|
Meet the Board Committed to promoting excellence in Physical Education, School Sport, and Physical Activity Professor Jeanne Keay
Jeanne has worked in various phases of education throughout her professional life, initially focusing on physical education but eventually moving into a broader remit in senior management. She began her career as a teacher of physical education in secondary schools in Cannock, Gloucester and Rotherham before moving into higher education in 1992 to work in teacher education at Leeds Beckett University (or as it was then, Leeds Metropolitan University) and to subsequently lead the physical education team. In 2002 she became Head of Initial Teacher Education, and then Dean of Education, at the University of Roehampton and during this time was a member of the PEA and afPE Boards and involved in the London afPE group. In 2012 she became Assistant Director and Head of International Strategy at the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA) and led the internationalisation agenda for the organisation. In 2013 she joined the University of the West of Scotland as Pro Vice Chancellor (International) before moving back to Yorkshire in 2016 to work as Pro Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) at Leeds Beckett University. She retired in 2022 and is now Emeritus Professor for Physical Education with the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University.
Although working in broader education roles she has always remained involved in physical education through research and various influence groups e.g. the European Primary Physical Education Network group. Her research has been located within the area of teacher professional development focusing on induction, quality assurance processes of CPD providers, CPD innovations and communities of practice.
Chair of the BoardProfessor Jo Harris
Jo is an Emeritus Professor of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy at Loughborough University. Jo taught in secondary schools for 12 years and was a teacher educator for 33 years. In her previous role as Director of Teacher Education at Loughborough, Jo led consecutive Ofsted inspections in which teacher education was consistently judged to be ‘outstanding’. Co-Vice ChairMichael Stevenson
Board member and Senior Independent Trustee, with The Association for Physical Education (afPE) since July 2018. Chair of the Board of Directors with Employers For Childcare Charitable Group (EFC). EFC is the only Social Enterprise Childcare Voucher provider in the UK, encompassing a registered charity and a Social Enterprise. 100% of the profits from the Social Enterprise are reinvested into our charitable activities – all of which support parents, employers and childcare providers. Previously Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee with EFC – Michael also has extensive executive experience of managing corporate and departmental risk registers. An experienced HR/Payroll professional with over 30 years’ experience in delivering HR, Payroll and pension administration services, having managed payrolls ranging in size from 1,000 to over 30,000 payees in both the private and public sector. Qualified Prince 2 Practitioner with extensive project and programme management experience. Extensive, relevant experience of stakeholder management including the management of 3rd party vendors and external service providers (e.g. Fujitsu Services, PWC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Pension Advisory firms, Actuaries). Experienced in continuous improvement techniques, delivering to the highest standards of SLA’s and performance reporting via balanced scorecards. Co-Vice ChairChristine Lloyd
Christine has taught in Primary, Secondary and Special Education and was also an Advisor for Special Educational Needs for the London borough of Bromley. She then moved to the University of Greenwich, where she was responsible for Continuing Professional Development, and later to Roehampton University where she was Assistant Dean of Education, Head of The School of Education and Dean of Academic Enterprise. This last role was focussed on income generation and involved extensive international, national and local partnership work and the development of a number of international academic collaborations as well as responsibility for supporting bids and grants. After retiring for full time employment in the UK she became a Professor of Inclusive Education and Globalization at The Fontys Professional University, Tilburg in the Netherlands. She also worked as a consultant taking on a variety of roles in the Netherlands and in the UK including a year as Acting Dean of the Business School at the University of the West of Scotland. Research interests and publications include, Inclusive Education, Continuing Professional Development in Education, Process Models of Curriculum, Learning and Teaching, Assessing the Impact of Learning and Collaboration and Partnerships.
Board MemberRebecca Antcliffe
Rebecca is the Education Manager with Active Calderdale, one of 12 Local Delivery Pilots funded by Sport England. Prior to this role she enjoyed 25 years in teaching and education including roles as Head of Department, Head of Year and School Sport Partnership Manager.
Her current role sees her working with schools to embed physical activity throughout the school day and beyond using the Creating Active Schools Framework and she is now developing this to be suitable for EYFS and post-16 provision. Through this work Rebecca has wide experience of whole school change and policy development to include physical activity both in and out of the classroom and is compiling a series of case studies highlighting the impact of this ethos. Committed to enabling non-specialists to become confident PE practitioners, she has led numerous workshops and CPD courses and produced resources to underpin learning. She also supports schools in policy development and implementing learning and behaviour strategies based on physical activity interventions.
Rebecca’s wider role includes being part of the Local Authority Public Health CYP team where she leads on the Active programme to ensure PESSPA is a focus in all Council CYP policies.
Outside work, Rebecca is a keen runner, participating in road and trail marathons and ultramarathons, and is also an avid reader.
Board MemberRachael Bullingham
Rachael is a Senior Lecturer of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Gloucestershire. She is course leader for Physical Education and Sport, Coaching and Physical Education. Additionally, several Equality Diversity (EDI) and Inclusion projects and initiatives including a University Teaching Fellowship project. She has been involved in a variety of research topics including homophobia in sport and concussion in sport. Rachael’s PhD analysed the experiences of openly lesbian athletes participating in team sports. She has published ‘Out in Sport’ which offers an up-to-date examination of homophobia in sport. Additionally, she has published on lesbian athletes in the sports media and athletes coming out. She has recently edited the Routledge Handbook of Gender Politics in Sport and Physical Activity.
