Rekha Bhakoo CBE is a highly experienced school leader, Lead School Inspector and a former Headteacher and Executive Headteacher. She is a Lead Assessor and Ambassador for the Inclusion Quality Mark Award and was a Regional Director for the Primary Quality Mark Award. Rekha’s extensive experience in education means she is commissioned to work as a school improvement consultant/advisor and currently supports a number of schools with developing the curriculum and leading school improvement.
Rekha has led an OFSTED rated ‘Outstanding’ school for over a decade and worked as a Local and National Leader in Education with London Challenge to support underachieving schools. She has had extensive experience in mentoring newly appointed leaders in developing the curriculum and assessment. She was appointed at ministerial level to the Teaching Development Agency as a Non-Executive Board member to develop teacher training programmes in the UK. Rekha has also worked with UK Government ministers and civil servants to develop the SEN Code of Practice. In her role as an Executive Headteacher she managed the leadership of a newly established school building and developed highly effective middle and senior leadership teams. Rekha was also invited by the Department of Education to be a Pathfinder Leader to be involved in the National Workload Reform Project which ensured that unnecessary workload for teachers was reduced across the country. She has been a member of the Executive Leadership Programme at the National College of School Leader (NCSL) working with high achieving leaders in Education on transformational leadership projects.
Rekha has made international educational visits to China, Iceland and Hungary to lead and influence educational pedagogy as well as speaking at national conferences about pupil voice and inclusive education. As a result of this, her school developed extensive global links and frequently hosted visits from education ministers and school leaders from Singapore, Japan, Hungary and Iceland. She was also sponsored by HSBC to travel to China as part of an educational visit for outstanding leaders to study ‘Mindset’ based on the work of Carole Dweck. She is currently on the Board of Governors of a large school serving pupils aged 3-16 in Dubai. Her role includes both supporting, challenging and training school leaders in raising standards. She also conducts British Schools Overseas inspections in the UAE and the Cayman Islands. Rekha is also currently working as Lead Reviewer/ Assessor for Challenge Partners. She regularly conducts training for teachers and senior leaders on developing the curriculum, early years, assessment and teaching learning.
During her time in education, Rekha’s leadership has been nationally recognised as she has been invited to 10 Downing Street to meet with Tony Blair when he served as a Prime Minister, as well as being invited to High Grove to meet with Prince Charles as part of a group for outstanding leaders who have influenced educational development at a national level. Rekha was presented with the Diversity in Leadership Award by Baroness Amos and was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Her Majesty the Queen in the New Year’s Honours List for Services to Education.