Gwynn joined the SDBE in September 2023 as Education Adviser and is overseeing the NPQ programmes. He is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching with a passion for pedagogy and professional development.

Prior to this role, Gwynn was a Director of Education for a large, successful Multi-Academy Trust where he led on Quality Assurance, Teaching and Learning, Professional Development and Senior/Curriculum Leader networks across both primary and secondary schools. He has 20 years of experience in Senior Leadership positions, including roles in Headship and Executive Headship; he was Principal of an outstanding girls’ grammar school and an Executive Principal across schools in Medway and Portsmouth. He has experience in a range of school contexts: co-educational comprehensives and grammars, and single-sex secondary and grammar schools. He has worked in schools in Wales, Kent, Medway, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Torbay.

Gwynn, proud of his mixed Punjabi and Welsh heritage, grew up in Plumstead and went to St. Margaret’s Church of England Primary School as a child, where his mother was also a teacher. Miss Dansie was the Headteacher at this time. He recalls how committed the school was to its Christian ethos and the arts; he was involved in all the productions, ranging from a Philistine in ‘David and Goliath’ to the Mayor in ‘Rats to the Pied Piper!’, and was encouraged by his music teacher to play the trumpet, which he pursued all the way through secondary school and beyond. He and his family went to St. Mark’s with St. Margaret’s Church where Gwynn was a chorister.

At The Rochester Grammar School (RGS), Gwynn led it on its journey to becoming a nationally and internationally renowned Thinking school. It became the first secondary school in the country to be awarded Advanced Thinking school status by the University of Exeter and is now a global case study. He was part of the original drive team, joining Dr David Hyerle and Professor Bob Burden in the creation of their field guide for schools.

Gwynn wrote the successful bid and created and led the New Horizons Teaching School Alliance, a group of 40 schools who shared in one vision: to transform the life chances of all students. He developed networks and professional development for trainee teachers, early career teachers and leaders, and sat on the governing body of the IOE/UCL’s leadership department. He has run hundreds of CPD sessions over the years with his love of pedagogy always evident at the Trust conferences that he designed and led. In his final years in his Trust, using his research, he completely revamped its performance management policy, changing the culture of the Trust to one of Professional Growth.

Over the years, Gwynn has been significantly involved in school improvement. As part of this, he was seconded into two schools in special measures by his CEO. He became Interim Principal of City of Portsmouth Girls’ School (now The Portsmouth Academy), to successfully help it on its journey to securing good with outstanding for leadership on its last Section 5 OFSTED. He was also appointed as interim Head of an inner city Catholic school in special measures which he helped to move rapidly to good.

He is excited about his new role and working with Church schools across the London area.