Rachel de Souza

Born in Scunthorpe in 1968, she was the middle child among three brothers. Her father was a steelworker, her mother an Austro-Hungarian refugee. She attended a local Catholic comprehensive school and earned a BA in Philosophy and Theology at Heythrop College, University of London. She later completed a PGCE at King's College London before moving with her husband to Oxford, where he studied at Jesus College.[3]

De Souza taught in Oxfordshire and Luton, later served as deputy head at Denbigh High School, Luton.[4] Her first headship was at Barnfield West academy in Luton, before being appointed principal of Ormiston Victory Academy in Costessey, Norwich.[5]

In 2012 she co-founded the Inspiration Trust, a multi academy trust based in Norwich. The Trust opened with a single school in Great Yarmouth but has since grown to include 14 schools across Norfolk and Suffolk. The Trust includes sponsor academies, converter academies, and free schools, with age range from nursery to sixth form.[6]

In December 2020, the Second Johnson ministry nominated de Souza for the post of Children's Commissioner for England, the most powerful child protection post in the country.[7] Later that month, at a time when numerous Children's Commissioners, including those for Wales and Scotland, had already committed to banning corporal punishment against children, de Souza was criticised for failing to do so.[8]