Education’s new firefighter: the many roles of Angela Barry

Need someone to sort out schools in the wake of the collapse of a multi-academy trust? Well, when the Department for Education finds itself in this position, as has been known, one person seems to be emerging as its choice for the crucial role of firefighter-in-chief.

Angela Barry, a former school leader who has also served on one of England’s Headteacher Boards, has been parachuted in to manage the winding down of three beleaguered trusts over recent years, Education Uncovered has learned, as well as being involved in the governance of other chains.

But, while Barry’s work was described as “outstanding” by the most high-profile trust with which she is now working, her positions also seem to invite questions.

Barry has been in the news in recent weeks after taking over, during the summer, as interim chief executive of the Bright Tribe and Adventure Learning trusts, the troubled outfits which are handing over all their schools after years of controversy including a recent Panorama documentary.

One of her first public acts, indeed, was to write to parents announcing the departure of her predecessor in that role while offering a pre-emptive response to Panorama’s probing, to the extent that “both trusts [were] moving forward positively”.