Small Higher Education Providers

Data clarity and regulatory confidence, without needing a full internal data team

Small and specialist providers operate under the same scrutiny as large universities, often with a fraction of the internal resource.

If you are preparing HESA returns, responding to OfS expectations, supporting apprenticeships, or reporting to a board, the pressure can feel disproportionate.

I work with independent and specialist providers to strengthen their data foundations in a way that is proportionate, practical and realistic.

No jargon. No unnecessary transformation projects. Just stronger systems, clearer decisions, and reduced risk.

Does this sound familiar?

  • You rely heavily on one or two people who “know the data”
  • HESA submissions feel high-stakes and stressful
  • Board reporting takes days to compile and still feels fragile
  • You are being asked about AI but don’t have a clear organisational position
  • You suspect there are gaps in processes but don’t know where to start
  • You want growth, but your data infrastructure feels exposed

If so, you’re not unusual. This is common across small providers.

The issue is rarely intelligence or commitment. It’s capacity and structure.

small provider data issues

How I Can Help

Regulatory and Reporting Confidence

The aim is simple: fewer surprises, clearer evidence, stronger submissions.

Data Fluency and Decision-Making

  • Leadership sessions on using data responsibly
  • Embedding better questioning at board level
  • Reducing key-person dependency
  • Developing proportionate data capability

Data fluency is not about creating analysts.
It is about enabling confident, informed decisions.

Governance and Risk

  • Data protection alignment
  • Microsoft 365 and SharePoint structure review
  • Process mapping
  • Reducing single points of failure

This is about resilience. Not bureaucracy.

AI and Future Readiness

  • Responsible use of AI workshops
  • Developing proportionate AI guidance
  • Reducing reputational and compliance risk
  • Supporting staff capability

AI conversations are already happening.
Better to approach them deliberately than reactively.

How We Can Start

You don’t need a full transformation programme.

Most small providers start in one of three ways:

• A short diagnostic review with clear written recommendations
• A focused workshop for leadership or data owners
• Targeted support around a specific regulatory or reporting issue

From there, we decide what is proportionate.

AI Safety

Why Work With Me

Most small providers don’t need a data team. They need someone who understands what it’s like to not have one.

I spent six years as the data function at an independent higher education provider. Not advising from the outside – actually doing the returns, building the systems, writing the strategy, and explaining it all to people whose primary job was everything else. I know what it feels like when HESA deadlines coincide with enrolment season and the person who handles submissions also runs the enrolment system and checks the data. That was me.

What I hear most from the people I work with is that I make complicated things feel manageable. That’s not about simplifying – it’s about knowing which parts actually matter for your situation, and being straight with you about the rest.

I’m not here to create dependency or sell you a transformation programme you don’t need. I’ll tell you what’s proportionate, help you build capability where it counts, and be honest if something is outside my scope.

If that sounds like the kind of support you’ve been looking for, let’s have a conversation.

Not Sure Where to Start? That’s Fine.

Most people get in touch before they’ve figured out exactly what they need. That’s normal, and it’s genuinely fine.

A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We’ll talk about what’s going on, and I’ll give you an honest view on whether and how I can help.

Book in a meeting with me on the calendar, or drop me an email on [email protected]

Scroll to Top