"School leaders are pragmatic. They don’t want wishy-washy. Motional fits with that - it gives you steps to take, data, and progress."
Thomas Oates, Virtual School Head, Barnsley MBC
THE MOTIONAL FAMILY
About us
The people we work alongside rarely have just one hat – and neither do we! While each of us has areas of responsibility, we work closely together, drawing on our different skills and experiences to continually develop Motional and support the organisations we work with.
We also know that great ideas come from collaboration. When specialist expertise is needed, we bring it in. Alongside our core team, we’re fortunate to work with an extended network of consultants – our Motional family – who help shape the platform by bringing current knowledge, fresh perspectives and real-world experience from the settings they support every day.
Meet the Team below.
Neil Gilmour
Founder & Technical Director
Neil founded Motional and leads the technical development of the platform, turning ideas into practical tools that help organisations better understand Emotional Wellbeing. He has an uncanny ability to solve complex problems, regularly uses words like ‘algorithm’ and ‘papercuts’ that the rest of us politely nod along to… and drinks plenty of coffee.
Away from work, Neil is usually wet – either sailing or paddling – and has a particular interest in neurodiversity and the outdoors as drivers of wellbeing.
Guy Collins
Digital Experience & Platform Development
Guy plays a key role in the design and development of both the Motional website and platform, helping create intuitive, engaging experiences for the organisations we support. Working closely with Neil, he contributes to Motional’s ongoing evolution, turning ideas into practical features and continually refining how people interact with the platform.
When he’s not in front of a computer screen, Guy enjoys board games with his family, playing trumpet with his band and making the most of windy days kitesurfing.
Lou Gilmour
Director, Operations & Support
Lou leads customer support and implementation, helping every organisation get the very best from Motional. She’s the person who keeps everything moving, makes sure nothing falls through the cracks and ensures schools and organisations always have someone to turn to when they need support.
Outside work, Lou loves music, family and the outdoors. She’s particularly passionate about universal, neuro-affirming approaches that help prevent children and young people from falling through the gaps.
Tracey Down
Office Manager
Tracey keeps the day-to-day operations of Motional running smoothly, supporting organisations with account setup and maintenance, data uploads, subscription changes and invoicing. Behind the scenes, she’s the person who helps ensure everything is organised, efficient and exactly where it needs to be.
Outside work, Tracey is a family-orientated mum of five, so it’s fair to say there’s rarely a quiet moment!
Rich Head
Director, Strategy & Partnerships
Rich leads strategy, partnerships and customer engagement, spending much of his time listening to schools and organisations and translating their experiences into the future development of Motional. He works closely with customers to understand their challenges, helping ensure the platform continues to evolve around the realities of practice.
He drinks even more coffee than Neil and will probably mention that he’s from Cornwall and lives near the beach. Rich has a particular interest in leadership, affective neuroscience and the intersection between organisational culture, Emotional Wellbeing and educational outcomes. He is also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Taran Wanderer
Educational advisor and content creator
Taran plays a key role in developing Motional’s educational content, drawing on his extensive experience as a teacher, SEND specialist, tutor and consultant. Continuing to work directly with schools and organisations, he helps ensure the platform’s guidance and resources remain practical, relevant and firmly rooted in everyday practice.
Away from work, Taran enjoys spending time with his family, has an impressive and growing board game collection, and is always keen to explore new ideas that help children and young people thrive.
The Motional Community
Motional has always evolved through collaboration. Alongside our core team, we’re fortunate to work with an informal community of teachers, leaders, SEND professionals, educational psychologists, local authority colleagues, and third-sector partners who generously share their experience, ideas, and feedback.
Whether reviewing new features, testing resources, contributing content or simply challenging our thinking, their insight helps ensure Motional remains practical, relevant and grounded in the realities of everyday practice.
Interested in contributing?
Our community is always evolving, and we’re always keen to hear from practitioners, leaders and specialists who are passionate about Emotional Wellbeing and would like to contribute their experience, ideas or feedback.
Whether you’d like to review new features, share your expertise or simply be part of the conversation, we’d love to hear from you.
Or use the pink chat button in the bottom-right corner of the page.
Ready to see Motional in practice?
See how Motional brings evidence, practical support and professional judgement together to help schools understand Emotional Wellbeing and decide what to do next.
See how it works – in under five minutes.
"How lucky to have had the opportunity to work alongside a company which is open to, in fact embraces, the lived professional experiences of teachers to explore and modify a wellbeing assessment tool to meet the needs of neurodiverse young people." "How lucky to have had the opportunity to work alongside a company which is open to, in fact embraces, the lived professional experiences of teachers to explore and modify a wellbeing assessment tool to meet the needs of neurodiverse young people. 'Equity' is a word much quoted but not always acted on. Having spent time with the Motional Team and array of teachers from special schools engaging in professional discussions regarding our diverse learners I truly feel we have created a system where we can truly identify our pupils to meet their unique needs to build strategies that nurture and support their emotional and social development and wellbeing."
Lisa James-Smith, Deputy Headteacher – Heronsbridge School
""We have been delighted to be able to fund a Motional licence for schools across Pembrokeshire for the past four years, and feel that it has been a very worthwhile investment. School feedback on Motional has been very positive." ""We have been delighted to be able to fund a Motional licence for schools across Pembrokeshire for the past four years, and feel that it has been a very worthwhile investment. School feedback on Motional has been very positive. It has been a pleasure working with Rich, who is always available to offer advice and guidance to schools. We look forward to our continued work with Motional.""
Dr Emma Emanuel, Pembrokeshire County Council
Supporting schools, trusts and local authorities
to improve emotional wellbeing, inclusion, attendance, behaviour and engagement.
