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Cocentra's People
Meet the team
Cocentra only employs the very best people. This means we are able to provide a broad range of expert support covering a wide range of services. Alongside our permanent employees we also have a number of experienced associates with outstanding skill sets and track records. These are known as 'The Excellence Chain'. Many of Cocentra's employees and Excellence Chain consultants have held directorships and senior posts in the public and/or private sectors.
Cocentra people are not only all highly experienced but are committed to continuous and sustainable improvement in education and making a difference for young people.
A selection of our people are below:
 

Terry Rollings

 

 

 

Terry Rollings
Terry has over 36 years successful school and LA leadership experience in the UK which has included four headships. He has also worked as an Inspector in Surrey, as Senior Adviser in West Sussex and as Head of School Improvement in a London Borough. , Terry is currently the Managing Director of Learning services for Cocentra, with responsibility for all aspects related to school improvement with LAs, schools and other organisations. This involves working directly with a variety of schools and local education authorities providing training and consultancy support.
 

 
Steve Davies
Steve has extensive experience in education and specialises in Strategic and Change Management, school improvement and developing stakeholder relationships. He has held the posts of Director of Education Services and Chief Inspector in London LEAs and has also worked in school improvement services in West Sussex and Cumbria.  He has worked across the UK and internationally on education policy and practice and has managed national programmes and supported Local Authority interventions on behalf of the DCSF. Steve is currently Managing Director of Children’s Services for Cocentra.
 

 Andrew Best
Andrew has a commercial background in Finance and ICT gained from working with HSBC, Sky and Yahoo, both here and in the US. As well as being a Chartered Accountant, he is a qualified Corporate Treasurer and has been involved with the raising of development funding and large scale cash management. He has managed several major project implementations including significant ICT led process change initiatives.  Andrew is a recognised specialist in school data, working across the country with schools from all phases and LAs and presenting at National Conferences. He is Cocentra’s Managing Director, Commercial.
 

Pat Doherty

 

 

Pat Doherty
Pat has over 35 years successful school and LA senior leadership experience in the UK and internationally. He has also undertaken a wide range of support and advisory roles for LAs and schools with a focus on learning and teaching. He has worked extensively on several BSF schemes, with a particular focus on translating school visions into curriculum and design solutions incorporating ICT developments from both the client and provider sides.
 

 

 

 

Ray Watson
Ray has a very strong record and substantial leadership experience in school improvement and the development of visioning strategies at LA and individual school level. the.  He has led the strategy for the development of the Primary Capital Programme within Local Authorities and within the DCSF Capital Team. Ray is currently the Director for New School Design within Cocentra.
 

 

 

Rob Woon
Rob has over 25 years of experience of the education sector ranging from the classroom to strategic leadership at a Local Authority and National Programme level. Rob has been the ICT lead on large BSF projects and has also managed the ICT element of a Primary Pilot Programme within the Primary Capital programme. Rob is currently Director of ICT for Cocentra, leading on ICT on all major projects and also providing ICT consultancy advice to schools and LAs.
 

 

Sharon Gray
Sharon has wide experience in Special Education including a headship of a very successful inner city Special School. Sharon is a qualified Ofsted Inspector and is a Team Teach Tutor. She led the hub centre, developing 20 Pupil Development Centres in mainstream schools within the London area.  Sharon has represented all London BESD schools at the National Association of EBD Schools (NAES), leading training for regional groups in behaviour management, visioning workshops and in special school Self- Evaluation Forms (SEF). Sharon is the Principal Adviser for SEN and Behaviour for Cocentra.
 

Chris Jacobs

Chris Jacobs
Chris has worked in a number of primary schools at senior level. He has also worked in teacher training facilities overseas, secondary pupil referral units and in an advisory capacity for a local authority with specific focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning and advising on the management of behaviour.  He provides Ofsted support, advises on learning and teaching and developing SEN provision and delivers Inset. He has worked as an interim manager in a London Borough, successfully leading a restructured Behaviour Support Team into the School Improvement Service. Chris currently works as a Principal Adviser for Cocentra which involves working directly with a variety of schools and local education authorities.
   
Vicki Paul
 Vicki is the Excellence Chain Manager for Cocentra. She manages and maintains the Excellence Chain Database of Associates and ensures a high quality of candidates. Vicki seeks and matches our Associates to Interim Management opportunities and provides efficient and effective support to both the customer, and our Associates. Prior to working with Cocentra Vicki gained full administrative qualifications, skills and experience working for a leading defence company and moving on as PA to Chief Executive level within an IT Consultancy.
 

 

 

 
Mike Davies
Mike has led a number of schools in rural areas, new towns and inner city settings; of these three were either significantly remodelled, rebuilt or expanded and in his last post he was involved in a new build, UKs first purpose built school-within-school. In each case there has been an emphasis on aligning design to evolving pedagogies and the need to build schools that promoted a sense of belonging and community. He presents across the country and is a regular contributor to National policy development.
  
Frank Havard
Frank Havard has worked in the secondary sector and in the school advisory service for 35 years, the last 10 as headteacher of a specialist school. He has a range of experience in the international field, working with schools in Hong Kong, Australia and Europe. Over the last 3 years he has worked as education lead on 3 BSF projects, supported on a number of others and is engaged in a number of school improvement projects.