Department for Children, Youth and Education

Jonathan Rendall
Schools' Improvement Advisor

It was on my 'gap year' in Kenya while teaching at Chadwick Teacher Training College in the 60s that I discovered my vocation to teaching; indeed my first foray into the world of education was in Africa - as a pupil at an elementary school in what is now Ghana. It was my father who completed my application form for teacher training - I never did see what he wrote but I was offered a place at St Paul's CofE College, Cheltenham just two days before the term began in September 1966.

My first teaching post was at a rural primary school in Somerset but at the end of that first year I was made redundant due to falling rolls - "last one in the first out". Thankfully, and by then just married, I was appointed to another post at a school nearby for the following September. There followed teaching appointments in Cheshire and Yorkshire. My career has given opportunity to teach in a range of schools from a very small rural primary school (28 pupils) to a large urban junior school. These twenty six years have included eighteen years of primary headship with opportunity for a variety of associated work including a number of years as external adviser for the PGCE course at Bretton Hall College.

In 1995 I left headship to take up my appointment as Schools' Advisor in the Diocese of Hereford. This has given me opportunity to work with three SACREs, two SCITTs, five LAs and amongst other things in co-authoring Ad Collectam with Robin Sharples. In 2005 as Schools' Adviser I visited Hereford's three link Dioceses in Tanzania to establish school links and lead staff training at the six new Church secondary schools: Africa still calls with an invitation to return to these schools in late 2007!

I took ‘early retirement' in May 2006 and now much enjoy working part-time for Hereford Diocese as the SIAS Manager and for this Diocese as School Improvement Consultant.

My wife Jean who teaches at a PRU and I have lived in Hereford for twelve years. Our two married daughters live and work in London and we have just become grandparents to Nathaniel. The allotment and garden, bird watching and water colour painting plus active involvement at the parish church challenge that work life balance!