We welcome the Candidate’s intention to collaborate closely with the education sector and to engage in a substantial listening exercise following his appointment, and we hope he will pay keen attention to the wellbeing and the needs of teachers, headteachers and children’s services professionals. Sir Martyn was keen to ensure that the regulator shows empathy whilst maintaining its independence and regulatory role. He also showed an appetite for looking at the way that appeals are conducted and managed. We were pleased to hear Sir Martyn’s engagement with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) professionals and the work he had undertaken with the alternative provision sector.