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
Former Vice Chair and current Board Member 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
Ranked 23rd most influential colleague making an impact on education in 2024 by Education Business sponsored by Philips
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, introduction of 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
- In 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 accountable 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
HB50 Most influential
Nominated as one of Education Business magazine’s most influential people in education.
Recent blog posts
Frank Norris included in EB50 Most Influential
My thoughts on Reading Council’s Learning Review following death of Headteacher at Caversham
Following the tragic death of Ruth Perry, Headteacher at Caversham Primary School and the subsequent publication of the Coroner’s Report, Reading Council commissioned a Learning Review led by two recently retired, independent and experienced officers. Their report was published on 12 July 2024. I have reviewed the seven references made to Ofsted’s Big Listen in the report and considered whether the reviewers were fully aware of deficiencies in the Big Listen process and whether they should have considered more carefully the references they made to it.
Former senior OFSTED inspectors set up Alternative Big Listen survey
Two former senior government inspectors, who believe Ofsted’s recently announced consultation avoids some of the important issues around school inspections, have set up their own survey. Prof Colin Richards and Frank Norris MBE have created the Alternative Big Listen...