Sir Kevan Collins

Sir Collins took up post as the first Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Chief Executive in October 2011, having previously been Chief Executive in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

The EEF is a grant-making education charity dedicated to challenging educational disadvantage, sharing evidence and finding out what works in education. The EEF has established over 150 education studies involving 1:3 schools in England and over 955,000 children. The work has gained an international reputation and the EEF supports work in Australia, Latin America and Europe.

Sir Collins started his career in education teaching in east London and became the National Director of the Primary National Strategy in January 2003. He led the introduction of Excellence and Enjoyment the government’s strategy for England’s primary schools. In 2005, he was appointed as the first Director of Children’s services in Tower Hamlets.

Kevan has gained international experience working in Mozambique, supporting the development of a national literacy initiative in the USA and advising Goodstart, Australia’s largest early learning provider.

Kevan is a visiting professor at the Institute of Education University of London; he was knighted for services to education in 2015.