James is currently the Director of Education for SEND at the Community Inclusive Trust, a Multi Academy Trust that runs 14 schools across the East Midlands.

The role involves James line managing the Head Teachers of the special schools in the trust ensuring that the schools maintain the best possible outcomes for pupils. Alongside this, James also oversees the LEARN SEND Hub which provides training and support for schools across the East Midlands.

James has previously been a Head Teacher of both Ambergate Sports College, an Outstanding Special School in Grantham, and Foxfields Academy, a free school in Leicestershire for pupils with SEMH needs.

James also supports a significant number of schools outside of his trust through school-to-school support deployments and has worked on multiple DfE-funded education improvement projects.