Jo Heywood (BSc Hons, PGCE)

Jo is passionate about education. She has spent the majority of her career to date in both maintained and independent schools, teaching, mentoring and supporting children and their families.

In the early part of her career she worked in a large mixed comprehensive school in Surrey, teaching science, before moving to an all-girls school in Berkshire where she was quickly promoted to the pastoral role of Head of House. Here, she worked with girls and their families having an overview of their academic and pastoral needs. After three years she was promoted to Deputy Head at another school where she led the pastoral teams in the school. Whilst here, she and successfully managed to navigate the merger with another school and the unfortunate death of a serving Headmistress. By the age of 37, she had been promoted to Headmistress.

Jo has an extensive knowledge of the leadership and management of schools alongside the challenges facing those in education today. She has gained a privileged view of the child and their unique family set-ups which has helped her to understand the different experiences that each child brings to the classroom. This allowed her to ensure that all who learned in her school were able to the very best student that they could be. Whilst working as Head, Jo had the privilege of employing Kathryn as one of her Deputy Heads. It soon became clear to them both that they shared the same core educational values and beliefs. It is from there that their working relationship grew.

More recently, she has moved into consultancy, working with schools and individual families to navigate the choppy seas of challenging situations. As an overseas boarder herself, Jo fully understands the life as an overseas student; the highs and sometimes lows that a learner can face when far from home. This has been invaluable in her when advising schools how to best suit the needs of their boarding community.

Jo is also a Governor of a through-school in Berkshire, where she sits on the Education Committee.

Most recently she has qualified as an accredited mediator and looks forward to adding this new-found skill set to her consultancy portfolio.

In her spare time, Jo enjoys hiking in the mountains and spending time with her family and friends.

To contact Jo directly, call +44(0)7793 804944 or email jo@heywooddeferrer.com