SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Tes has appointed Wayne Strydom as head of AI and innovation as it develops its Tes360 platform for schools and trusts.

Strydom brings more than 10 years of experience in AI strategy, digital transformation and technology delivery across large organisations. His role includes shaping Tes’s AI strategy, supporting responsible innovation across the business and identifying ways schools and educators can use advances in artificial intelligence.

The appointment adds a senior AI-focused role to Tes’s leadership team at a time when education groups are weighing how generative AI and related tools can be used in classrooms and school administration. For suppliers to the sector, that debate has increased pressure to demonstrate clear governance around data use, oversight and ethics.

Strydom has previously built and scaled AI and digital service divisions and led transformation programmes for major organisations. Tes also pointed to his earlier connection to education through a technology business aimed at helping underserved communities build skills for entering the workforce.

Tes provides schools and trusts with software and services covering timetabling, special educational needs and disabilities provision, behaviour management, staff wellbeing, parents’ evenings, recruitment and professional development. It also publishes Tes Magazine, giving the group a presence in both software and education media.

At the centre of its product strategy is Tes360, a connected platform designed to bring together information from across school operations. The aim is to give school leaders and trust executives a broader view of activity across their organisations.

AI focus

Tes is positioning AI as part of that broader platform strategy rather than as a standalone product line. The approach reflects a wider trend in education technology, with suppliers embedding AI into existing workflows such as planning, analysis and administrative tasks instead of offering isolated tools.

For Tes, the focus is on reducing repetitive work and generating insights from data already held across the platform. That is particularly relevant for school groups facing budget pressure, staffing constraints and growing demand for clearer oversight across multiple sites.

“Education has always been about people, and AI should strengthen the incredible work that teachers, school leaders and education professionals already do,” said Wayne Strydom, head of AI and innovation at Tes.

“My focus is on helping Tes further harness AI responsibly and ethically. The goal is not to replace human judgement, but to remove friction, automate repetitive tasks and empower educators with richer, more actionable insights derived from the unparalleled breadth and depth of the Tes platform that no other technology provider can achieve.”

“What attracted me to Tes was the opportunity to combine my passion for education with an organisation that is already making a meaningful difference to schools and learners. Tes360 is a foundation for innovation, and I’m looking forward to working with teams across the business to explore how AI can help us deliver even greater value for our customers.”

Platform strategy

Tes traces its roots back more than a century and has expanded from publishing into software and services for schools. In recent years, many education suppliers have tried to connect products acquired or developed across different parts of school management to create more unified platforms.

That has made interoperability and data sharing more important to commercial strategy. A connected system can create cross-selling opportunities for vendors, but schools also want assurance that data is handled carefully and that any automation does not undermine professional judgement.

Governance, ethics and data responsibility are central to Tes’s approach as AI becomes more prominent in education. Those issues carry particular weight in a sector dealing with children’s information, safeguarding responsibilities and high expectations around transparency.

Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Tes, said: “Wayne brings a combination of deep technical expertise, strategic vision and a passion for education. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an ability to translate complex technologies into practical outcomes that deliver value. As we continue to evolve Tes360 and develop new ways to support schools, this experience will help ensure we remain at the forefront of responsible innovation.”

The hire suggests Tes wants more formal leadership around how AI is developed and applied across its products and internal operations. For school customers, the practical test will be whether those tools save time and improve decision-making without adding complexity.

Strydom’s appointment follows the launch of Tes360 and marks another step in the company’s push to build a broader software platform for schools and trusts. His role will focus on how AI is introduced across that platform and how those tools align with the sector’s demands for trust, oversight and clear educational value.

Draks Interior Door Systems Limited, based in Upper Heyford, is the subject of a winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue and Customs, lodged on May 7 and due to be heard at the High Court on June 24.

The national firm has been one of the UK’s leading designers and manufacturers of design-led, premium quality wardrobes and room dividers for the last 25 years.

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Accounts filed for the year to September 30, 2024, show net assets of £24,770, down from £371,582 a year earlier, with current liabilities of just over £1m falling due within 12 months.

A winding up petition is a serious formal legal document presented to the court by a creditor (or sometimes a shareholder) to force an insolvent company into compulsory liquidation.

It is a powerful legal mechanism intended to close down a business that cannot pay its financial liabilities.

The business remains listed as open on Google, and there is nothing to suggest any difficulties on its website.

Draks Interior Door Systems Limited’s directors Chris Ayres and James Fletcher have been contacted for comment, but no response was given at the time of publication.

According to its website, Draks makes all its own wardrobes and door dividers on site in Oxfordshire.

Residents living in the north Oxfordshire town voiced their woes on the social media community group ‘Bicester General Chat’.

While there was praise for some ‘great’ local Royal Mail posties, others weren’t so happy with the ‘useless’ service they were receiving.

The general consensus is that while post, including letters and parcels, are being delivered, residents receive them later than expected and/or all in one go.

Complaints were raised about post being delivered damaged, being ‘lost’ and others missing important hospital appointments.

Some said despite making complaints and escalating further, they do not receive an update.

Bicester residents take to social media to raise complaints about ‘useless’ Royal Mail postal service (Image: Getty Images)

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important it is for people to receive their post reliably, especially when it contains personal, financial or medical information.

“We take concerns about delays seriously and any customer experiencing a specific issue with their mail should contact our customer services team so it can be looked into.

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“Improving quality of service is our top priority. Nationally, around 92 per cent of letters are currently arriving on time and over 99 per cent within a week, but we know there is more to do to deliver the reliable service customers expect.

“That is why we are making changes through our new delivery model, backed by our improvement plan, to improve reliability for customers across the UK.”

A target of 93 per cent is set for the postal company to deliver first class mail to be received within one working day.

But in Oxfordshire, the Royal Mail is hitting just 67.2 per cent, Liberal Democrat Witney MP Charlie Maynard revealed earlier this year.

This is below the Royal Mail’s claim of delivering 76.3 per cent of first class mail within one day across the UK for the year to March 2025.

Mr Maynard said that in his Witney constituency, people are even missing medical appointments because of late postal deliveries.

In May, services in Bicester (OX25 – OX27) saw delays “temporarily” due to sick absence, resourcing or other “local factors”, the Royal Mail said.

A spokesman said at the time: “In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.

“We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”

Last year, the Royal Mail was taken over by International Distribution Services by Czech billionaire businessman Daniel Kretinsky’s IP Group in a £3.6 billion deal.