What I do
Alternative Provision
Not every young person learns in a classroom. I support an Alternative Provision setting in Northamptonshire that works with young people who have run out of other options, and I write about what actually re-engages them.
Board & Advisory
I take on a small number of non-executive roles. Founder-scale technology, regulated data, and organisations preparing for or recovering from a sale.
SEND & Governance
I am Chair of Governors at a special school in Northampton. England is in the middle of the largest SEND reform in over a decade, and I write about it from inside a governing body rather than from a policy desk.
Speaking
Three subjects I know properly: building and selling a business, employing people the market overlooks, and what it is like to be the difficult kid at the back.
The numbers I keep coming back to
1,012,000
Young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK who were not in education, employment or training between January and March 2026.
The first time the figure has passed a million since 2013.
6%
Adults with a learning disability known to their local authority in England who are in paid work. Of those who are not working, 86% say they want a job.
Two statistics, one conclusion. There is a very large group of capable young people that our systems are not reaching, and it is not because they lack ability.
Richard’s skills and efforts go into forward thinking strategies, finding solutions, better ways of operating so that things work and are mutually beneficial. He is an innovator, business leader, technologist and strategic thinker.
Charles Hampson – NATWEST GROUP PLC