Laura McInerney is an education journalist, former teacher, and co-founder of Teacher Tapp, a daily survey of more than 10,000 teachers. She began her career as a secondary teacher and head of sixth form, winning the Teach First Award for Best New Teacher before training others at Canterbury Christ Church University. As a Fulbright Scholar in the US, she studied charter schools and famously won a Freedom of Information case against the Department for Education. A former Guardian columnist and Editor of Schools Week, she led award-winning investigations and has co-authored Leading Academy Trusts with Sir David Carter and The Juggling Act with Professor Toby Salt.