Rachel Bray (She/Her) Tutor Recruitment and Training Manager Expand Rachel joined Tutor Trust in February 2018 as the Manchester Primary Schools coordinator. After 18 months on the school’s team, she became Recruitment and Impact Coordinator. In June 2020 she became Tutor Recruitment and Training Coordinator, before moving into her current role. Rachel now oversees the recruitment and safer recruitment processes of our new tutors. Rachel writes: "I joined Tutor Trust as a Primary schools coordinator after studying Education at Manchester Metropolitan University where I saw firsthand the work Tutor Trust was doing at a placement school. "I have always had a passion for supporting young people both through my career and in my home life. In my spare time, I am an active Girl Guide leader of over 15 years and I am currently a Brownie leader, Ranger Leader, and assistant district commissioner. "Tutor Trust has given me the opportunity to work across the organisation. My role now is varied, and I'm enjoying recruiting a more diverse range of individuals as tutors with us. I love being able to ensure our recruitment processes enable us to bring on board those people who will make a real impact on our young learners. And I enjoy being able to tell so many new people about the work we do. It's a great job!"
Mollie Hesketh (she/her) Deputy Tutor Recruitment Manager Expand Mollie joined Tutor Trust in January 2023 as a Tutor Recruitment Coordinator and is now Deputy Tutor Recruitment Manager. Mollie says: “Before joining the Tutor Trust team, I worked as an Anti-Trafficking Advocate at Causeway. This impactful experience shaped my passion for wanting to help tackle inequality head-on, and I take great pride in now being a part of Tutor Trust’s mission to tackle educational inequality specifically. "In the Recruitment Team, we get to speak with candidates from before they have made an application to work with the Tutor Trust until they are successfully onboarded as a tutor. Listening to their reasons as to why they want to tutor and knowing the incredible impact they will have within our communities makes the role especially rewarding."
Ed Thompson Tutor Recruitment Coordinator Expand Ed joined the Tutor Trust team in October 2023 as a Tutor Recruitment Coordinator, having recently graduated from the University of Manchester with a Master’s degree in International Relations. Ed says: “It is a real privilege to be a part of the Recruitment Team at Tutor Trust, working together to ensure we hire high-quality tutors who are providing essential support for the young people at the centre of our mission. As a result of my experiences in the charity and education sectors, I have realised the amazing impact that tutoring interventions can have on young people in both an academic and personal development sense. Naturally, I feel drawn to the mission, ethos, and values of Tutor Trust. "I feel incredibly passionate about the work of Tutor Trust and I’m looking forward to working for an organisation that seeks to make a difference in the lives of young people and help in providing tutoring that they may not have had access to otherwise."
Lauren Usher (She/Her) Deputy Tutor Recruitment - Training, Data & Impact Manager Expand Lauren joined the Tutor Trust team in September 2020 as Recruitment and Training Coordinator, and is now Deputy Tutor Recruitment-Training, Data & Impact Manager. Lauren says: "Tutor Trust’s commitment to tackling educational inequality is evident in all the work that we do, and I am proud to contribute to this. It is incredibly rewarding to support the recruitment of high-quality tutors, knowing that they will make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people within our communities. "It is a pleasure to belong to a friendly team of people who are connected by the same values, and I enjoy being able to work collaboratively towards Tutor Trust’s mission."
Theo Hall (He/Him) University Recruitment Coordinator Expand Theo first joined Tutor Trust as a Secondary Science Tutor in 2020, whilst studying for his MA in Art in Science at Liverpool John Moore’s. His research involved using illustration as an accessibility tool in science education. This in turn influenced his tuition, where he enjoyed making his own resources. In 2021 Theo joined the Tutor Trust Outreach Team, and after graduating in 2022, he joined the Tutor Trust staff team as our University Recruitment Coordinator. Theo says: “Moving from a tutor and outreach team member to the recruitment team after graduating felt like a really natural progression to me. I started doing outreach work whilst tutoring because I wholeheartedly believe in the work Tutor Trust does, and it’s a large part of my current role in University Recruitment. Being able to share my experiences as a tutor with other students who are considering tutoring is really rewarding. To me, our aim of transforming lives applies to our tutors as well as our tutees – Tutor Trust certainly transformed mine!”
Will Simms (He/Him) University Partnerships Manager Expand Will started at Tutor Trust in February 2021 as our first University Partnerships Manager. Will says: "I started at Tutor Trust in February 2021 because of my commitment to empowering young people through education. "I grew up on a council estate in Bristol and have experienced first-hand some of the challenges and barriers faced by the young people we serve. I have also seen the unfulfilled potential in those areas and am working, alongside my colleagues at Tutor Trust, to redress educational inequality in areas similar to where I was born. "I also know the transformative and emancipatory power of education having graduated from the University of Manchester in 2019 with a PhD in English Literature. I believe there are thousands of potential Masters and PhD students among those we support, who, with the right support, can go on to achieve amazing things within and beyond their communities.
Jason Heaford (He/Him) Chief Operating Officer and Designated Safeguarding Lead Expand Jason has joined the Tutor Trust with many years’ experience of leading high quality early years provision. His most recent being a Social Enterprise based in Stockport. The setting received an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted Inspection late in 2013. In addition to his work as a Director there he also helped to create and develop the charity ‘ACCES’. In his role as CEO, Jason has helped ACCES in supporting disadvantaged families and children across the Stockport area. During this period Jason was invited to become one of the founding Trustees’ of Anchorpoint Stockport of which he served as a Trustee for 2 years. Anchorpoint followed Stockport’s CVS in providing a voice and support for ‘Third Sector ’organisations. Jason began his working life as a professional footballer most notably with Derby County FC, but had to retire through injury. He went on to work within the Transport Industry becoming the UK operations Manager for the large French company GCA. Providing new learning opportunities for children who could not afford tuition attracted Jason to Tutor Trust and he hopes to continue and expand on the amazing work that has already taken place.