Claire has held a number of Board level positions, most recently as an owner/director of Place Group Ltd. As Managing Director, Claire has led an organisation that has a 20-year successful track record of supporting major education transformation programmes across the country. Place Group has helped local authorities raise more than £4bn to rebuild and remodel school buildings, and supported educational sponsors to establish more than 100 new schools in areas of high demand and deprivation, including primary and secondary mainstream, SEND and AP.

Ten years ago she set up an education procurement consulting business, Schools’ Buying Club to help schools and trusts focus on optimal back office service delivery, efficiency and compliance. Over this time, Claire has driven the development of market-leading and award-winning strategies that have changed attitudes and behaviours towards procurement, saving schools over 75 million pounds which they have re-directed to enhance teaching and learning. Over the past four years, she has overseen the establishment and operation of a regional Schools’ Buying Hub in the South West on behalf of the Department for Education, providing procurement advice and support to over 2,000 schools and creating the blueprint for a national schools procurement service.

Claire’s passion and commitment to education lead her to founding Bellevue Place Education Trust in 2012 with a vision of bringing together the best of state and private sector education to deliver better outcomes for children. The Trust established seven new schools, and today operates nine primary schools judged as Good and Outstanding by Ofsted. In her role as Chair of Trustees, she ensures all young learners have access to an expansive curriculum experience and has driven a Trust-wide Philosophy programme across all schools.

Claire brings strategic knowledge of the education sector as well as in-depth commercial and business experience. A long standing partner of ISBL, she is a schools procurement expert, presenting to school business leaders across the country on how they can excel in their profession and benefit their schools and trusts with better value and higher quality goods and services.