Meet our team | International Inspectorate Council (IIC)

Karen Jones

Chairman of IIC

Karen took up the role of Chairman of International Inspectorate Council (IIC) and the position of Chief Inspector after she had spent more than 10 years leading a team of Her Majesty’s Inspectors based in the South East of England. Prior to joining IIC Karen had a long career within the further education (FE) sector as a senior leader in a variety of FE colleges. She began her career by teaching in a school and then a sixth form college before finding her vocation in the post-16 sector. She has worked with most curriculum teams over her career including working with teams in prison and specialist colleges. Her last role was that of Deputy Principal in a large FE college.

Lord Ahmed Ali

Director of International Development & Business

Ahmed is British with Arabic background. He has completed his military studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Liverpool University and also a Master of Business Administration from the University of Bolton. Ahmed had a long career within the further education (FE) sector with variety of managerial roles. Ahmed has a special interest in the education sector.

Martin McAreavey

Chief Operation Manager

Martin is Programme Leader for the full time MBA and Postgraduate Leadership course at the University of Bolton. Martin has a broad background in business and management gained in a range of international, European and UK organisations. Following the award of an MBA from Durham in 1991 Martin worked for NCR and AT&T on trans-Atlantic projects in retail banking, international trade, technology management and consumer engagement, building compelling business cases for strategic investments and industry-level change. Martin has extensive experience of setting up and managing new business enterprises, and has gained practical knowledge from applying management and leadership theory to address business issues.

Abigail Rodgers

Researcher in the field of Education / Inspector

Abigail has been working in education development for 7 years now and she is considered to be a towering figure in the field. She leads on the academic input for primary and secondary school programmes, ensuring to bring the latest practice to project design and learn effectively from implementation. She has a specific interest in TESOL.

Robert Berry

Head of Accreditation & Chief Inspector

Rob is an expert in developing methodologies of teaching English language. He is a member of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom. He is also a Chief Ofsted inspector for many years and currently responsible for 96 government schools in the Tameside region in England.

Prof Paul Cowel

Chief Inspector

Paul was born in London and taught at several British and overseas universities before joining IIC. Paul is an experienced inspector of FE and skills, private further education and initial teacher education. He has over eighteen years’ experience with Grade 1 outstanding providers across the education and training sector, holding a variety of teaching and management positions within further and higher education, sixth form and ACL. Paul has proven reputation for delivering dynamic and highly engaging training both to large audiences and focused teams. Paul has published extensively on areas of international education and is an acknowledged expert on educational qualifications throughout the world.

Beverley Egan

Business Advisor

Bev is a Senior HMI. She is a qualified teacher, with post-graduate qualifications in education management. Bev has taught in schools and colleges and held various management roles, including five years as a vice-principal. Bev was a senior examiner for GCSE business studies and A-level economics and made contributions to the development of academic and vocational qualifications. Her specialist areas are in business, quality assurance and performance management. Bev manages a team of HMI and oversees improvement work in the North West and leads college inspections. She led a national business survey, quality assures inspections and contributes to new inspection frameworks and inspector training.

Paige Morgan

Education Consultant and Inspector of IIC

Paige is an HMI. Shee became a full-time inspector in 2010. She is a qualified teacher and has a Master’s degree in social sciences and an MBA. She has taught in both further and higher education settings and has held senior management positions in general further education colleges. She has inspected colleges, work-based learning, adult and community learning and initial teacher education. Her particular area of expertise is in the social sciences.

Andrew Lumb

Education Consultant and Inspector of IIC

Andy is an HMI. He has been an inspector since 2001, working firstly for the Training Standards Council and then the Adult Learning Inspectorate. He has an MBA and a Diploma in Training and Development. Andy worked for 10 years in the work-based learning sector in colleges and independent providers, and was a director of a private training company. He has considerable experience inspecting post-16 learning across a range of settings.

Richard Morgan

Education Consultant and Inspector of IIC

Richard Morgan joined IIC as an HMI in 2016, having been a full-time inspector since joining the Adult Learning Inspectorate in 2003. He is a qualified teacher in post-16 education and has fifteen years of experience of working in colleges of further education, 10 of which were as head of department. His main areas of inspection include colleges, work-based learning, adult and community learning and employer-based training.

Rosie Weaver

Education Consultant and Inspector of IIC

Rosie Weaver is an HMI. She is a qualified teacher and has held several senior management positions in local authorities and voluntary sector organisations. She has experience of inspecting across all further education and skills contexts.