New additions to SAS team
Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones has been actively involved in local government finance since the early 1980s, concentrating
on education finance, and other support services to schools.
He worked at directorate level in Education and Children’s Services Departments prior to establishing
his own Education Business Support Services company in 2006 and has been heavily involved in the development
of SAS’s support services to schools since 2008.
Kevin recently formalised his commitment to this exciting but challenging development by becoming an
employee of SAS.
He is a qualified chartered public finance accountant who has somehow managed to keep his sense of
humour to develop a detailed understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented to schools
and local authorities.
This understanding has been much appreciated by those who have worked with Kevin, which in recent years
has included four local authorities; two schools forums; Church of England and Catholic dioceses; four
academies; the Department for Education and, of course, SAS.
Apart from the obvious association with financial matters relating to schools, Kevin has an extensive
knowledge of most support services a school may need - ranging from human resources to school admissions.
He is also someone who recognises when their expertise ends but, rather than walking away, he will find
the right person to complete the task in hand.
Kevin lives in Wakefield with his wife Cheryl and have two grown-up children.
He is a keen surfer (not a surfer with a zimmer frame, more commonly known as windsurfers) and plays
table tennis in a number of local leagues.
Chris Whitmore
Chris Whitmore is a well-known figure in the education sector in Yorkshire and beyond.
He has served as the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) Regional Officer for Yorkshire, providing support, guidance and advocacy services to educational leaders across the county in the maintained, independent and FE sectors.
His knowledge of the challenges facing schools, colleges and other educational settings is respected by all those he deals with, and his commitment to his own professional development is beyond question.
As director for casework and support for the Schools Advisory Service(www.schooladvice.co.uk), Chris’ current role involves developing a range of bespoke services to schools which will enable their leaders to focus on teaching and learning by providing expert resources to undertake internal employment and other procedures on the school's behalf.
The new SAS services will cover routine HR, finance and payroll, as well as a unique ‘casework service’ to allow schools to outsource serious casework to a team of SAS professionals led by Chris.
Of Chris' worth, Dave Evans, NAHT regional secretary for Yorkshire and headteacher of Barrowcliffe Juniors in Scarborough, says: "Chris Whitmore served as a regional officer in the Yorkshire region, earning the respect of all school leaders, for his perceptive and forthright advice.
"Chris has an amazing breadth of knowledge in case law, trade union negotiations and how schools function. If there was one person I would want supporting me through a difficult time in school, it would be Chris."
Prior to working for NAHT, Chris worked for NASUWT, the Association of University Teachers, the TUC and British Medical Association in a career which has specialised in serving professionals and their trades unions.
He is a self-confessed industrial relations and employment law anorak, collects books related to the labour movement, holds an MA in Industrial Relations and Employment Law from Keele University and has ongoing doctoral research interests in the field which might get fulfilled if he ever sorts his work-life balance.
He is a member of several trades unions including GMB and Unite.
He lives in Barnsley with his wife Dee, a senior manager and marketing guru for the unique Open College of the Arts, several guinea pigs, two rabbits, two Triumphmotorcycles and more books than he dare count.
On the issue of the unquestionable superiority of Triumph bikes Chris often says "I have heard that others make bikes, but seen no evidence yet . . . "
Mick Brookes
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Mick Brookes
Title
T : 01226 392390
E : @uk-sas.co.uk
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Mick was educated at a secondary modern school in Surrey and was one of only two children in his class to fail the 11+ at primary school!
He says it is therefore with some pride that he lists a catalogue of achievements that occurred in spite of, rather than because of his early setback!
Mick’s long, illustrious teaching began after he graduated from King Alfred’s College at Winchester in 1969.
He taught his first year in Southampton and then left to spend a year working on Kibbutz in Israel and a further year selling paraffin in London!
When he finally returned to teaching, Mick enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks - achieving deputy headship in four years and was appointed head of a small school in Lincolnshire at the age of 29.
During that time he achieved a BA from the Open University, and went on to achieve a Masters degree in Education Management from Nottingham University.
He worked in Warsop as a headteacher for 20 years, during which time he had two breaks in service - one on secondment to Nottinghamshire LEA (local management of schools team) and another in 2000 as the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) national president.
In 2005, Mick was elected general secretary of the NAHT and led the association until September 2010.
Mick says he has joined SAS because of two reasons.
"I have had a long-standing relationship with the company for many years, being one of the schools to sign up to staff absence insurance that drastically undercut the local authority offer and gave better outcomes," he says.
"I was a member of an NAHT team that advised the SAS on the development of its services in 2005 which led to the ethical development of a product that uniquely (at the time) offered private medical cover for staff."
He says the other factor in his decision is the SAS’s forward-thinking approach to providing services to schools.
Says Mick: "The new direction of the company in providing services for schools is not only timely, but built on the experience of taking on a local authority that was not providing the quality of service required.
"It is vital that with increasingly tight budgets that that schools have choices that ensure that they are both procuring ‘best value’ but also reducing the administrative workload of colleagues who should be leading and managing their schools!
"I believe that the SAS is in a strong position to commission quality services that will free up colleagues to focus on achieving the highest quality of education for the children in their care."
Mick brings with him a wealth of experience, not only in school leadership but also of working in a prominent high-profile, national position leading the largest association of school leaders in Europe.
When he’s not working, Mick’s great passions are walking, especially in the mountains or on the Cornish coast, and motorcycling - he owns a BMW R1200 GS.
He also enjoys reading, especially historical novels, and spending time with his grandchildren (Millie and Matilda) and his friends.