Tom Buchanan has been advising independent schools and higher education establishments on crisis, media relations and governance for more than 25 years. He is a financial communications specialist, having spent three years at Price Waterhouse at the beginning of his career, and has advised schools on issues around finance, including Teachers' Pensions, Fees, Mergers, development funding and refinancing.
Tom is a former Chair of Governors and safeguarding governor of an independent boarding school, an ordained priest, and a Canon who sits on Chapter at Ely Cathedral, where he is responsible for safeguarding.
Jane has worked in publishing and communications for over 30 years, initially for the newly launched Independent newspaper and then a succession of magazines, including as Publishing Director of the journalist’s journal, Press Gazette.
Subsequent publishing roles included Wine Magazine and the International Wine Challenge, where she nurtured an already enthusiastic appreciation of the subject, before a move into the Public Sector as a Communications Director at the Department of Health, producing a couple of children along the way.
After a family move to Africa, while raising two small children, she volunteered for a local education charity before re-training as a biology and chemistry teacher and working in British curriculum prep and secondary schools. Jane left the teaching profession when her own children came to boarding school in the UK and began working as a freelance writer for a wide range of organisations, including large commercial outfits, NGOs and government agencies, before joining Paternoster as their Schools’ Lead in 2021.
Jane is a trusted advisor to some of the country’s best known independent schools and academy trusts. She has a deep understanding of the issues facing the sector and has helped institutions successfully navigate their way through any number of sensitive and complex situations.
Kate is a highly experienced Corporate Communications lead who brings a unique blend of commercial insight and empathy, the result of a background working with mainstream corporate clients, government departments and NGOs.
Previously a reviewer for the Good Schools Guide, Kate’s experience includes working on issues that affect young people. She sat as communications lead for the Government’s Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV for eight years, and launched Sarah’s Law, the Child Sexual Offender Disclosure pilot for the Home Office. She has extensive experience working with charities, both as a trustee and as a campaigner.
A graduate in English and currently training as a psychodynamic coach, Kate is both an advisor and consultant to business leaders helping them align and shape their personal and business communications.
