Leadership Team | South Bank Colleges
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South Bank Colleges is part of London South Bank University Group and comprises Lambeth College and London South Bank Technical College

Fiona Morey

Executive Principal

Fiona is proud to be Executive Principal of South Bank Colleges, consisting Lambeth College and London South Bank College, part of the London South Bank University group, and places great value in the role the College plays in supporting those that live and work in South London. Fiona values the pioneering partnership with the LSBU Group and the vision to provide lifelong learning and continues to build on the vital role that the College plays in transforming lives.

Fiona has worked in Further Education in London and the South-East for over 25 years, initially as a Lecturer in Creative Arts and more recently in a number of senior leadership roles at Abingdon & Witney College and Aylesbury College, where as Deputy Principal Curriculum and Quality she supported the merger of Amersham and Wycombe College creating the newly formed Buckinghamshire College group (BCG).

While at BCG Fiona was a board member of Buckinghamshire Education and Skills Training, a partnership with Buckinghamshire New University, and was a board member of the Bucks UTC. Fiona is also a member of Laser Awarding Body Corporation and Chair of the Quality Committee. Fiona sits on the Education and Training Foundation Group for Technical Education and has recently visited Denmark as part of a Gatsby Foundation visit exploring vocational education models in Europe.

Fiona is undertaking postgraduate studies on Professional and Technical Education and is a member of the Society for Education and Training and the Chartered College for Teaching. Fiona is committed to supporting the continued professionalisation of the sector and raising the profile of Further Education and the role it plays in transforming lives.

Wayne Wright

Principal - LSBTC

Wayne has spent his entire career within the FE sector. He is a qualified teacher and taught business studies on vocational and professional courses as well as delivering A levels in economics and politics at two FE colleges. Wayne has also worked at organisations closely linked to the FE sector including the Department for Education, the Learning Skills Council, the Learning Skills Development Agency and a local authority. He has also worked for the Prison Service as a senior educational adviser. Finally, Wayne has acquired a great deal of experience as a college manager, having previously served as deputy principal at two other FE colleges.

Wayne is a passionate advocate for education for all and has strived to ensure that that all learners, irrespective of their starting point, achieve to the best of their ability. Throughout his career, Wayne has championed the rights of students to play an active role in their education. He has also been a strong advocate of developing staff, many of whom have gone on to achieve success in their careers.

Wayne has had extensive curriculum development as a teacher, policy maker and adviser as well as introducing new qualifications. These have included GNVQ, Curriculum 2000, A levels and Diplomas. Wayne has been involved in delivering training programmes to support the implementation of T levels.

Wayne is proud to be working at South Bank Colleges and to be leading London South Bank Technical College. He will work tirelessly to ensure that all students attending the college achieve and excel to the best of their ability. Wayne is also excited by being part of LSBU Group and believes that more students will have the potential to progress onto higher education courses as well as achieve higher level levels to further improve their employment prospects.

Monica Marongiu

Principal - LC

Monica has been working in the Further Education sector for 15 years, first as a teacher, then as a Curriculum Manager and Head of School and more recently as a member of South Bank Colleges Leadership Group. She is passionate about education and the transformative power it has on people.

Monica has a proven track record of improving English and maths results - subjects which she is very passionate about and has specialised in. As a senior leader, she strives to provide inspirational leadership across the whole college and has a keen interest in teaching and learning and inspiring students to discover their purpose and potential. During her career as a teacher and a manager she has won different awards including “Excellence in Teaching and Learning by an Individual”, “Excellence in Teaching and Learning in a Team”, “Manager of the Year” and “Employee of the Year”.

Becoming an inspirational leader is her lifetime pursuit and she works on this every day through a process of critical self-reflection, listening and learning from others, training and experience.

Monica is proud to work at South Bank Colleges, and to lead Lambeth College. Monica considers it a tremendous privilege to work with dedicated and committed colleagues, who are just as passionate as she is about the importance of education in South London and withing the local Lambeth community.

Ian Rule

Interim Chief Finance Officer

A Certified Accountant with almost 30 years post-qualification experience, Ian has had the lead Finance role in various colleges over the last 15 years, following 10 years in Higher Education and another 10 in the industry before that. He has led various business support functions to success during that time, including Finance, MIS, HR, Admissions, IT and Estates, as well as leading significant campus development programmes. This has required working closely with the ESFA and FE Commissioner teams at times, as well as governance leads.

