Tegwen Ellis
Tegwen Ellis is Chief Executive of the National Academy for Educational Leadership. Prior to this she held the role of Assistant Director for Leadership Development and Quality Assurance with the organisation.
Tegwen has been part of the development of the National Academy for Educational Leadership since the very beginning, representing headteachers as a member of the shadow board. Leading the team and Academy Associates, Tegwen injects a strong strategic vision and strategy, creating a sustainable organisation which supports leaders at all levels across Wales. Tegwen enjoys being part of strong team of staff, Academy Associates and secondees and would like to see the organisation continue to develop as the voice of leadership, impacting all leaders and becoming the ‘go to’ organisation for all things leadership in Wales. She has a particular professional interest in improving the well-being support for all educational leaders.
“People genuinely admire, respect, and value the Chief Executive, as a leader and as a person. People find her inspirational and have a lot of respect for her.” Investors in People, from the We invest in well-being report (June 2021)
Tegwen started her teaching career in 1988 and during that time has taken on various leadership roles including performance management advisor and national moderator and peer assessor with Estyn. In 2015, she exercised her system leadership skills and established and chaired the Welsh Medium Federation of schools in Central South Consortium, ensuring that professional learning and school-to-school working was integral to its philosophy. Tegwen was headteacher at Ysgol Cynwyd Sant for nearly 20 years and led the school successfully through several inspections where her leadership was noted to be ‘progressive and innovative’ and ensured ‘that her vision and philosophy are shared very successfully with all stakeholders’.
In 2017, Tegwen was the Executive chair of the Urdd National Eisteddfod in Bridgend that was attended by over 90,000 visitors.
Tegwen was recently given the title of ‘Honoury National Affiliate’ with the Centre for International Research into Leadership in Education (CIRLE) at Cardiff Metropole University. She is also in the final stages of her professional doctorate in education at University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Tegwen is married to Dyfrig who is an Assistant Director with Estyn and they have twin boys. Jacob is a Director responsible for external relations and culture for the Future Generations Commissioner and Efan is a primary school teacher in a Welsh medium school in Cardiff.
In her spare time she enjoys taking her labradoodle for walks, spending time at her caravan in West Wales and attending cultural and sporting events.
