Joe Blair

What are you passionate about?

I love working on difficult problems that matter, especially when using new technologies. Schools are at the centre of so much that is good and important in our communities. It’s incredibly rewarding to help them thrive.

What are your greatest accomplishments?

I joined The Key in 2008 when it was a small government-funded pilot project. There were lots of ups and downs as we battled to create a great product and a viable business. I think we succeeded because we had a passionate, focused and tenacious team that put quality and trust first. I’m very proud of the support The Key has provided for so many school leaders and governors over the years, and it's always a thrill when people say they use it, love it, and recommend it.

I’m also very proud of the work we did while I was Director of Product at ScholarPack MIS during the pandemic. Schools had to re-invent their ways of working overnight to deliver remote learning, support vulnerable pupils, track illnesses and vaccines, communicate with parents, track key worker parents, manage staff, organise free school meals vouchers, and so much more. The team worked miracles to change the MIS to support them.

What do you love most about being part of The Key Group?

I love that we’re a mix of people, products, business, and skill sets, brought together by a belief that schools deserve better. And I love that we’re never “done”, and that’s central to my role. We’ve got mature businesses that operate at scale, but we never stop asking: What’s next? What are the most valuable problems we can solve for our schools?

What else should we know about you?

I spent a year as a No.10 Innovation Fellow at the Department for Education. It was an incredible experience. (One challenge was having five different Secretaries of State for Education in 12 months!)

I worked on digital transformation at No.10, and helped shape the DfE’s strategy for improving digital and data services and skills both within the department and across the sector.