Deborah McVey Ltd



'Making great things happen in education'





Andy Ginn, Coventry University Group (formerly at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College)



Deborah and her team worked tirelessly with my colleagues and teams to help create an understanding of, the conditions for and skills required to deliver consistently outstanding teaching, learning and assessment across a large general FE provider with its fair share of challenges. This two-year project moved mountains, was a genuine pleasure and we all learned so much from Deborah's expert approach and that of her coaches and trainers alike. Highly recommended!



Mark Locking, The Lincoln College Group



Deborah, and some of her team, has been working with us since August 2016 to support our transformation of Learning, Assessment and Teaching (LAT) here at The Lincoln College Group in both the UK and KSA. We used Deborah due to her reputation in the sector as one of the absolute best in developing great learning and teaching and creating supportive cultures based on coaching, reflection and professional integrity. I have worked with Deborah previously on a number of projects and know she always delivers what is expected to exceptionally high standards and that is the reason we have engaged with her services. The progress we are making has been most recently validated through our recent Ofsted "Support and Challenge" visit as well as by the progress we are making against a number of internal key in-year indicators and forecasts. I can highly recommend her services.



Jane Lord, Blackpool & the Fylde College



A wide range of assignments have taken place at the college over the last four years beginning with a review of several areas. Following this, the college engaged with us to provide specific support to areas of concern to enable the departments to make rapid and sustainable improvements. Further work included a full review of tutorial provision and further work in another area of concern. A programme of support to improve teaching, learning and assessment was then provided including observation training and regular moderation of observations including the observation team. Support with processes to improve every day dialogue and raise awareness within departments about the quality of teaching and learning helped to develop teams that put teaching and learning at the centre of what they do with a strong focus on learners' experience.


​In November 2013, the college were judged outstanding by Ofsted.



Pete Sharrocks, City of Westminster College



Working with our Advanced Practitioners (APs) since July 2011, Deborah McVey's contribution to raising standards of practice across the College has been invaluable. Acting as a trainer, consultant and 'critical friend', Deborah has helped the observation team sharpen judgements and focus on the learner, and worked collaboratively with our APs on innovative ideas to train and support teaching staff. She has provided insightful guidance on challenging learners and developing skills through creative teaching methods. Until June 2013 the College (now Ofsted Grade 2) have never been anything other than Grade 3. The marked improvements seen in teaching, learning and assessment would not have been possible without her support and guidance. We will continue to use this on our journey to outstanding.



Katy Quinn, Eastleigh College



Deborah worked with the College over a period of 12 months supporting us on our journey to ungraded observations. It was important that we understood the culture change required to successfully transition from graded to ungraded and Deborah has been instrumental in advising and supporting us with this. She has also suggested simple and highly effective processes that have supported a more distributed leadership and accountability for continuous improvement within teaching and learning. The new approach has now been in place for a year and we are now eager to take things to the next level. Thanks to Deborah's expertise and coaching style, we are well on our way to a culture where staff are delighted to have people visit their lessons to see brilliant teaching and learning.



Lesley Rance, Gateshead College



I found the session incredibly useful and informative. Deborah's knowledge and experience enhanced the quality of the programme immensely and I loved it! I found myself totally gripped from the onset and hung on her every word! The tools we used on the day are already embedded within my practice and I am spreading the word to my colleagues in order to share best practice and raise awareness.


​The session was well worth the train ride - brilliant!



Barnsley College



Barnsley College has undergone rapid improvement in the past 3 years, culminating with Ofsted grading us 'Outstanding' in Nov 2010, with the best grade profile of any GFE in the country since the introduction of the Common Inspection Framework. Deborah's expertise, integrity and commitment, together with the excellent working relationships, have been instrumental in Barnsley College's relentless drive towards outstanding and continual improvement.



Audrey Kingham, Tyne Metropolitan College



Deborah is inspirational and provides excellent leadership. The opportunities identified through reflective thinking to develop team culture and underpin next steps in CPD are clearly articulated. Deborah has a finely tuned ability to hone facets of organisational need and to identify the required next steps to achieve the organisations desired outputs. I fully endorse making a connection and developing a working relationship with Deborah.


Deborah McVey Ltd


23 Wood Farm Close, Little Stanney, Chester, CH2 4PZ Email: deborah@deborahmcveyltd.co.ukTel: 07718 332429