Jonathan is Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer of the Wonder Learning Partnership.
As former Headteacher at Woldgate School he led the school from Requiring Improvement to Good, transforming the quality of education, outcomes, raising the number on roll and addressing a historic deficit. It was identified by the Department for Education as one of the ‘top 100’ most improved schools in the country in 2016 and is now heavily oversubscribed. The improvement journey was published in a national journal and resulted in an invitation to parliament.
In 2018 he became a National Leader of Education. He was appointed to work with a primary and secondary school at this time by the Department for Education. The primary school (now part of the Trust) under the leadership of a headteacher was graded as ‘Good’ in 2019 – the first time in the school’s history. The secondary school had successive ‘Requires Improvement’ judgements. The resulting secondary intervention led to improved GCSE outcomes, and it was regraded to ‘Good’ in 2022 following the pandemic. In 2019 Jonathan was also appointed Executive Headteacher of Longcroft School following GCSE results that placed the school in the bottom 10% nationally. The Progress 8 score increased from minus -0.5 to be in line with National and the school, with a new Headteacher, was graded ‘Good’ in 2023. In late 2023 he was appointed to lead Caedmon College and Eskdale School in Whitby, to oversee the merger of both schools and to create the new Whitby School, that opened in September 2025. This work was again recognised by the Department for Education, and he continues in this role to support the new Executive Headteacher of the school.
He was previously Deputy Head at an Academy graded ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and experienced the transformation of that school from it being one parents actively sought to avoid due to its reputation, into one that was highly successful and oversubscribed. Throughout this period, he was closely mentored by three highly successful and dynamic Headteachers, completing his NPQH at Manor School in York. As Academy Lead, he oversaw the academisation of Archbishop Holgate’s School and the creation of in-house procedures for finance, personnel and operations.
He had also, in this time, contributed to the design, creation and construction of a new Sixth Form that would be recognised by the Department for Education as the highest performing vocational centre in the country. As the founder and Head of the Pathfinder Teaching School, he has led on school improvement, staff development, leadership and teacher training, establishing one of the most successful Teaching Schools in the region.
In 2025 the Department for Education appointed Jonathan as a Civil Servant and as a Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence Advisor (RISE) for Yorkshire and Humberside. RISE advisers are education professionals with experience in school leadership and improvement. They are selected based on their record of improving outcomes in schools and work alongside schools, trusts, the Diocese and Local Authorities to identify practical steps for improvement.
Jonathan was also made a Lay-Canon by the Archbishop of York and appointed to the Chapter of York Minster as a non-executive Trustee in September 2023. He has been awarded the Glenn Goodman Trophy in memory of Special Constable Glenn Goodman who was murdered in 1992 by IRA terrorists and received a Divisional Commanders Commendation from North Yorkshire Police.
Outside of work, Jonathan is a father to his four children, a Formula One fan, enjoys cycling, reading and is an amateur gardener.
