José Picardo

Award winning teacher, experienced senior leader, consultant and founder, helping school leaders lead with clarity and purpose.

Twenty-five years in education, from the languages classroom to deputy headship. Now I lead Azimuth, working with schools, trusts and national organisations on digital strategy, AI and professional development. I began in the classroom, drawn by curiosity, rigour, and what happens between a teacher and a class. That stayed with me through senior leadership. The job may keep changing. What makes teaching great does not.

Now

Founder and Principal Consultant, Azimuth Partners Ltd 2025 to date
Strategic consultancy, including a Fractional Digital Strategist service. Professional development: keynotes and workshops. Leadership coaching, working towards ILM Level 7. Keynotes and talks for sixth formers on using AI and staying in charge of their own thinking.

Career

Previously

Deputy Head, Embley

Whole-school senior leadership.
Before that

Assistant Principal, Digital Strategy, Surbiton High School

Led whole-school digital strategy.
Earlier

Head of Modern Foreign Languages, Nottingham High School
Even earlier

Head of Spanish, Guildford High School

Books

Using Technology in the Classroom

Bloomsbury, 2017

A practical guide for teachers: when technology helps learning and when it gets in the way.
Educate 1-to-1

Co-author

Planning, implementing and sustaining change through mobile learning in schools.

Writing and speaking

Writing

Contributor to the TES and The Guardian
Box of Tricks, award-winning blog on technology and education (2008 to 2016)
Shooting Azimuths, the writing archived on this site
The Compass, a monthly blog and newsletter for school leaders

Invited speaker

HMC
The Wellington Festival of Education
ResearchED
BETT
The Education Show
Battle of Ideas
Schools and Academies Show

Awards and Fellowships

Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Pearson Teaching Award: Outstanding Use of Technology in Education, Silver (2015)

The archive

I have been writing about education and technology since 2008, first at Box of Tricks, then here, and finally at Azimuth. This archive stays up, partly as a record and partly as a reminder to hold one's beliefs and opinions lightly.

Browse the archive → · or press / to search the lot.

Off duty

Away from work I am an enthusiastic amateur photographer, a slow runner, a keen but average bass player and a rather better cook. I remain a coffee snob and a tea heathen, and I used to think I was a cat person until I met Teddy.

Experienced, outside advice for schools and trusts.

That is the work I do at Azimuth: strategic consultancy, including how schools make sense of AI, professional development and leadership coaching.

Find out more ↗