I am a CIPD-qualified education HR consultant with more than 20 years’ experience. I give clear, no-nonsense advice and guidance, supporting my clients every step of the way.
I specialise in complex disciplinary cases and investigations into conduct and grievances. I also have significant experience in handling difficult absence management cases, dealing with capability concerns and leading organisational restructures.
“I would like to say an enormous thank you to Jo Wakeman, for her fantastic support this year.
The way in which Jo has handled some very complex situations, and the support which I have received has been excellent, and often above and beyond what I would expect.
Her kindness, generosity and professionalism has contributed greatly to the improvement of the school. She is always highly professional and patient and pursues the school’s interests consistently.”
Jon Fox
Former Headteacher, Reculver CofE Primary School
“Jo has always been calm and professional in dealing with some very difficult matters and the results of her actions have always ended positively.
This is because the long term aim, and the bigger picture has always been taken account of in all of her advice and guidance.
I am extremely lucky to have worked with Jo as our HR Consultant and am grateful for the time she has spent supporting the school. I can not commend her work highly enough.”
Ben Cooper
Headteacher, Swalecliffe Community Primary School
Education HR Consultant
Freelance
As an education HR specialist, I work with school and education leaders to achieve the best outcomes for their organisations.
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys & Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School, Canterbury
HR Director
Shaping the strategic direction of the HR function across both schools as they join forces, while providing advice and support to senior leaders and governors on employment law and best practice.
Kent County Council Schools’ Personnel Service
HR Consultant
Providing professional HR support and advice to schools, Academies and KCC Education officers, dealing with a wide range of complex and sensitive employment issues including disciplinary, grievance, capability, redundancy, TUPE and employment legislation.
Kent County Council
Clerk to Governing Bodies
Ensuring that the Governing Bodies of six schools and one Building Schools for the Future project was compliant with law and best practice. To be highly organised in ensuring all records were accurate and meetings ran smoothly.
Boots the Chemist
Area HR Manager
Responsible for providing a generalist HR service to 18 stores (1200 heads), specialising in Employee relations advice. Line Managing a team of six Personnel Advisers to provide the best possible service to stores.
Marks & Spencer
Personnel Manager
During my graduate training programme I worked in all areas, including running large sections of clothing and food businesses, before specialising in personnel and managing the HR function across six stores.
Managing peopleYour people might be your biggest cost but they’re also your biggest asset. It’s vital to get the right support at the right time for issues brewing with members of the team. My approach is to nip issues in the bud with open, honest discussions, sometimes using coaching or mediation skills to solve an issue early on. My strong networks with local unions means I can often resolve issues early on saving the school time and disruption, and saving employees affected anxiety and stress.
Sometimes things do escalate in to more complex issues. Employment law and employee relations has been a focus of mine throughout my whole career, and that means I’m pretty good in this field. Read more about managing people.
Strategy and change managementA lot of HR work is fire fighting; sorting out issues as they arise. But for me, the real value of HR is when you look at your school strategy and make changes for the better, improving outcomes for the children you teach.
I have years of experience of forming company and school strategies with people in mind. School Improvement Plans are important but without including your staff and ensuring their buy in, they are little more than a paper exercise.
Often a school / academy needs to restructure to improve its efficiency or make contractual changes with staff. This can be tricky and feel daunting, but I can plan with you and advise you every step of the way, ensuring the best possible outcomes for both school and staff. Read more about strategy and change management.
RecruitmentI am highly experienced in Headteacher recruitment for Kent; it’s one of my favourite things to do! I can guide Governors every step of the way, from initial discussions about who you’re looking for, and what to pay and where best to advertise, right up to designing and running of an effective assessment process.
More often now, Governors are recognising the need to look for the ‘soft’ skills they need in a leader to effectively run a school. These are usually skills that can’t be taught; someone has them or they don’t. I enjoy designing bespoke assessment days, which assess candidates against those attributes, and gives a Governing body someone who truly fits into the culture of their school. Read more about recruitment.
TrainingSometimes leaders recognise a skills gap or training need in their organisation. Often, a few of the team can be sent on an off the peg training course, and the job is done. Sometimes though, it makes sense to invite the trainer to you, to train multiple people in your organisation together.
The benefits to this approach are many. The training course would be designed to be bespoke to your exact needs. Colleagues could learn together, and get so much more from the course with facilitated discussions throughout the day with team mates about how to apply their learning to their roles in school. Often it is the most cost effective solution if a number of people need the same training. Saving on costs per head, travel expenses and large amounts of time away from school. Read more about training.