Frank Norris MBE FCCT
Education advisor
Adviser to The Northern Powerhouse Partnership on education including skills following 6 years as CEO of Coop Academies Trust.
Former Independent chair of the Blackpool Education Improvement Board and former Chair of the town’s Priority Education Improvement Board.
Trustee and chair of Finance and Resources at Great Academies Education Trust
Vice Chair of Liverpool Education Board
Advisory Board member of InnovateHer
Former senior HMI manager responsible for school, early years and initial teacher education inspection delivery including Framework Development
About me
Former Headteacher at Lower Park Primary School, Poynton and Millbank Junior School, Partington.
Seconded as an Additional Inspector to Ofsted 1995-1996.
Appointed Her Majesty’s Inspector in 2001.
- Led project that saw all school HMI lead inspections
- Joined small School Framework Development Team and contributed to the update in 2003 and the significant changes introduced in 2005. Responsible for development of online self evaluation form, contextual value added and creation of the term ‘Outstanding’. Something I now regret!
- In 2006 appointed Lead Manager for implementation of local authority Joint Area Reviews by nine other inspectorates and undertook review of inspection process to make it less burdensome for local authorities and inspectors
- 2009 appointed Assistant to Director for Schools with responsibility for quality assuring national inspection programmes undertaken by outsourced inspection providers
- In 2010 appointed as Divisional Manager for Schools, Early Years and Initial Teacher Education.
- Led development and implementation of school inspection framework introduced in January 2012 by Miriam Rosen HMCI and developed revisions introduced by Sir Michael Wilshaw in September 2012
Joined Stockport MBC as Senior School Adviser in September 2012.
Approached by The Co-op in March 2013 to become their Education Adviser
- Joined in September 2013 and appointed as CEO of Co-op Academies Trust in March 2014.
- Successfully merged three trusts run by The Co-op into one responsible body
- Improved academic performance so that the Trust was judged as above average for GCSE and end of Key Stage 2 performance by DfE, Sutton Trust and EPI
- Gained financial support from The Co-op for £3.6m to assist in the growth of the Trust from 6 to 40 by the end of 2022.
- Improved Ofsted outcomes with only one long-established school not judged as at least Good (Stuck at RI despite leadership and management and other areas judged as Good)
- Appointed MBE in summer of 2019 for services to education
- Stood down as CEO in September 2019
Appointed as Adviser to The Co-op on education and schools matters in September 2019
Recent blog posts
Comments from former HMI to Ofsted’s response to Education Select Committee Report
Following the publication of Ofsted’s formal response to the Education Select Committee’s report on its work the group of former HMI who submitted evidence to the committee wish to make the following statement ‘‘We are saddened in what purports to be for Ofsted, a new...
Introductory piece for the FED conference on rural, small and coastal schools
I started teaching in 1979. I can remember distinctly the primary school hall filled with buckets when it rained. I certainly recall the 48 children I taught in what was Junior 4 but is now Year 6. I also recall never seeing the headteacher at all, or another senior manager see me teach during my first year.
Induction isn’t quite what it used to be
I am writing this open letter as a way of thanking those of you who supported, encouraged and challenged me during my induction period with the inspectorate. I didn’t realise at the time how effective it was and how it invaluable it was in enabling me to better understand the breadth and variety of education provision.