Don Jones

Don's route into education data hasn't followed a straight line. He started in software engineering, left technology to become a secondary school teacher, and gradually found himself drawn back to where education, data and technology meet.

Along the way, he's taught in classrooms, led departments and worked in school senior leadership. Those experiences shaped his belief that good data should help teachers and leaders ask better questions and make better decisions, rather than simply give them more things to report.

Before joining The Bishop Fraser Trust, Don spent six years leading information and insight at a large national academy trust, which grew from 32 to 47 schools. He also conceived and led DataPathways, a Department for Education-funded project bringing together eight academy trusts serving more than 90,000 pupils to explore how education data professionals could be better supported, developed and recognised. The work and conversations that followed helped lay the foundations for EduDATA.

Today, Don works across technology, data, cyber security and information governance at The Bishop Fraser Trust, supporting eight schools across Greater Manchester. Although his remit has broadened, he still looks at systems through the eyes of someone who's had to use them in a school.

For Don, EduDATA is about bringing together people who often face similar challenges in isolation. He wants it to be a welcoming place to share ideas, learn from one another and give education data professionals the recognition and voice they deserve.