Education and charity leaders join Ofqual Board

Ofqual has appointed six new people to its Board, which have a range of education and other expertise. They include those who lead or have led an academy trust, a further education agency and a charity. They will each work on the Ofqual Board for three years from 1 July.

The Ofqual Board, which is led by Chair Ian Bauckham CBE, esures that Ofqual carries out its legal responsibilities and shows integrity and objectivity in regulating exams and assessment for general qualifications, such as GCSEs and A levels, as well as a wide range of vocational and technical qualifications, including apprenticeships.

The new members of the Ofqual Board include Hardip Begol CBE, who is currently CEO of Woodard Academies Trust (due to step down at the end of July). Hardip has also previously held senior roles in government including in the Department for Education, and earlier in his career trained as a chartered accountant and worked as a public service consultant.

Mark Farrar is formerly CEO of the Association of Accounting Technicians and previously CEO of the Construction Industry Training Board. He previously sat on the board of the Skills Funding Agency.

Cindy Leslie currently holds several non-executive positions, including Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee on the Architects Registration Board and Chair of Governors for Channing School, Highgate.

Eileen Milner was CEO of the Education Skills Funding Agency and COO of the Care Quality Commission.

Chris Paterson is currently Director of Impact at the Education Endowment Foundation and was previously a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State for Education. Chris is a qualified solicitor.

Clare Pelham is currently the Chief Executive of the Epilepsy Society, and a non-executive Governor of Birmingham City University and Director of Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Clare has previously held executive director posts in the private, voluntary and public sectors.

Moreover, the Department for Education is re-appointing three current Ofqual Board members. They are Susan Barrett, a former audit partner at Deloitte; Matt Tee, who is currently Executive Director of Integration at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust; and Frances Wadsworth CBE, who is a Deputy Further Education Commissioner.