Maggie Farrar
Oxford, England
Consultant: Education Reform and Leadership Development
maggie@maggiefarrar.co.uk
Overview:
Maggie has extensive experience in a range of educational settings which focus on supporting learning
communities in developing local autonomy self improving education approaches to enhance and
improve teaching and learning. She is recognised world-wide for her work in these areas.
A consultant on education reform and leadership development, Maggie comes to Australia with
extensive experience and a passion for bringing together school leaders, policy officials and others to
debate the future of schooling and the role of school leaders.
Maggie is currently working on leadership development for self-improving, autonomous and complex
school systems, the leadership of a creative and engaging curriculum, growing the next generation of
leaders for 21st century schools, and building the capacity of schools and communities so they are more
able to transform children’s life chances and close gaps in achievement.
Maggie’s knowledge and experience – especially through the National College of School Leadership –
provides her with a breadth of knowledge in areas such as local autonomy, effective collaboration
(within and across classrooms, across schools and between schools and communities) to ensure
improvement, building professional capacity to achieve sustainable impact, effective peer support
initiatives for all educators and understanding the impact of systems change on local learning
communities.
More Detail:
Maggie has extensive experience of strategic leadership, leadership development, and the leadership of
change in schools and localities. She has worked in London and Birmingham in senior leadership positions in
schools and local authorities. For ten years she was a senior leader at the National College for School
leadership serving as the Director for leadership development, community leadership, research and
succession planning and more recently as interim Chief Executive.
Maggie is currently working on leadership development for self improving, autonomous and complex school
systems, the leadership of a creative and engaging curriculum, growing the next generation of leaders for 21 st
century schools, and building the capacity of schools and communities so they are more able to transform
children’s life chances and close gaps in achievement.
Maggie is working with Ministries of Education and school leaders in China and India on school reform and
leadership development. She has a particular skill in facilitating strategic seminars bringing together school
leaders, policy officials and others to debate the future of schooling and the role of school leaders. She is also
skilled in working with clusters of schools and school / communities partnership groups, to secure more
effective collaboration and to build locality leadership capacity to achieve sustainable impact.
She has extensive and proven experience as a keynote speaker nationally and internationally and as a
facilitator of conferences and workshops.
Current positions held
Director Farrarchapman Ltd
Consultancy and support in leadership development and education reform.
Currently providing support in the following areas:

Leadership development provision at senior and executive level

Senior team and Company Board training and development

Leadership reviews and support for senior leadership teams

School to school support, school and peer self review and improvement

School community partnerships for sustainable transformation and impact

Key note speeches and workshops for senior leaders

International consultancy – educational reform and leadership development
Relevant career history and professional background
2003 – 2013: Senior leader at the NCSL with strategic responsibility for the College’s remit on improving the
supply and quality of school leaders in England. She also led the leadership development required to devliver
the previous administrations ‘ every child matters’ policy and the College community leadership programme.
As interim Chief Executive she was responsible for the College’s strategy to support the development of a
school led, self - improving system.
1994 – 2003: Founder Director of the University of the First Age. The UFA is a national charity working with
schools, communities and families to design and deliver innovative learning experiences for young people, to
promote social mobility, and reduce the effects of disadvantage.
1980 – 2003: Teaching and senior leadership positions in Ghana, West Africa and Inner London with
particular responsibility for raising achievement in high poverty schools and communities.