Having a strong bias towards systems and process improvement, Ian project managed the first UK Education installation of the Agresso Financial Management system, which is now used by London South Bank University and the College, so he is hoping to help shape the use of that system to better serve financial management and generally reduce the burden on college management as a result.

Colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to achieve a sustainable financial strategy, with government funding lagging well behind inflation over recent years, and this situation seems only likely to worsen unless more funding is made available. In these challenging times, Ian will be working with colleagues both within and outside the College to find solutions as the exciting new campus at Vauxhall opens and develops.

Mike Burges

Interim Director or MIS & Exams

Mike has worked within the Further and Adult Education area spanning over 20 years. He initially joined the sector as a data systems officer working in Croydon Council adult education department. Staying there in various technical roles for six years he then moved onto Head/Director of MIS working at a combination of Sixth Form and FE colleges over the last fifteen years looking after the student journey through a combination of MIS, Exams and Customer services department. Mike has extensive experience of data analysis, systems implementation working along with changing government reporting requirements whilst growing and supporting multiple teams.

Clare Dignum

Director of Teaching & Learning

Clare has been working in education for 25 years, starting within the school sector and then moving into Further Education 16 years ago. She has worked as a teacher, a curriculum manager, Teaching & Learning Manager and now in her current role is Director of Teaching & Learning and member of South Bank Colleges Leadership Group.

Clare is interested in pedagogy and how best to develop teachers’ practice through professional development. At the core of her principles is the belief that we can all develop and improve; regardless of how experienced we are, we are all a ‘work in progress’. She believes that creating a culture where we all see ourselves as learners and where we have the confidence to reflect on and be honest about what we find hard, to take risks and to try new things is integral to building a strong and successful college - one where teachers can help students to achieve and progress with the skills and qualifications needed for their next steps.

As an English specialist, she is also passionate about the importance of students developing their English & maths skills in both their discrete provision and on their main programme of study. She sees this as the key way to empower students with the skills and confidence needed to play a happy and healthy role in society.

Clare is fully committed to the principles of FE and proud to be a part of the exciting journey which Lambeth College is on.

Kathy McCormack

Director of Marketing and Student Recruitment

Kathy has worked in Further Education marketing and student recruitment for over ten years and has more than 27 years of experience in marketing and sales across a variety of sectors and disciplines. Strategic management and leadership are a passion for Kathy and she developed extensive skills and knowledge working in B2C and B2B environments. Kathy has worked in a variety of management and leadership roles including Creative New Product Development, Client Management, Communications and Consultation, Sales and Marketing.

Kathy holds an MSC in Management and Leadership from the University of Portsmouth in addition to a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Management (CMI) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (CIM).

Kathy brings a diverse range of experience to South Bank Colleges. She is dedicated to supporting students in south London, of all ages, to be ambitious and to engage in learning that enables them to thrive in any career they wish to pursue.

Crystal Blackwood

Director of HR and Organisational Development

Crystal has worked in Further Education, Human Resources for over 10 years and has over 17 years’ experience working across various private and public sectors including the NHS and Charity organisations. Crystal’s specialism is Employment Law and Employee Relations however, she has lead a number of generic HR functions responsible for the end-to-end employee lifecycle including organisational development, learning and development and EDI, therefore holds a with a wealth of knowledge and expertise across this field. Crystal is a trained Coach & Mentor and is known for her transformational leadership style.

Crystal holds an MSC in Human Resource Management with an Employment Law focus from London Southbank University and in addition is a CIPD professional member.

Crystal brings a specific skill and knowledge base to South Bank Colleges. She has an ability to engage and empower individuals with her intentional leadership and hands on approach. The students are at the centre of all that we do, and so are our employees.

Elaine Smith

Director of Student Engagement and Well-Being

Elaine has over 15 years’ experience in the FE sector in London. She is a qualified teacher, specialising in Mathematics. Elaine has a wide range of experience in the sector including, leading curriculum areas, college safeguarding, student services, quality assurance, additional learning support, MIS development, Timetabling, exams and teaching and learning.

Elaine has acquired a great deal of experience as a senior manager and has worked most recently as operations manager in a medium sized FE college, leading on innovation, the complete student experience and English and maths. Elaine has successfully led on digital transformations within the role, Including the introduction of a parent portal which reached 75% of parents regularly.

