Ms Ophelia Vanderpuye Ex Assistant Headteacher and ICT/Computing Specialist Leader of Education (SLE), has more than 30 years-experience in using technology as a learning tool. In 2016 Ophelia took early retirement to focus on the many projects she is passionate about which includes running robotics workshops for teachers and pupils using Nao humanoid robots; book publishing- supporting new authors to see their creativity realized in print. Her first book as a publisher was “The Outdooring, Dedication and Naming of An African Child…” by Ernest H.C. Tetteh and “Year 4’s European Adventure”, by Oakington Manor Primary School. More recently, Ophelia has extended her computing interests to Cybersecurity, receiving training from some of the industry leaders. She also makes and publishes her own photo books and is a keen photographer.

Ms Vanderpuye worked for 26 years at Oakington Manor Primary School, a large primary school in London, where she coordinated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Computing. Ophelia’s innovations, led her to work with Research Machines and Amazing Interactives to develop the first primary school in the UK to use 3D technology for teaching and learning. For seventeen years she was seconded to work as an ICT Teacher Adviser for the London Borough of Brent’s School Improvement Service. Ophelia achieved Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) status followed by Specialist Leader of Education status which she still uses to support schools in Computing and is committed to raising achievement through the innovative use of ICT/Computing and e-learning.

She holds B.Ed (Hons) in Education (English, Science and Primary) from Middlesex University, UK and an MA in IT in Education from the Institute of Education (University of London), UK, specialising in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education.

In 2012 Ophelia won the NAACE Primary Impact Award for innovation and support of over 1000 teachers and schools in UK and abroad for ICT and Computing. She has also worked with a number of companies in developing educational computing resources/software to support a variety of classroom subjects.

Ophelia was trained by Becta as a consultant for the Self Review Framework (SRF), supporting schools in improving the quality of teaching through the use of technology.

Ophelia was a member of the Westminster Education Forum, having presented to an audience of academics, politicians and parliamentarians on the primary school starting age and the lessons learned from a period she spent in Finland, forming part of the 2008 Education Review, headed by Sir Jim Rose.

In the late 1990’s Ophelia worked for the Pan African Research and Applications Group (PARAG), in their South African office in Welkom, Free State, South Africa for eight years. This role was as an educational consultant, principle trainer and female role model on a project which took Information Technology into the township communities, to enable black South Africans to learn and develop new skills, to give them greater access to jobs they would otherwise be unable to do, without such training. The project was set up as the Communal Information Technology Centre (CITC), in Bronville and was the first of its kind in the Free State. The project was championed by the late Bernie Grant, MP.

Ophelia Vanderpuye has been featured in a number of UK national media and international news programmes including:

• An Interview with journalist and presenter Kurt Barling for BBC Radio on her work in South Africa,
• The Guardian Newspaper on Ways to encourage teachers to use ICT,
• EC&T magazine on being an early adopter of podcasting in the classroom
• She has been the focus on a number Teachers’ TV programmes including:
• ICT SOS,
• Finland: Natural Connections and The Little Book Project,
• Social Networks- Friend or Foe?, and the From Good to Outstanding series.
• Ophelia has also been featured in ‘Terminus’ a Romanian live TV chat show for her work with a number of Romanian schools and TV3 an Italian news programme for her “Art In Nature Through The Eye of a Lens” project with five European schools.