Educational Consultant and Coach

Former head teacher and inspector; primary and secondary expertise in UK and abroad.

Located in United Kingdom

Profile

Nick Butt specialises in school inspection and reviews, school self-evaluation, training, coaching, leadership and management, and school improvement. With over three decades of experience, he has worked with education systems in the UK, USA, UAE, and the Cayman Islands.

Nick has been inspecting schools since 2005 and worked with the Brent Schools Partnership 2015-2024. He has also been a consultant with London Challenge and the Department for Education and currently serves as a lead reviewer for Challenge Partners. His extensive expertise covers all aspects of primary and secondary education, including self-evaluation, leadership and management, governance, curriculum development, teaching and learning, early years, sixth form, safeguarding, well-being, special educational needs, behaviour management, personal, social, and health education, and assessment.

Some of Nick’s significant successes include transforming a failing school, pioneering several successful initiatives, and effectively communicating educational insights through media. As an inspector, he developed rapid school evaluation techniques and quality assurance processes. His international work includes improving educational outcomes in disadvantaged areas of New York and assessing schools in Abu Dhabi. As a City Challenge Adviser, he made substantial improvements in underperforming London schools, particularly in English and maths scores. As a consultant, he has supported numerous schools and trusts in achieving better outcomes and overall school performance.

Nick is renowned for his ability to conduct thorough school inspections and reviews, both in the UK and internationally. He excels in helping schools with self-evaluation, developing leadership and management strategies, and driving school improvement. His training and coaching skills are highly regarded, and his expertise in report writing and analysis ensures clear and effective communication of findings and recommendations. He tells it how it is but in a nice way!

Nick also has a strong media presence, having communicated educational insights through radio, TV, and articles in major publications like the Times Educational Supplement and the Spectator Magazine. His extensive experience and dedication to educational improvement make him a leading figure in the field of educational consultancy, inspection, and school improvement.

Skills

Career Coaching
Change Management
Classroom Management
Client Empowerment
Coaching
Communication
Compliance
Confidence Coaching
Counselling
Creative Writing
Dealing with Change
Education and Language Coach
Empathy
Employee Engagement
Exec Coaching
Fostering Creativity
Governance
Health and Wellbeing Coach
Innovation
Internal Audit
Interview Preparation
Leadership
Lived Experience
Management
Mediation
Mental Well-being
Mentoring
Midlife Coach
Practice development
Problem-solving
Public Speaking
Resilience Building
Risk Analysis
Safeguarding
SEND
Strategic Planning
Strategy Development
Supervision
Team building
Team Coaching
Training Delivery
Work Transition

Experience/Employment history

Current Position:
- Education Consultant and Director of Nick Butt (Education) Ltd (since 2003).
- Director of Carousel Education Ltd (since October 2021).
Previous Position:
- Headteacher of St. Edmund’s Community Foundation School, King’s Lynn, Norfolk (1996-2003).
Experience:
- School inspector, leading over 500 inspections and quality assuring reports (2005-2020).
- Reviewer of New York schools and UAE schools’ inspection (2007-2009).
- City Challenge Adviser for improving underperforming primary schools in London (2009-2011).
- Education Adviser for the Department for Education assessing Free School applications (2011).
- Lead Educational Professional supporting Cuckoo Hall Academies Trust (2013-2016).
- Basildon Education Partnership Adviser, leading improvement initiatives and peer reviews (2014-2017).
- Senior Education Director role within BEP, leading ‘good to outstanding’ programs (September 2016).
- Brent Schools’ Partnership School Improvement Specialist, focusing on school improvement and governance (2015-2024).
- Lead Reviewer with Challenge Partners, conducting quality reviews of schools (2016-present).
- Consultant for West Norfolk Academies Trust, Islington schools, and Learning Without Limits Academy Trust in Leicester (2016-present).
International Experience:
- Inspecting schools in the Cayman Islands (2018-2019).

Qualifications & Certifications

1981 BA (Hons) in English Literature, Durham University (University College)
1985 PGCE (with distinction), Bristol University (Bath College of Higher Education)

From: £350.00 / month with a 15-day free trial

Highly experienced former head teacher and inspector. Expertise in both primary and secondary in UK and internationally, including early years and sixth form.