Central Team

At the East London Teaching School Hub, we have a dedicated central services team, based at Mulberry School for Girls, who are on hand to support the development of teachers across Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Each member of our team is committed to our ethos of collegiality, inclusion and transparency.

Director of East London Teaching School Hub
Deputy Director of East London Teaching School Hub
ELTSH Business Manager
ITT Strategic Lead
ECF Secondary Strategic Lead
AB and Primary Strategic Lead
NPQ Strategic Lead
Programmes Coordinator
ELTSH Administrator
ELTSH Administrative Assistants

We recognise the importance of collegiality and collaboration across all of our schools, which is why we have a team of experienced facilitators to assist us in delivering the highest quality development programmes.

They are based in a number of schools and partner organisations across Tower Hamlets and Hackney and work with us on the Early Career Framework and National Professional Qualification programmes. Their in-depth knowledge of the local educational context ensures that the programmes we offer meets the specific needs of the programme’s participants.

Meet the Team

Director of East London Teaching School Hub
Ruth Smith

Deputy Director of East London Teaching School Hub
Dr Tessa Blair

ITT Strategic Lead

Adele Page

ECF secondary strategic lead
Emily Hatcher

Appropriate Body and ECF primary strategic lead
Emma Burton

Director of East London Teaching School Hub

Ruth Smith

Ruth Smith was appointed as Director of Education in 2019 for Mulberry Schools Trust (a family of schools in Tower Hamlets, London). Prior to that, Ruth spent 11 years as part of the senior leadership team at Mulberry School for Girls where she helped to raise standards in the quality of teaching and learning and professional development. She also led the London City Teaching Schools Alliance from 2014-2021. Ruth has designed and delivered several bespoke professional learning programmes for other schools and engaged in school-to-school support. She has worked with UCL IOE to co-design bespoke leadership and subject-specialist professional development programmes and has secured significant funding over the years to enable greater reach of projects. Ruth is passionate about ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, gets the very best education because of the very best teaching. She firmly believes that teachers change lives. She advocates for collegiate and collaborative local partnerships so that all pupils benefit from the best in the system. Ruth also facilitates on the leadership NPQs delivered by ELTSH.

Deputy Director of East London Teaching School Hub

Dr Tessa Blair

Tessa Blair is the Strategic Lead for the Early Career Framework at East London Teaching School Hub. Early Career teacher learning fascinates her, so much so that she recently completed a doctorate in education. Her research focussed on the learning of beginning teachers and their mentors. Alongside her work in schools, Tessa also works in a university acting as a Curriculum Tutor on a History PGCE programme and a supervisor on the Masters in Teacher Education programme. Tessa relishes opportunities to work in partnerships between universities, schools and other strategic partners as she believes that together they can have the greatest impact on teacher learning and ultimately the students they serve. As a school leader, Tessa led professional learning across the school including ITE, early career learning, teaching and leadership development.

ELTSH Business Manager

Damilola Dauda

Dami joined the East London Teaching School Hub as Business Manager in September 2024, bringing over a decade of experience in Mathematics education in London and internationally. Before joining the Teaching School Hub, she worked with one of the lead providers for National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). Dami leverages her expertise in managing programme delivery operations and is driven by a deep understanding of both the challenges schools face and the transformative impact that effective professional development can have on the education sector.

ITT Strategic Lead

Adele Page

Adele Page has over 25 years of experience in and passion for Initial Teacher Education (ITE), having played a pivotal role in the establishment of one of the first former Teaching Schools in East London. As a Level 7 Executive Coach and Mentor, she offers expert guidance and coaching to senior leaders, teachers and trainees alike, ensuring continuous personal and professional growth. Her NPQLTD (National Professional Qualification in Leading Teacher Development) has further enhanced her ability to strategically lead teacher development initiatives, ensuring high-quality training and mentorship.

Currently serving as Director of ITT and the ECF at an East London school, Adele has built strong partnerships with local ITT providers. Adele ensures that all mentors, trainees and early career teachers receive the guidance and support they need to excel. Passionate about education’s transformative power, Adele believes that teaching and training educators is as important as teaching students, embodying a commitment to lifelong learning as the foundation of both personal and professional development.

