Gemma Gwilliam

Gemma is a multi-award-winning strategic digital leader, with experience spanning all year groups, from classroom teaching to leadership roles in both private and state schools worldwide. She has a deep passion and proven expertise in leveraging technology to enhance teaching and learning at both regional and international levels. Her specialisms include reducing teacher workload and equipping children with essential 21st-century skills. With lived experience of Dyslexia and ADHD, Gemma understands the challenges of accessibility firsthand and uses this insight to champion inclusive access to technology for all. She is dedicated to fostering a culture where everyone can confidently choose the right tool for the right task to achieve the best outcomes.

In 2021, Gemma joined United Learning’s Central Team as a Cross-Phase Educational Technologist, supporting schools across the South Coast in developing digital strategies and integrating technology effectively. She also played a pivotal role in the Department for Education’s national EdTech Demonstrator Programme, creating resources, delivering webinars and training, and collaborating with senior leaders at school and trust levels to advance their digital strategies.

As part of this work, Gemma partnered with the Portsmouth Education Partnership to develop the citywide “Digital City” project. She supported schools across Portsmouth with 365/Google training, cloud migration projects, procurement, strategy development, and staff training. Her coaching and mentoring expertise also benefited ITEs and ECTs/NQTs across the South Coast, helping them gain the confidence and skills needed to thrive in 21st-century classrooms. Now in her fourth year as Strategic Lead for Digital and Head of Digital Learning, Education, and Innovation in Portsmouth, Gemma focuses on “Technology for children, technology for adults, technology for all.”

Her work spans schools, colleges, the university, and businesses to drive Portsmouth’s five-year plan to be nationally recognised as a “Digital City.” In January 2025, Gemma expanded her impact by supporting Walsall and Sandwell Local Authorities in a pilot project for the DfE inspired by the successes of Portsmouth’s “Digital City” initiative. Due to the success of this, the “Walsall&Beyond” Cluster was launched in May 2025 and she began working with other schools and trusts in Hampshire, Dorset and Cambridge in September 2025 showing the impact of the project nationally.