Sara McAdam – The Mead Institute Director

Sara McAdam has a wealth of experience in education and in developing people and effective teams in order to impact on outcomes for children.

She has worked during her career in four different schools, including as Deputy Headteacher at Willowbrook Mead for ten years, and most recently as Headteacher at Dovelands Primary School, a large primary school in Leicester City for nine years. Sara worked closely with the Leicester and Leicestershire SCITT, based at Dovelands.

She also was a delivery lead for teachers and mentors in the first year of the Early Career Framework delivered by the Leicester and Leicestershire Teaching School Hub. This work led Sara to her role at the Mead Institute for Professional Learning. She is excited to lead the Institute in order to impact on the children in schools across Leicester City, and to provide the highest quality professional learning opportunities for all staff across the Mead schools.

Simon Renshaw – Deputy Director of the Institute, with responsibility for the Teaching School Hub

Simon Renshaw has been a teacher since 2002 and has a passion for professional learning with improving children’s outcomes at its core.

He has a strong affinity with the local area as he grew up in Leicester and has worked across four schools within the city and county as a teacher and leader. His interest in educational research led him to author several journal articles on teaching, learning, curriculum and assessment.

Simon has been involved in Initial Teacher Training since 2007, and a Lead Subject Tutor for the Leicester and Leicestershire SCITT since its inception. He contributed to the pilot project of the Early Career Framework (ECF) in 2019 and was instrumental in establishing the ECF delivery for Leicester and Leicestershire in association with Teach First.

Simon is pleased to continue to support and collaborate on the educational development of both teachers and young people through The Mead Institute.