As Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Matthew oversees our work to improve policy and legislation for children by informing and influencing government ministers, officials and parliamentarians.
Prior to this, Matthew worked in a number of roles across NCB, including as policy advisor to the Special Educational Consortium, strategic lead for wellbeing and mental health, and Principal Officer at the Council for Disabled Children. Matthew has led a number of national projects, including a programme of work to improve educational provision for young people, and has led sector coalitions during the passage of more than ten pieces of legislation affecting children.
Mathew loves travelling around the country and meeting passionate professionals who want to put policy into practice. He strongly believes that the real test of national policies is always be how well they are can be implemented locally.
Fun fact: As a 12 year-old child, Matthew was filmed by Newsnight talking about violence in computer games. His intervention failed to make a significant impact on the debate.
Qualifications
BA, History and Politics, Queen Mary University
Authored
Wellbeing Award for Schools (2017), with Sue Stirling
https://www.awardplace.co.uk/award/was
Council for Disabled Children, Education, Health and Care Plans: Examples of good practice (2016)
https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/help-resources/resources/education-health-and-care-plans-examples-good-practice