Gary Phillips is headteacher of a mixed inner city secondary school based in North Lambeth. The school has a distinctive intake of 74% students claiming free school meals (FSM), 8% of key stage three students start with a statement of special educational needs (SEN) and 89% are from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

The vision for Lilian Baylis school is to work hard to meet the needs of all students and to be the first choice school for the local community. The school endeavours to achieve this vision through working in partnership with a number organisations who support their work with other schools. These organisations include The Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Kids Company and the Community Empowerment Network which help raise aspirations.

With ten years of successful headship experience, Gary Phillips has been engaged with the London Leadership Strategy since 2007, supporting other headteachers in London through his role as a Local Leader of Education to drive forward improvement and build capacity to ensure that improvement can be sustained.

Lilian Baylis Technology school and staff have benefited enormously through working collaboratively with other schools. Partnership support offered by the school has involved coaching and mentoring for headteachers, inclusion leadership support to leadership teams, training and development workshops, subject leader support and the delivery of a behaviour immersion programme. As a result of sharing school strengths, fresh ideas and good practices, both schools in a partnership have been able to improve outcomes for their students. Gary is an advocate of system led support.

Now a National Leader of Education, Gary Phillips has designed and delivered the behaviour programme ‘Better Behaviour” on behalf of the London Leadership Strategy. The programme, trialled at Shene school (now Richmond Park Academy) has helped the school to move out of special measures.