Company Information

Education Leadership 360 is a fresh dynamic service run by experienced passionate people used to working in leadership roles in the public sector.  It is part of Touchstone Associates Ltd which was set up in 2006 to provide leadership and strategic development for organisations across the public and private sector. The development of bespoke 360 feedback tools for the education sector came about because of the significant experience our team has in leadership and governance in the education sector.  We saw that there was a significant lack of cost effective resources available to governors and leaders of educational institutions in evaluating their own leadership performance.
This fast online service is designed to complement the company's existing package of development solutions. We offer a solutions driven bespoke services to enhance development and performance in education not only in the UK but internationally.  We work hard to ensure genuine engagement from clients and participants and are prepared to push boundaries and challenge perceptions to enable personal and organisational growth.  We are a values driven organisation, we aim be inclusive, accessible and to respect those who work within our organisation, our clients and those who work in collaboration with us.
Our Team
Leadership Consultant
Founder and Managing Director, Judith Cashmore-James recognised the lack of support that educational institutions have in this area of their work and set about developing a product that would meet this need with governance specialists Ian James and Ron Hill. 
Judith is an experienced leadership consultant, specialising in working with individuals and organisations to take their leadership to the next level. She is recognised for her ability to unlock organisations, freeing up the performance potential of leaders and managers. Judith has considerable experience in leadership and senior management roles in the education sector, leading and managing both major change programmes and service delivery in complex political environments. She has worked closely with a large volunteer workforce and has significant experience of working directly to non-executive boards, with the ability to quickly attain credibility. She has led the development of strategies for creating high performance, increased personal effectiveness, positively impacting on culture and staff motivation.
She is experienced in using Action Learning and Coaching to underpin leadership development arising from 360 appraisals and organisation Training Needs analysis. Recent projects in the public sector include Local Government, NHS, Crown Prosecution Service working at senior and middle manager level using consulting, coaching, group coaching and action learning. In the private sector Judith works with a range of clients, from small to medium sized enterprises to large multinationals. The thing they all have in common is people.
Judith is a lead facilitator in using the education leadership 360 for senior and middle managers.
Governance Consultants
This the team who have designed our governance 360 and who provide consultancy and training in governance issues.
Ian James 
Ian is a highly respected , experienced and qualified clerk who has served as clerk in 16 different colleges at various times and has, in total, worked with 60+ colleges supporting and improving governance practice.  He is a specialist in the following areas;
? the governance aspects of college recovery and college merger
? inspecting and evaluating college governance practices
? college governance research (with Ron Hill )
? writer of a number of articles published by the TES on college governance
He is also;
? a Learning & Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) governance associate
? joint LSIS lead associate (with Ron Hill) designing and delivery  the ICSA Certificate in Further Education Governance
? visiting research fellow of Southampton University in college governance
Ron Hill
Ron is an experienced and qualified clerk who has worked with 20+ colleges supporting and improving governance practice. He also has a background as a former Primary Head Teacher.  His areas of expertise are;
? the governance aspects of college recovery and college merger
? inspecting and evaluating college governance practices
? college governance research (with Ian James 
He is also;
? a Learning & Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) governance associate
? joint LSIS lead associate (with Ian James) designing and delivery  the ICSA Certificate in Further Education Governance
? visiting research fellow of Southampton University in college governance
Leadership Consultant
Suzanne Hayes-Jones
Suzanne is an experienced coach and facilitator, working with organisations in both the public and private sectors, to identify and develop the skills of their people. Much of her work has focused on designing and leading coaching and teambuilding interventions, for which she has won several national awards.  As a trained coach, she uses NLP, Gestalt and Personality Measures to help her clients understand themselves and others better.  She works with organisations to where the 360 has revealed challenges, team dynamic issues, or where they want an experienced facilitator to support them through the process.
She is known for her pragmatic and flexible approach and is often described by others as both ‘challenging’ and ‘inspiring’.

