Current Executive Committee Members

Sally Varley (Co-Chair and South West Region) – sally.varley@n-somerset.gov.uk

Sally joined the Executive Committee to host the November 2015 National EBDOG conference and is now Co-Chair of EBDOG and Chair for the South West Region.  She works for North Somerset Council as the Head of Strategic Place Planning, Capital Programmes and School Organisation/Admissions Service.  In this role she is responsible for Mainstream and SEND Place Planning and Commissioning, developer negotiations, the delivery of her directorate’s Capital Programme for Schools and other Children’s Services buildings, Academy Transfers and the Admissions and School Organisation functions. Partnership is key to any service delivery, whether with local schools or academies.  Sally and her team work closely with local education providers, contractors and other key players with the aim of creating sustainable school structures and new school places that enhance pupil outcomes as well as establishing North Somerset as a good place to live. Sally has just over 40 years’ experience in the public sector, starting her career as a clerical officer before working in personnel and social care.  She has been in the children’s services field for over 40 years managing the Student Grants and the Admissions and Transport Teams before taking a senior Service Leader role in 2006 and becoming a Head of Service in 2016.  

Rob Thomas (Co-Chair and Midlands Region) – Rob.Thomas@walsall.gov.uk

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Pete Mumford (East Region) – pete.mumford@suffolk.gov.uk

Pete joined the executive committee in 2019 and is the Co-Chair of EBDOG and Chair of the South East Region group.  He has worked at Suffolk County Council since 2010, and in his current role as Head of Schools Infrastructure since 2022. In this role he oversees School Place Planning, the School Capital Programme, Estate Management and Academisation. His previous place planning role focussed on responses to numerous district authority local plans and the discussions with housing developers about the impact of new housing and the education infrastructure required. This is an expanding area for Suffolk with significant investment needed to meet the Council’s statutory duty for providing school places over the next 10 to 15 years. Alongside this, Pete has also been involved in the development of a new SEND capital programme to deliver approximately £45m+ of additional infrastructure across the county. Prior to working at Suffolk County Council, Pete worked at the Learning and Skills Council in a Partnership Manager role and overseeing post-16 funding and capital projects.  

Isabel Horner (East Region)

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Vacancy (East Region)

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Robert Bollen (London Region)  – robert.bollen@bromley.gov.uk

Rob is Head of Strategic Place Planning at the London of Bromley, a role that encompasses planning for school places, school organisation and capital delivery. He has 16 years’ experience working in the public sector encompassing policy and project delivery roles in education, regeneration, capital delivery, corporate strategy and economic development. Prior to Bromley Rob was responsible for the client side delivery of PFI projects including education and social care and spent a time working in the private sector on public private partnerships including Building Schools For The Future (BSF).  Rob is also a governor of his local school and previously a director of a community credit union.  

Jane Lawley (London Region) – jane.lawley@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

Jane has been an EBDOG member representing the South-East London region for several years and joined the Executive Committee in December 2022.  Jane is the Strategic Lead for Inclusion and Place Planning in the Royal Borough of Greenwich responsible for school admissions and appeals; place planning; capital projects; school organisation and academy conversions, as well as the music service; attendance; education other than at school (EOTAS); primary and secondary inclusion services, youth justice education and the Virtual School for children and young people in the local authority’s care. Jane has worked in local government since 1996, starting in education funding and placements, before taking on responsibility for school place sufficiency and school capital projects in 2016.  In November 2022, Jane became a governor of a local SEMH secondary school.  

Jack Cutler (London Region)

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Matt Clayton (Midlands Region) – matthew.clayton@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Matt joined the Executive Committee in 2019 to represent the East Midlands region. Matt has worked for Lincolnshire County Council for the last 20 years in various roles within Children’s Services and Corporate Property in information management, admissions, school place planning and capital programme management, and is currently Head of Service for Education Support. He is responsible for ensuring that Lincolnshire County Council meet their statutory duty for providing sufficient school places through planning and commissioning the delivery of capital projects across one of the largest counties in the country. This has recently included significant involvement in the development and implementation of a new special school strategy resulting in a five year £100m capital programme alongside multiple new build and expanded mainstream schools.  

