Adrian Lyons FRSA, FEBEA is a former His Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), education consultant and writer with extensive experience of inspection, school improvement, leadership and governance, curriculum development and teacher education. Adrian served as an HMI with Ofsted from 2005 to 2021, following earlier experience as a teacher, teacher educator and inspector. During his HMI career, he inspected and reviewed schools across England, working extensively with senior leaders, governors and trusts to evaluate educational quality and identify priorities for improvement. He also mentored and supported new and seconded inspectors and became a national reference point for school sixth forms. From 2014, Adrian was Ofsted’s National Lead HMI for Economics, Business and Enterprise. He led national survey work, including Getting Ready for Work, examining how effectively schools prepared young people for employment, self-employment and adult life. He also led national work examining the quality of initial teacher education curricula, which contributed to the development of Ofsted’s 2019 ITE inspection framework. Since leaving Ofsted, Adrian has continued to work directly with schools, multi-academy trusts, universities and teacher-training providers. His work includes external reviews of schools, leadership and governance reviews, inspection preparation, evaluation of curriculum and teaching, and support for schools facing improvement challenges. He works alongside leaders and governors to identify strengths and weaknesses, establish clear priorities and translate evaluation into practical action for sustainable improvement. Adrian is a trustee and director of the Economics, Business & Enterprise Association (EBEA) and editor of Teaching Business & Economics. He also represents UK economics and business education internationally through the Association for European Economics Education. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, his particular interests include school improvement, inspection and accountability, curriculum reform, technical and vocational education, and preparation for employment and adult life.
