Director, Education & Planning: Russell Andrews

Russell joined PfS in 2005, and has been Director of the Education & Planning team since May 2006.

 Russell oversees a team of Education, ICT and PE/Sports specialists who together are responsible for supporting local authorities as they bring together their education and estate strategy for BSF, and then throughout the project to ensure that educational transformation is delivered through new learning spaces. 

Prior to joining PfS, Russell was Assistant Director of Education in Nottingham City where he had responsibility for Standards and Effectiveness and for Schools Requiring Support and Intervention from 2002. Over that period he led the development of Nottingham’s strategy for raising attainment in its secondary schools and was also a lead officer as the authority initiated its BSF programme.

Russell’s career has also included posts in Leicester and Bury LEAs where he worked on improvement strategies with secondary and primary schools. Russell taught for 16 years in urban secondary schools in West Yorkshire gaining valuable senior management experience over that period and he retains a strong interest in the challenges of raising standards in the inner-city context.

Education & Planning Team

Russell's team consists of:

• Strategic Directors for ICT and Education 
• Education Directors
• Education ICT Advisers
• Director of Design
• Design Managers
• PE & Sport Advisers
• Arts & Culture Adviser

The aspirations and plans that a local authority has for how it will transform secondary education through BSF are captured in their Strategy for Change. This is key to the whole project, from first discussions with stakeholders to the successful operation of the new schools.

The Education & Planning Team's key responsibility is to ensure that local authorities develop a robust and coherent Strategy for Change that is translated into a clear business case. Information & Communications Technology (ICT) strategy, change management and delivering educational transformation will be at the heart of this strategy, which will be developed with the support of the Education & Planning Team's education, planning, design and ICT specialists.

As well as having lead responsibility for the Strategy for Change, the Education & Planning Team support local authorities preparing to enter the programme and work with Project Directors throughout the life of a BSF project, to ensure that educational transformation remains at the heart.