I have been an inspector of schools, local authorities and ITE providers since 1998. I gained accreditation in inspecting English, Urdu and equalities. Between 2004 and 2023 I was one of Her/His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI). For 16 years I was Ofsted’s lead for EAL, ESOL and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Pupils, leading training for inspectors on EAL and race equality. I led national surveys for Ofsted, including Every Language Matters (2008) and Removing Barriers for Roma Pupils (2014). I have represented Ofsted on policy issues with the DfE, sitting as member of their Gypsy, Roma and Traveller stakeholder school and on expert panels on EAL, such as the Education Policy Institute. I have spoken at a number of national and international conferences on the inspection of EAL, race equality, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils.

Prior to becoming an HMI, I was Head of the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service in Cardiff where I was also a senior adviser for the local authority, leading on equalities, refugees and asylum seekers and Black Caribbean achievement projects. In addition to this, I was the inaugural chair of the English as an Additional Language Association of Wales.

At the start of my career Mark taught EAL to primary and secondary pupils in Oldham, firstly to newly arrived pupils, then becoming head of ESOL in a large secondary school. I also taught GCSE Urdu, having spent time teaching English and ESOL in Pakistan, and became a Section 11 project leader in Oldham before taking up my post in Cardiff. I have a BA (Hons) in English, an MA in Bilingual Education, a PGCE in English and English as a second language), a Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and hold a Certificate of distinction with the International Phonetics Association.

Credentials and Affiliations

• BA(Hons) in English Literature and Linguistics

• Diploma in Teaching English as a foreign language

• PGCE in English and EAL

• MA in Education (Inspection of EAL and race equality)

• Member of NALDIC (National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum)

• Member of FDA, and former member of FDA’s equality and diversity committee

• Trained to be an Equalities rep. for FDA.

• Held leadership brief for Equalities at Cardiff local authority Education department.