make every school outstanding, so all children can have the education they deserve.

Hi, I'm Natasha Mann and I'm a Heads Up trainer.

I’ve worked in education since 1999 in a range of roles including a qualified teacher, a leader and specialist teaching and learning coach; I still work with teachers on their personal journey to become outstanding in a sustainable way that supports their well-being and enhances their creativity.

I spend most of my days in schools, either in the classroom supporting teachers or working with leadership teams like yours, all with the aim of creating excellence.

Hi, my name's Jessica Wall and I'm a Heads Up trainer and educational coach.

I have worked in education for over 25 years and have taught all ages, from 3 you 83 years old, and across a variety of subjects. I have been vice chair of governors at a primary school for over a decade and currently also work as a trainer and tutor at Herts County Council.

In all of the work that I do, what I love most is to watch people develop into the best possible versions of themselves; training them to find their own talents, resources and resilience.

Hi I'm Emma Webster, employment advisor.

I worked as an employment solicitor for 9 years and during that time I realised that many people who work within Education are expected to somehow just "know" the intricacies and pitfalls of complicated staff management and care issues despite having little or no training in these areas. Frequently, the problems I helped to solve on both sides of the fence arose because of a lack of understanding and communication around the difficult more personal aspects of our working lives, issues which if they are not dealt with effectively become a drain on the head's time, the school's limited resources and have a negative impact on the school's ability to educate the children. My goal is to try and help you deal with those problems promptly so that you can go back to focusing on education.

As well as working with Heads Up I work as an Employment Judge at London South Employment Tribunal and have been a school governor.

Hi, I’m Czarina Deenand I’m a role play actor.

I trained as an actress at Arts Educational Schools & Drama Centre. My acting career has been varied, encompassing theatre, commercials, short films, radio and even stand-up!

I completed a BA Hons in Performance Studies and have taught theatre and acting in drama schools and FE colleges.

I love my work for Heads Up as it is a perfect way to use my expertise in theatre techniques and performance skills to help people become better communicators. I believe in giving candidates the skills and confidence to conduct necessary ‘difficult conversations’ to learn and grow, which ultimately leads to an outstanding school environment for all.

Hi, I'm Shiraz Haq and I'm an actor.

I graduated in Psychology before working closely with special educational needs and teaching drama. To further refine my performance skills I enrolled at Drama Centre London, where I was elected to the school council of Central Saint Martins, undergoing a Master of Arts in Screen Acting.

Since drama school I work as a professional actor - my first feature "I Am Nasrine" won the Best Screenplay Award at Brooklyn Film Festival 2012 and continues to dazzle audiences internationally, recently having received a prestigious BAFTA nomination. Other credits include war drama "Jacob", BBC's Secret Defenders, and France2's "Blue Line", which won the Golden Horse at Larissa Mediterranean Festival of New Filmmakers and the European Short Film Award at Ravenna Corti da Sogni.

Working with Heads Up I help school leaders improve and hone their skills in dealing with different people, allowing them to examine their own behaviour and impact in these situations, whilst in a safe learning environment.

Hi, I'm Kay and I'm Sonia's and Heads Up PA.

My career as a PA has been as interesting and varied as the characters I've worked for. The Royal Air Force, the NHS, The Army, a travel company and John Lewis have all had the pleasure of my company! Working with Sonia at Peter Jones (the Sloane Square branch of John Lewis) was a real joy, and it's wonderful to be able to lend my support to her once again in her mission to make all of our primary schools outstanding.

Hi, I'm Nisha and I'm Heads Up Client Relations Manager.

I come from an events background and have over 10 years experience in sales and marketing working with well known brands as well as clients in the public sector. I'm very passionate about helping schools and it's a real privilege to be part of the Heads Up Team.

Hi, I'm Phil and I'm Heads Up Business Development Manager.

If Heads Up were a team of superheroes (and frankly I think they are but don’t tell them I said so), I’d be one of the butlers – working hard to keep things on track and helping the heroes to do ever more amazing things in the service of others.

That means I love a good spreadsheet, planning new projects, analysing how to make services better for our customers and constantly working to achieve that – but mostly I love it when our schools tell us that our trainers have really helped them to become better.