Elaine is an advocate for further education and the opportunity and personal development lifelong learning provides to young people and adults. Elaine firmly believes that everyone is entitled to education and that it is never too late to take the step to learn something new.

Elaine is passionate about staff development and has a proven track record of developing her teams and the members of those teams to be the most efficient, productive and motivated they can be.

Elaine is excited and very pleased to be working at South Bank Colleges during it’s time of growth, change and innovation. Elaine looks forward to supporting student engagement and wellbeing as part of the college group and taking it from strength to strength.

Aswathy Bose

Director Adult Essential Skills

Ash has been working in FE for over 15 years. She started off her teaching career as a Learning Support Assistant, went on to successfully complete her PGCE and resumed teaching in 14-16 year-old provision, where she taught subjects including Computing Science, Business Studies and Maths.

Ash progressed her teaching career through a variety of roles, where her management and leadership skills shined through, these included Curriculum Manager, Head of Faculty and now currently as Director of Essential Skills here at South Bank Colleges.

She strongly believes in the ability of Further Education to help transform lives and communities. Her key aim remains to raise the profile of English and maths within an FE setting for both young people and adults and is passionate about enhancing their profiles in order for them to progress into Higher Education and employment.

Asma Ahmad

Director Young Peoples Essential Skills

Asma has been working in the FE sector since her first role as an ESOL tutor 18 years ago.  Since then she has worked as an ESOL and vocational lecturer and then moved on to a range of management positions overseeing curriculum and people management. These included Quality Manager, Curriculum Manager and Head of School.  She also worked as an Education Consultant for a years after completing her MA in Education Management to support a range of FE colleges improve their quality of education in getting ready for OFSTED inspections. Currently she is working as Director of Essential Skills for Young People at SBC. She is also a Trustee for an independent Supplementary Arabic School.   

Asma has always had a passion for partnering with local communities to improve and enhance opportunities so that people can have better lives for themselves and others.  Her core value is driven by enabling access to ESOL, Inclusive Learning and Alternative Provision wherever possible across Adults, 16-18 and 14-16. 

Her work has been fundamental in ensuring SBC is aligned and delivering against key local government strategies to improve skills and enable positive outcomes for our learning communities.  

Asma is also one of The Sanctuary Forum board members, working closely with Lambeth Council and the community sector to support sanctuary-seekers in the borough access learning more easily.  She also works directly with local hotel leads and the Afghan Settlement programme to fast-track refugees and asylum seekers onto ESOL classes for Adults, 16-18 and 14-16's. 

Helen Drewery

Director Career Pathways

Helen has worked in FE and HE after starting out as a translator. She is a qualified teacher and taught modern languages at HE level at Leeds University and Regent’s and ESOL in FE across London colleges before moving into management. Helen has worked as Assistant Principal and Vice Principal in her last 3 FE roles and has led on delivering successful T level programmes from 2020.

Helen has led on cross-college work experience and industrial placements for T levels and works extensively with employers believing strongly that we prepare our learners for jobs. She is passionate about technical and vocational education developing curriculum to ensure that it is current in line with employers’ needs. Helen’s work with technical education and T levels is now in action in LSBTC and she is also working on the career pathways from LSBTC to London South Bank University as well as the development of Higher Technical Qualifications.

Helen has led on 16-19 provision and on Adult Strategy as well as the development of full-cost provision. She believes in developing teams and ensuring they are ready to deliver new curriculum. She is excited to be supporting the management of the new building and developing the technical and vocational provision at Level 3 and above to ensure it is the very best it can be.

Tim Weston

Director Career Pathways - STEAM

Tim has worked in Further Education for over 17 years, starting in construction department teaching plastering and then went on to complete his teaching qualifications (PGCE) and his MA (Ed). Tim went on to manage a variety of construction and engineering departments and has been the lead for exciting apprenticeship provisions, He then went on to be a Head of Centre.

Tim is passionate about vocational education and ensuring that we are giving the right skills to our students to ensure that they can succeed in the workplace. Tim is excited about the New London Southbank Technical College (LSBTC) and the opportunities this multi-million pound campus, with all it's high-spec technology, will offer students.

Tim works extensively with employers to ensure the qualifications and programmes that we teach at LSBTC meet the requirements of industry and is enthused by developing progression pathways and opportunities in partnership with business.