Education and Children’s Services: Group Executive Council

A meeting of our GEC

Find out more about our work in this area on our education and children’s services homepage.

Mission statement

Prospect’s Education and Children’s Services GEC exists to promote and support a cadre of education professionals who sit typically outside of teaching and senior school leadership roles whether that is in employment or in self-employment/consultancy.

The core functions of the Education and Children’s Services Group (ECSG) are:

1. Our role as a trade union in protecting, supporting and negotiating on behalf of our members.  This is predominantly an operational role that is delivered by Prospect officers and staff, where possible with relevant representatives.
2. Our role as a professional association in promoting the role and interests of education professionals and the children and young people they support; engaging in lobbying and sharing information particularly regarding the statutory obligations and professional practices that underpin these.  The GEC has a range of professional policy expertise and supports a knowledgeable and contemporary overview of policy developments affecting our members.

Group Executive Council members

The GEC members are:

Betsan O’Connor

Betsan has worked in education and public services for more than 25 years, with experience from youth service, local government, the third sector and Welsh government. Most recently, she has worked as HMI in Estyn and as managing director of ERW, regional school improvement service.

Currently, Betsan is seconded to the Welsh government as a senior professional adviser. She is working specifically on new Evaluation and Improvement arrangements to reform the current accountability arrangements and on supporting secondary schools causing concern.

Betsan enjoys the outdoors and keeps as active as possible through running mid-to-long distances and sea swimming. She is also an active member of the local sea rowing team, canoeing club and karate club.

Chris Roberts

Awaiting information

Diana Robinson

Diana has been a member of Prospect since 1996 (NAEIAC, Aspect) when she joined Kent County Council’s Advisory Service, having previously been a headteacher in two primary schools.

Prior to joining the Advisory Service she had completed an MA(SEN) at Canterbury Christ Church University, and during her time in the Advisory Service she completed Ofsted training (although no longer active), and the SIP accreditation training for Secondary, Primary and Special schools during 2007.  There were, apparently, only 17 people who had done all three courses.

In the days of NAEIAC, Diana was an associate member of the GEC due to her involvement in a national group providing leadership and support to SEN Advisers across the country, and she also had the opportunity to represent this organisation at the Special Education Consortium steering group, which is a large group of union and third sector organisations which have an interest in SEN and can successfully lobby government by amplifying the views of the single organisations within it.  She is currently the Prospect representative on this steering group.

Diana now works for her own company providing advisory work to LAs, MATs and her favourite job, to be the SEN Expert in Independent Review Panels.  Her contribution to these results in a very high proportion of ‘Quash and direct to reconsider’ outcomes, and occasionally it encourages parents to Appeal to the Tribunal on disability discrimination grounds.

Diana is currently serving as Vice-President of the ECS GEC having been elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2021.

Elaine Vokes

Elaine has worked in education for over 30 years with a wide range of experience across all phases with a main focus on the primary age.

After working up to being headteacher, and then principal abroad, she joined the National Strategy Primary Maths Team in 2009 until it was disbanded two years later. Since then she has been an independent consultant working as a national and international trainer for teachers and teaching assistants and international inspector of schools.

Most recently she has worked as part of the school improvement teams in Birmingham, Leicester and now Central Bedfordshire local authorities. She has been a member of Prospect for over ten years.

In her spare time Elaine likes to travel, enjoys reading, Formula 1 races and the theatre. She particularly enjoys spending time with family especially her two young granddaughters.

Glenn Walsh

Glenn has worked in education for 30 years starting out as a mathematics teacher in a large urban secondary school before moving into an ICT advisory role with the local authority in 1998.

In 2007 Glenn moved into school improvement and leadership development and has successfully supported a number of post-primary schools in the Formal Intervention Process (equivalent to Special Measures). Glenn has worked with primary, post-primary and special schools and led the Northern Ireland teacher Induction programme.

Glenn started out as a member of NAEIAC and via Aspect became a member of Prospect in 2012.

Glenn is presently a Head of Service for School Improvement with the Education Authority in Northern Ireland.

In his spare time, Glenn likes walking, reading and cinema.

Glenn is currently serving as acting President of the ECS GEC having been elected as one of two Vice Presidents in 2021.

Lisa Bradbury

Lisa has worked in Education for over 35 years – 20 years as a teacher and senior leader before spells of work with the General Teaching Council and the Centre for the use of Research and Evidence in Education. Both of these posts focused on improving the quality and impact of professional learning and CPD.

Previously a member of a teaching union, she joined Prospect in 2015 on accepting a post with Sandwell LA and, latterly, Worcestershire LA where she co-leads the school improvement team. Alongside the support of maintained schools Lisa works to build collaboration and partnership with academies, foster increased engagement with evidence based practices and improve the quality of impact and evaluation. Lisa also has a particular interest in coaching and supports Teach First trainees as well as acting as a mentor for Birmingham University’s Masters in Educational Leadership.

She is an active walker, getting back into cycling and enjoys yoga. Her interest in film is growing since joining an evening class to learn more.

Sara Griffiths

Sara has worked in education for more than 30 years and feels very passionately about the importance of early intervention to improve school attendance and raise attainment. Sara has worked in local authorities as the Lead for School Attendance managing Education Welfare Services, Early Help Services and delivering exclusion prevention and advice services.

She has designed and delivered a range of training on attendance, safeguarding in education and exclusions. She also spent a period of time as a consultant working with local authorities to redesign and restructure Early Help, Children’s Centres and School Attendance Services. She is a qualified mentor and coach and has delivered training across the UK on the Outcomes Star.

She is currently working as National Attendance Lead for a large Multi Academy Trust, supporting schools to develop and improve their practice in managing school attendance.

She is also a member of the National Council for NASWE (National Association of Support Workers in Education), an organisation that works with members to improve school attendance and meets with the DfE regularly to develop policy and practice relating to school attendance.

In her spare time she enjoys live music, going away in her campervan, being with friends and family, including three grandchildren and five step-grandchildren, and walking two very mad Springer Spaniels. In any quiet moments, she likes to catch up on reading and watching crime dramas.