Education Leadership 360 is a fresh dynamic service run by experienced passionate people used to working in leadership roles in the public sector.  It is part of Touchstone Associates Ltd which was set up in 2006 to provide leadership and strategic development for organisations across the public and private sector. The development of bespoke 360 feedback tools for the education sector came about because of the significant experience our team has in leadership and governance in the education sector.  We saw that there was a significant lack of cost effective resources available to governors and leaders of educational institutions in evaluating their own leadership performance.

This fast online service is designed to complement the company's existing package of development solutions. We offer a solutions driven bespoke services to enhance development and performance in education not only in the UK but internationally.  We work hard to ensure genuine engagement from clients and participants and are prepared to push boundaries and challenge perceptions to enable personal and organisational growth.  We are a values driven organisation, we aim be inclusive, accessible and to respect those who work within our organisation, our clients and those who work in collaboration with us.

Our Team

Leadership Consultant

Founder and Managing Director, Judith Cashmore-James recognised the lack of support that educational institutions have in this area of their work and set about developing a product that would meet this need with governance specialists Ian James and Ron Hill. 

Judith is an experienced leadership consultant, specialising in working with individuals and organisations to take their leadership to the next level. She is recognised for her ability to unlock organisations, freeing up the performance potential of leaders and managers. Judith has considerable experience in leadership and senior management roles in the education sector, leading and managing both major change programmes and service delivery in complex political environments. She has worked closely with a large volunteer workforce and has significant experience of working directly to non-executive boards, with the ability to quickly attain credibility. She has led the development of strategies for creating high performance, increased personal effectiveness, positively impacting on culture and staff motivation.

She is experienced in using Action Learning and Coaching to underpin leadership development arising from 360 appraisals and organisation Training Needs analysis. Recent projects in the public sector include Local Government, NHS, Crown Prosecution Service working at senior and middle manager level using consulting, coaching, group coaching and action learning. In the private sector Judith works with a range of clients, from small to medium sized enterprises to large multinationals. The thing they all have in common is people.

Judith is a lead facilitator in using the education leadership 360 for senior and middle managers.

Governance Consultants

This the team who have designed our governance 360 and who provide consultancy and training in governance issues.

Ian James 

Ian is a highly respected , experienced and qualified clerk who has served as clerk in 16 different colleges at various times and has, in total, worked with 60+ colleges supporting and improving governance practice.  He is a specialist in the following areas;

  • the governance aspects of college recovery and college merger
  • inspecting and evaluating college governance practices
  • college governance research (with Ron Hill )
  • writer of a number of articles published by the TES on college governance

He is also;

  • a Learning & Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) governance associate
  • joint LSIS lead associate (with Ron Hill) designing and delivery  the ICSA Certificate in Further Education Governance
  • visiting research fellow of Southampton University in college governance

Ron Hill

Ron is an experienced and qualified clerk who has worked with 20+ colleges supporting and improving governance practice. He also has a background as a former Primary Head Teacher.  His areas of expertise are;

  • the governance aspects of college recovery and college merger
  • inspecting and evaluating college governance practices
  • college governance research (with Ian James 

He is also;

  • a Learning & Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) governance associate
  • joint LSIS lead associate (with Ian James) designing and delivery  the ICSA Certificate in Further Education Governance
  • visiting research fellow of Southampton University in college governance

Leadership Consultant

Suzanne Hayes-Jones

Suzanne is an experienced coach and facilitator, working with organisations in both the public and private sectors, to identify and develop the skills of their people. Much of her work has focused on designing and leading coaching and teambuilding interventions, for which she has won several national awards.  As a trained coach, she uses NLP, Gestalt and Personality Measures to help her clients understand themselves and others better.  She works with organisations to where the 360 has revealed challenges, team dynamic issues, or where they want an experienced facilitator to support them through the process.

She is known for her pragmatic and flexible approach and is often described by others as both ‘challenging’ and ‘inspiring’.