Joy Ballard (born 1966) is a British

head teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

. She has been prominently featured in the media discussing the potential for improvement in schools and issues with the British education system. Ballard grew up in Southampton on a council estate, and became notable as the former head teacher of

Willows High School Willows High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Willows) is a secondary school located in the Tremorfa area of Cardiff, Wales. It caters for pupils aged 11 to 16 and is English-medium. As of September 2015, the headteacher is Chris Norman. He succee ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. She starred in the television documentary series ''

Educating Cardiff ''Educating Cardiff'' is the fourth series of the British documentary television programme '' Educating'' broadcast on Channel 4. The eight-episode series was broadcast from 25 August 2015 to 13 October 2015. The documentary follows previous ins ...

'' for her role in making Willows High School one of the most improved schools in Wales during her three-year term as head teacher. In August 2015, she became the head teacher of

Ryde Academy Ryde Academy is an academy status secondary school, including sixth form, located in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, England. History Education on the school site began with Ryde High School which was a 13–18 school built and opened in 1964 to acc ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. The

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is an English council that governs eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. As one of twenty-four county councils in England, it acts as the upper tier of ...

had been overseeing education on the Isle since 2013 because of concerns over the school's former sponsor,

Academies Enterprise Trust The Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) is a multi-academy trust in England. It is a non-profit, educational charitable trust, which sponsors schools with academy status. History Formally established in 2008 by the Greensward Charitable Trust (est ...

(AET), and their lack of regard for the "welfare or education of students or staff." Ballard improved the exam results of the school in twelve months as head teacher. In addition to her role on Educating Cardiff, she has been featured on ''This Morning'' with

Eamonn Holmes Eamonn Holmes (; born 3 December 1959)Holmes receives honorary degree
BBC ...

, and was interviewed on Capital FM radio.

References

Schoolteachers from Hampshire 1966 births Living people Welsh schoolteachers Schoolteachers from the Isle of Wight {{edu-bio-stub