Meet the Team

Get to know us

We are Evaluate-Ed: the team that powers Talent-Ed Matrix. We are an Edtech company engaged in giving educational leaders the data they need to inform strategic decisions.

Company Founders

Howard Jackson
Chairman

Howard Jackson has worked in Education finance and software for 34 years. Evaluate-Ed is a true passion project for Howard, who has successfully founded and run HCSS Education and TheSchoolBus in recent years.

Howard is committed to leading and creating an exceptional team that creates and delivers outstanding products. His vision is to give leaders the data they need to drive strategic decisions. Whether it’s to justify school improvement initiatives, drive the school budget or to ensure that the best teachers never leave their organisations, Howard wants to empower leaders to make deliberate decisions to create schools that are exceptional places to learn and grow.

Rachel Wood
Project Manager

Rachel has over 10 years’ experience in secondary education. She is a former Head of Geography, with experience teaching RE and Design and Technology. She enjoyed her role as pupil premium champion raising aspirations and nurturing a large cohort of disadvantaged pupils. She found Secondary Education very rewarding but wanted to make a greater difference in the school community.

In 2023, driven by a passion to ensure that all pupils have access to the very best standard of education, Rachel changed career and retrained as a Project Manager. She is proud to develop software products that help schools. She loves to plan, execute, and continually enhance our products to ensure that our customers are getting the very best Edtech products.

James Outram
Head of Sales

James has worked in the Education sector for 8 years. He has carried out Governor roles in two schools and had a great deal of exposure to the pressures and difficulties that are faced within the education sector.

James is dedicated to promoting platforms that help schools to realise their potential and ultimately improve pupil outcomes. He finds the impact of his work very rewarding.

John Croghan (M.Ed. BA. CertEd.)
Content Development and Monitoring

John has over 50 years of experience in education, as a teacher, leading learning in classrooms from EYFS to Y11, as well as a leader and primary headteacher.

He enjoyed his role supporting Every Child Matters in schools and has advised and supported schools across the West Midlands, as well as leading OFSTED inspections. He is currently a school consultant, mentor, and governor.

All the above experiences have contributed to his commitment and passion for Evaluate-Ed, a tool where schools can review their strengths and areas of development across all areas and provision with confidence.

Jayne Mason
Finance Director

Finance Director with commercial experience within the manufacturing, transport, charitable, hospitality and retail sectors. Since 2012 Jayne has worked in the EdTech space having been Finance Director of both HCSS Education Ltd and Hub4Leaders Ltd.

Jayne is passionate about securing the best outcomes for children and helping school leaders and incredible teachers to deliver their goals.

Sarah Harrop
Executive Assistant

Sarah is a dedicated and detail-oriented Executive Personal Assistant with a passion for streamlining operations and supporting high-level executives. She has worked in similar roles for over 18 years. Her background is in edtech sector which equips her to handle complex tasks efficiently. Whether it’s managing schedules, coordinating meetings, or handling confidential information, Sarah thrives in fast-paced environments.

Sarah works in our customer support team and is always happy to help customers. Whether it be answering questions about the software or about invoices and finance, Sarah is committed to delivering exceptional customer service.

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