Say Hello to Jo!
Jo joined Astrea in September 2025, taking on the role of Regional Lead Practitioner for History. Jo is deployed here at Ernulf to assist specifically with Year 11 outcomes and support the History team.
We caught up with Jo to talk about her new role and chat further about her time so far at Ernulf.
One of my main roles here at Ernulf is to raise outcomes and support with the implementation of the core History curriculum. I feel passionate that all scholars, regardless of their background or needs, experience the History Education they deserve. I also feel passionate about teaching and learning methods and the impact they have on learning in the classroom. I want to push outcomes for all our scholars here to ensure they have the best set of GCSE’s to use as currency for their next step in the world. I am lucky in my role because I still teach scholars in the classroom whilst leading and developing the History Curriculum, it really is the best job in the world!
I have worked in Secondary Education for a decade now, starting off in an inner-city London school, working in a prestigious Trust there. Moving over to Astrea is exciting as we are in an exciting part of our journey where all schools are GOOD and are striving for OUTSTANDING. At the heart of this is the mission to disrupt disadvantage and deliver outcomes, which aligns with my own personal values as someone who was the first in their family to go to university, I have firsthand experienced the doors education can open.
I love being at Ernulf! The scholars have energy, ambition, and care about their education. They have character, and I see this in and out the classroom. I enjoy teaching them and watching them grow. The current teaching and learning strategies here at Ernulf are based on pedagogical research which has proven to work and has an impact, and I see this in lessons daily as a teacher and observer.
I studied History at Dundee University and then went on to complete my PGCE at Goldsmiths in London. I had a love and passion for History, and I knew, even when I first left school, that teaching was the right career for me. It was at university that I realised my passion was to get into education to support social mobility for younger people. It is important to me to be able to use the education system as a tool to be able to nurture and inspire young people. I started my first school placement, where I completed my beginner Teacher Programme, and the rest is… History!
I want to see outstanding results in History here at Ernulf, with scholars taking their History GCSE exam and 100% of them achieving at least a 5+ and a rapid increase on our 7+. I want to see our scholars choose History at A-Level and eventually go on to study at university level.
Ernulf has been a welcoming next step for me. The ambition, hard-work, and commitment from staff and scholars is obvious and infectious. I am part of this transformation, and I’m excited to see the impact of the improvements being implemented at Ernulf, it is going to transform lives.
We feel lucky to have Jo as part of #TeamErnulf and can’t wait to see the differences she will make here.