Ros joined NRHS in 2020 following senior leadership roles within the public sector and mainstream schools. She brings extensive experience across operational and strategic functions, with particular areas of interest including financial management to ensure best value, premises management with a strong focus on health and safety, and promoting staff wellbeing.

Helen is a strategic stakeholder manager within the DfE Maximising Value for Pupils (MVP) programme Maximising value for pupils - GOV.UK Our remit is to support schools and trusts to get better value from their budgets ensuring more funding reaches the front line. Working in partnership with the education sector, the programme tackles key cost pressures across four areas: commercial deals, financial and physical assets, workforce planning, and building capability. Schools and trusts can access government-negotiated deals including capped agency staff rates, free tools to benchmark spending and compare banking arrangements, procurement training, and expert advice from school resource management advisers.

Before joining the DfE Commercial Division Helen was Head of Commercial at MOD, Service Children’s Education. Helen has over 30 years’ experience in a number of procurement and administrative roles working in both the public and private sector. She is also a student member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply as well as being the Chair of Governors of a Pre-school.

Ben returned to Schools North East in January 2026 as Policy Manager, leading on the organisation’s strategic policy and public affairs agenda. His work provides alignment between policy, research, stakeholder engagement, and member insight; ensuring the voice of North East schools is heard to influence decision-makers at the highest levels. 

Ben brings a wealth of cross-sector experience to the role. He re-joins Schools North East following five years at the Department for Education, where he primarily led on stakeholder engagement working closely with the sector to ensure that strategy was developed with schools, trusts, and local authorities. He also served as Policy and Strategy Lead for the ‘Maximising Value for Pupils’ programme, which was launched to tackle systemic challenges at a national level. 

Between 2019 and 2021, Ben was Relationship Manager at Schools North East, where he developed strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders  across the region, including CEOs, CFOs, Head Teachers, School Business Professionals, local authorities, and other charitable organisations. Prior to this, Ben spent five years at The Key, supporting school and trust leaders nationwide. A committed advocate for the sector, Ben has been involved in school governance for over a decade and is currently Chair of Governors at a primary school in Newcastle.

Lisa has over 20 years’ experience in the education sector as a teacher, senior leader, advisor and educational consultant. She has worked across schools of varying size, age phase, Ofsted status and management structure, giving her a broad and strategic understanding of the challenges and opportunities within education.

Lisa has always had a deep passion for working with children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). She specialised in SEND during her four-year BEd teacher training, is neurodiverse herself, and is a parent to two children with special needs (now teenagers). This gives her a uniquely rounded insight into the education of SEND pupils, from the perspectives of being an SEND pupil herself, an educator, a parent, and a consultant, and informs all her work in schools.

As an advisor with local authorities and school partnerships, Lisa has supported schools with improvement strategies and led large-scale projects designed to enhance outcomes for young people. This includes involvement in the London Schools Excellence Fund project in collaboration with the Mayor of London.

Drawing on her extensive experience in education, Lisa co-founded Wall Art by Promote Your School to bridge the gap between education and design. Today, she works closely with schools, colleges and universities in a consultative capacity, leading on educational strategy and project development to ensure that every solution is rooted in a deep understanding of how schools operate and what educators truly need.

Having worked with thousands of schools over the years, Lisa brings unrivalled insight into the sector and is passionate about helping educational organisations transform their visual environments. She works with schools, colleges, and universities to ensure their physical spaces reflect their ethos, support their improvement priorities, and positively influence how students, staff, and visitors experience the setting every day.

Pauline joined Schools North East in July 2017 as Business Manager and was appointed Deputy Director in 2020. She also leads the National Network of Special Schools for School Business Professionals (NNoSS), a network representing 400 schools in the specialist sector across England.

Prior to joining Schools North East in 2017, Pauline was a School Business Manager and has more than 25 years experience of working in education.  She has a wealth of knowledge with an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by schools and is committed to making a difference to the learning chances of all pupils.

Pauline is also experienced in school governance having served on various governing bodies and is currently a trustee of a special school trust and a committee chair.  She has an MBA in strategic leadership and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management.

• How to Join ? - Once you have registered and the events team have approved your place, you will be sent your confirmation email which contains your unique joining link from Zoom. If you have not received this, please check your spam/junk folder. If you are still struggling to find your join link, you can contact us in advance of the event and we will resend it to you. events@schoolsnortheast.com
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• Can I ask the presenter questions? - You can submit questions for the speaker when you register, using the Zoom registration form. The Zoom chat function will also be available during the call and questions can be submitted here. You will also have the chance to unmute and speak directly with the speaker during any allocated Q&A sessions.

Pauline joined Schools North East in July 2017 as Business Manager and was appointed Deputy Director in 2020. She also leads the National Network of Special Schools for School Business Professionals (NNoSS), a network representing 400 schools in the specialist sector across England.

Prior to joining Schools North East in 2017, Pauline was a School Business Manager and has more than 25 years experience of working in education.  She has a wealth of knowledge with an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by schools and is committed to making a difference to the learning chances of all pupils.

Pauline is also experienced in school governance having served on various governing bodies and is currently a trustee of a special school trust and a committee chair.  She has an MBA in strategic leadership and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management.

• How to Join ? - Once you have registered and the events team have approved your place, you will be sent your confirmation email which contains your unique joining link from Zoom. If you have not received this, please check your spam/junk folder. If you are still struggling to find your join link, you can contact us in advance of the event and we will resend it to you. events@schoolsnortheast.com
• Do I need to install Zoom? - You can join the call without downloading Zoom by clicking ‘join from browser’ when you launch the call on the day of the event. If you are using the Zoom app from your laptop or PC, please ensure that you have the latest version installed prior to the event. Download and install here
• Can I ask the presenter questions? - You can submit questions for the speaker when you register, using the Zoom registration form. The Zoom chat function will also be available during the call and questions can be submitted here. You will also have the chance to unmute and speak directly with the speaker during any allocated Q&A sessions.