Adrian Gray worked in several schools before becoming an HMI. He held senior national posts at Ofsted and with the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates: the organisation which coordinates European school inspection. His roles included leading on school inspection guidance, writing a number of influential survey reports and evaluating the inspection processes of Ofsted across several frameworks. He also authored ‘European School Inspection and Evaluation: History and Principles’, a ground-breaking book which has come to be considered the essential text on the subject.

Adrian now works as a consultant for schools, local authorities and academy trusts. He has extensively advised school leaders on how to improve processes such as self-evaluation and development planning, including the use of online methods. Additionally, he has led training for several teaching school alliances and helped to set up a large new multi-academy trust.

Adrian also supports subject leaders with curriculum development in schools, including work on teaching pupils about where words come from and developing the local context.