Previously Rachael was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Worcester leading on the Physical Education and Outdoor Education degree. Prior to working in HE she was a secondary school Physical Education teacher and had additional pastoral roles.
Board MemberMike Jess
Mike Jess is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education at the University of Edinburgh. He taught Physical Education in primary and secondary schools for 12 years before entering higher education in 1991. Since then, he has worked in universities in Scotland, England and the USA. Mike is currently working on 2 longitudinal projects. The ‘Physical Education is for Life’ (PEL) project that seeks to reframe the nature of school Physical Education and the ‘Visions and Voices’ project that focusses on teachers’ personal visions for Physical Education. In recent years, Mike has been a member of the International Advisory Board for the Renovation of General Education Project (RGEP) in Vietnam and a curriculum writer for the Pre-Service Teacher Reform Project in Myanmar. He was previously a member of the Physical Education Review Group and National Physical Activity Task Force in Scotland, leader of the ‘Basic Moves’ Project, a consultant on the BUPA/Youth Sport Trust 'Start to Move' Project and the joint director of the Scottish Primary Physical Education Project: a £6 million project set up to help over 1,000 primary teachers across Scotland develop a specialism in Physical Education. Mike’s research interests focus on the relationship between complexity thinking, ecological perspectives and professional practice. His recent work in these areas has concentrated on complex adaptive practice, boundary crossing, trans-disciplinarily, lesson study and self-study. Mike has presented at many international conferences and has written extensively on complexity thinking and physical education. He is an honoured member of the Association for Physical Education. Board MemberCharlie I'Anson
Charlie is an experienced PE professional who currently works as Head of Physical Education at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy and is the subject Trust Leader for the Ascend Trust in Wiltshire. Charlie has previously worked as Head of PE in Surrey and as a Pastoral Leader in Hillingdon. He has also held Associate Assistant Headteacher positions as part of two school leadership teams. In extension to his subject role Charlie works alongside colleagues in the delivery, design and review of staff leadership development and CPD as an Olevi Professional Facilitator.
Charlie has a wealth of ‘on the ground’ subject knowledge and has experience with whole school change. He has an understanding of the requirements to support development across a variety school settings. He is ambitious, committed, and passionate about Physical Education and as a member of the afPE board of trustees he is excited to support the national voice of PE. Implementing the associations vision to support the workforce in placing physical education at the heart of school life. As part of his board role Charlie will be supporting the sport, physical activity and physical education practice sectors.
Charlie has a strong belief in the power of PE and sport, leading the development of whole school education through sessions and seminars in equality through provision, curriculum & assessment modelling and Holocaust and genocide cross curricular learning.
Board MemberKate Stephenson
Kate is a Subject Professional Development Advisor for Education Durham, Durham County Council and the PESSPA Specialist County Advisor. With over 20 years of teaching experience Kate has been a Primary Advanced Skills Teacher and Deputy Headteacher working within County Durham. Kate has also worked internationally as Deputy Head of Primary for the British School of Guangzhou, within the Nord Anglia Education and British School Group, leading on assessment and attainment, and professional development across the curriculum as well as Head of the PE and swimming Department. When she returned to the UK and Durham, Kate began her role as an Educational Development Advisor for Durham Local Authority in 2014. Her vast knowledge of teaching pedagogy and curriculum places her well in supporting school leaders and practitioners across all phases of education. Kate has been a Quality Mark English & Mathematics Accessor, She is a NPQL Behaviour & Culture facilitator and NPQL assessor and Advisor lead on the PSHE/RSHE county CPD networks and wellbeing landscape. Kate has a vast amount of experience within Physical Education School Sport and Physical Activity, she has an extensive list of PE/Sport coaching and leadership qualifications and research insight, including Comenius projects, Sport England expert panel, task force and university research partnering work, along with a previous Masters in Education with PESSPA research focus. Board MemberRichard Grainger
Richard has over 25 years of management experience in elite sport and education, with a proven track record at both national and international levels. He is deeply passionate about the transformative impact of physical education (PE) and school sport on children’s lives. For more than two decades, Richard has served as an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) in Physical Education, working one day a week for the local authority, supporting schools and leadership teams. His expertise has led him to present at numerous national conferences on a variety of topics related to education and PE. Richard has held a range of senior leadership roles in schools, including AST, Assistant Principal, and Vice Principal, throughout his career, he has consistently maintained a hands-on role in PE and school sport. He possesses an extensive portfolio of coaching qualifications across multiple sports, reflecting his commitment to fostering excellence and participation. Richard has worked on the development of the previous National Curriculum and a year-long exemplification project. During a secondment with the Youth Sport Trust (YST), he led and developed a National school sport initiative in partnership with a global corporation. He has also collaborated with various organisations, including AFPE, to develop numerous PE resources. Richard has organised and hosted conferences for over 40 schools and worked extensively with universities and SCITTs to support Initial Teacher Training (ITT) students. Prior to teaching and throughout his early years, Richard worked in elite professional sport working both Nationally and Internationally. Currently Richard works for a global Ed-tech company, working to provide world class education for all students. Board Member |
20/10/2025📢 afPE CEO Kate Thornton-Bousfield statement 📢
02/10/2025Honours nominations 2025
19/09/2025 » 24/04/2026
Primary School Physical Education Specialism Course
10/10/2025 » 05/06/2026
Primary School Physical Education Specialism Course
© 2023 Association for Physical Education (afPE).
All rights reserved.