Chloe Webb (Midlands Region) – chloe.webb@coventry.gov.uk

Chloe is the Education Capital Strategy Manager at Coventry City Council, overseeing School Admissions, School Place Planning, PFI, and Childcare Sufficiency and Business Team. In her current role, Chloe is responsible for the strategic planning of education sufficiency in the city, and the education capital programme. Chloe joined the EBDOG executive committee in 2024 and has worked in education strategic planning roles for over 15 years.  

Zahid Mahmood (London Region)

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Deborah Taylor (North East Region)

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Vacancy (East Region)

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Vacancy (East Region)

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Paula Durrant (North West Region)

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Angela Birch (North West Region)

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Vacancy (North West Region)

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Ben Wright (South East Region)

Ben Wright is the Chair of the South East region of EBDOG, and joined the Executive Committee in 2024.  He is the School Place Planning and Capital Programme Manager at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (where Children’s Services are provided by Achieving for Children).  He has worked at Windsor and Maidenhead as a school place planner since 2001, following several years at Hertfordshire County Council in home to school transport, school admissions and place planning. Ben’s current role oversees pupil place planning (including mainstream and SEND pupil projections, pupil yields and school organisation), management of the Children’s Services capital programme (condition, Basic Need, early years and High Needs), school academisations and term dates.  

Zoe Snow (South East Region)

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Graham Olway (South East Region)

Graham is the Head of Service for Organisation & Planning at West Sussex County Council and his role covers pupil projections, capital planning, school organisation, place planning of mainstream and SEND, admissions, home to school transport, academisations, children missing education, elective home education, pupil employment licences, SENDIAS, Schools Forum and business enterprise and communications.  He has been involved with EBDOG since 2000 and has served as the National Chairman in two periods from 2007-13 and 2019-2023 and was awarded the MBE for his services to Education in 2013. Graham is passionate about close working with the DfE to ensure the views and advice of local authorities feed into the DfE.  He has organised two National EBDOG Conferences in West Sussex and has also visited France and the Netherlands to review education building designs that led to some of those designs being introduced in West Sussex.  Graham has also been a Trustee at academy trusts since 2014.  

Emily Heaton (South West Region) – eheaton@swindon.gov.uk

Emily Heaton is the Service Lead for Access and Provision at Swindon borough Council, overseeing School Admissions, Education Place Planning, Free School Meals Eligibility Service, SENDIAS and Mainstream Home to School Transport Policy. Emily has been working for Swindon Borough Council for 19 years in total, with 14 of those in Education. In her current role, Emily is responsible for the strategic planning of Education sufficiency for the Borough, and the Education Capital Programme. With Swindon as one of the fastest growing Towns in the Country, the Council has been successful over the last 5 years in securing Free School bids, with 20 % of all the free schools in the South West being in the local area. In all her roles, Emily has been heavily involved in influencing and shaping policy, lobbying Government and then implementing changes locally, with a wealth of experience of working across the South West with all Local Authorities through various networks, along with working in the political arena of Local Government for many years.  

Gareth Vine (South West Region)

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Sally Lowe (Yorkshire and Humber Region) – sally.lowe@leeds.gov.uk

Sally has over 25 years of experience in the education sector. She joined Leeds City Council in 2010 from the Learning and Skills Council and led a range of initiatives to improve engagement and attainment for children and young people, including the successful implementation of the Raising of the Participation Age. In October 2024, after leading the Built Environment Team since 2018, Sally became the Head of Learning Infrastructure at Leeds City Council. Her portfolio now includes responsibility for the School Maintenance Programme, the Children and Families Asset Management & Capital Strategy, School Organisation and sufficiency place planning across early years, primary, secondary and SEND learning places, education transport, and business relationships and traded services. Her work is driven by a commitment to ensuring inclusive, fit-for-purpose learning environments and accessible education for all. Her leadership has been instrumental in aligning infrastructure planning with the evolving needs of learners and communities. A member of the EBDOG Executive Committee since 2019, Sally hosted the 2023 National EBDOG Conference in Leeds. She is also a co-chair of the Yorkshire & Humber Regional EBDOG Group, where she continues to champion collaboration, innovation, and excellence in the education built environment.  

Steven Jenks (Yorkshire and Humber Region)

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David martin (Yorkshire and Humber Region)

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