Ben joined the Institute as a Trustee in December 2022, having been involved in school business leadership since 2013 when he joined a programme for Aspiring Business Managers ran by the National College. After working in an inner London maintained primary school as Business Manager, Ben joining STEP Academy Trust in 2014 to lead on finance and operations. At the time, STEP had four primaries in Croydon, and now there are 20 primaries within the Trust across the London and the South East. Ben has led on key aspects of the Trust’s growth and he oversees all business functions including Finance, ICT, Catering, Premises and HR, along with the STEP Ahead Teaching School and STEP Up Services.

Ben has been a Fellow of ISBL for a number of years and he has been involved in a number of pilot schemes for the Department of Education and the ESFA. This included the SRMA programme and CFO mentoring programme. Most recently Ben has supported those new to the CFO role in the sector, and is also part of the delivery team for the Trust Leaders programme as organised by Ambition Institute.