Sarah Evans OBE

Chair of the National Teacher Accreditation

With over eight years’ experience in headship recruitment, coaching and appraisal, along with a high-profile and successful career as a Head, Sarah brings extensive knowledge of the education sector and of all the challenges of headship.

Former Principal of King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham (KEHS) and Friends’ School, Saffron Walden, as well as Acting Principal at Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sarah is a well-respected figure within the independent sector, not just for her headships but also for the extensive research she has conducted into school leadership. Her work in all three organisations has had a focus on growth, staff development, community engagement and management of change.

Having chaired the cross-association Independent Schools Teacher Induction Panel (IStip) and its Board, Sarah now chairs the National Teacher Accreditation (NTA) panel, a body that validates teacher induction within the state sector.  She also sat for six years on Teacher Regulation Agency panels.

Sarah is Vice Chair of Governors at Elmhurst Ballet School and Chair of the Nishkam Academy Trust.  She has been Governor of a number of other schools in  the past.

In 2018, Sarah wrote an advocacy report for the Department for Education analysing the national Music and Dance Scheme. In 2019 Sarah worked on a collaborative report into Women in Business that looked at career development for women.

Sarah was awarded an OBE for her Services to Education in the 2014 Honours List.