ECF secondary strategic lead

Emily Hatcher

Emily Hatcher is the ECF Secondary Strategic Lead for the East London Teaching School Hub, and is an Assistant Principal at Mulberry UTC. Emily’s role at MUTC focuses on Teaching and Learning and SEND. As a senior leader, Emily leads professional learning across the school including ITE, early career learning, teaching and leadership development. Emily has taught in London Secondary Schools since 2013 and is a keen advocate of Arts Education, as a trained Art teacher and current teacher of Media and Film Studies. She has previously facilitated on the ECT Year 1 and Year 2 programmes, and looks forward to continuing to support leadership of facilitators to provide high quality professional development for our early career teachers. Emily is extremely passionate about developing and crucially retaining our brilliant teachers in order to provide the best possible education for our young people. Emily is keen to build the confidence, knowledge and skills of our early career teachers and is excited to see them grow into future leaders.

Appropriate Body and ECF primary strategic lead

Emma Burton

Emma is the Appropriate Body and ECF Strategic Lead at East London Teaching School Hub. Her role as an ECF Lead facilitator means that she possesses in-depth knowledge of the Early Career Framework, and has experience of the UCL ECF programme. She has developed expertise in adult facilitation, leading a variety of training courses at Hackney Education over the past 11 years enabling her to provide high-quality training for our ECTs and mentors and coaching for our facilitators, aligning facilitator development across . She believes that equipping teachers with the skills they need to provide all pupils with the best quality education carries the highest importance and is passionate about the impact she can have on this cycle of learning. Emma ensures that schools within the hub deliver on high-quality ECT Induction through quality assurance, monitoring and evaluating whilst ensuring ELTSH remains statutory compliant through her Appropriate Body Strategic Lead role. She is a creative, innovative and pragmatic leader who motivates others.

NPQ strategic lead

Vicky Wright

Vicky Wright is the Strategic Lead for the National Professional Qualifications at East London Teaching School Hub. She has worked as a teacher and leader in Tower Hamlets for 16 years and is currently Deputy Head at Columbia Primary School. She is also a Specialist Leader in Education, Literacy Specialist for New Vision Hub and facilitates the NPQ Leading Literacy for the ELTSH. Vicky feels particularly passionate about making every aspect of school provision equitable, so that all pupils have access to a high-quality education that enables them to thrive in the curriculum and the world beyond. She believes one of the main ways we can achieve this is to provide outstanding professional development and create a professional learning community where teachers and leaders can be their very best. For her, the NPQs are pivotal in growing teachers and leaders across the primary and secondary sectors, providing a forum for them to engage with evidence-based research to drive forward best practice in their own schools and thus making a difference to the lives of every pupil.

ELTSH Administrator

Tushar Dhawan

Tushar Dhawan has experience in risk assurance, human resources and data research. He holds a masters in international business. Tushar has worked across several industries including, Non-Profits, Education and Professional services and has volunteered with various charitable trusts. Tushar brings his passion for education and research to his work as the East London Teaching School Hub Administrator.

Programmes Coordinator

Arfa Alima

Alima has worked on cross-brand marketing, communications, and visitor experiences in multi-national organisations for the past 5 years. She has worked on capital and charitable projects to launch events and transform spaces. Together with our key delivery partners, her programme coordination, participant engagement and administrative experience will manage our professional development programmes, harnessing the East London Teaching School Hub values in our offer to ensure we have impact in our local region. Her knowledge and understanding of facilitating collaborative CPD events in various settings such as NVQ’s and Chartered Institute’s will enable teachers on our programmes to continue their incredible work at school and have great shared experiences on professional development programmes at any stage of their career.

ELTSH Administrative Assistants team

ELTSH is supported by a dedicated team of part-time assistants who work flexibly to support the central team and programme participants.

East London Teaching School Hub

Mulberry School for Girls
Richard Street I Commercial Road I London E1 2JP
020 7791 7218 | info@eastlondontsh.org
@EastLondonTSH | @eastlondontsh

Mulberry School for Girls is part of the Mulberry Schools Trust which is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (Company No. 10035860).

Company’s registered office: Mulberry Schools Trust, Richard Street, Commercial Road, London E1 2JP.

Meet the Team

Ruth Smith

Dr Tessa Blair

Damilola Dauda

Adele Page

Emily Hatcher

Emma Burton

Vicky Wright

Tushar Dhawan

Arfa Alima

Ruth Smith

Dr Tessa Blair

Damilola Dauda

Adele Page

Emily Hatcher

Emma Burton

Vicky Wright

Tushar Dhawan

Arfa Alima

ELTSH Administrative Assistants team

East London Teaching School Hub

Strategic Partners