COMMUNITY ACADEMIES TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Schools ( Primary )
Job Titles:
- Head of Woodloes Primary School
Job Titles:
- Head of Budbrooke Primary School
Job Titles:
- Head of the Wilnecote School
Job Titles:
- Co Founder and Director of Policy and Governance
Job Titles:
- Head of Stoneydelph Primary School
Gary has lived in the Midlands for over 30 years. He has two children who were both educated locally.
A qualified chartered accountant and privacy professional with an MBA, he has held a number of senior financial positions and directorships in retail and leisure companies. Gary also holds several non-executive roles covering health, education and the charity sectors, and is an expert in operational risk, organisational change and data protection.
Job Titles:
- Head of Chadsmead Primary Academy
Job Titles:
- Head of Stratford on Avon Primary School
Job Titles:
- Director of Safeguarding and Behaviour
Job Titles:
- Head of the Woodlands Community Primary School
Job Titles:
- Chartered Certified Accountant and Member of the Association for Project Management
- Executive Director ( Finance and Operations )
- Trust Information
Lois is a Chartered Certified Accountant and member of the Association for Project Management with over 30 years experience in the civil service and public sector delivering value for money for society. Lois believes in the power of collaboration to enable teams and colleagues to achieve their personal best and excellent finance and operational services. She has led finance, change programmes, procurement, and contract management teams at senior levels in central government departments and multi-academy trusts. She has also delivered consultancy services to the Cabinet Office assessing talent and high-risk projects.
Lois is our Chief Finance Officer, Company Secretary and Executive Director of Operations. She has responsibility for the corporate and non-educational support services to the schools and leads the central team in their support to Headteachers, schools' teams, Governors and Trustees for finance, estates, health & safety, compliance, HR and IT services. She believes in investing in people and delivering user friendly services that have a clear and excellent outcome for colleagues, business partners and young people.
Job Titles:
- Head of Windmill Primary School
Job Titles:
- Head of the Polesworth School and Straegic Lead for Secondary Schools
Job Titles:
- Executive Head of Dordon Primary School and Wood End Primary School
Job Titles:
- Head of Birchwood Primary School and Director of Trust Professioanl Networks
I retired from my post as CEO of The Fallibroome Trust in December 2021. We established the Trust in 2014 with four school and grew to ten schools, 3 Secondary and 7 Primaries over the next seven years. This included the incorporation of two failing schools and a school in severe financial difficulty, all are now rated as ‘Good' and have secured the confidence of their communities.
The Trust was founded by The Fallibroome Academy, where I served as Headteacher from 2000 to 2014. During this period we achieved Performing Arts College status, Academy status, National Support School status and Teaching School status. We featured in several ‘top schools' in the North West league tables and received three ‘outstanding' (or equivalent) Ofsted judgements.
Prior to this I served as Headteacher of Ercall Wood Technology College in Wellington, Telford for 8 years, during this period we became one of the first Grant Maintained Schools and Specialist Colleges in the Country.
Job Titles:
- Co Founder and CEO
- Trust Information
Philip has been a values driven and passionate leader in education for many years having held senior posts in large rural and city comprehensive secondary schools with 6th forms. He led an outstanding school as Headteacher for 7 years before becoming the school's Executive Headteacher. He is a National Leader of Education and established a National Teaching School. He is also an OFSTED inspector.
Philip is now our trust's Chief Executive Officer.
He led the conversion of The Polesworth School to an academy in 2011 (the first converter academy in the local authority) as part of the first phase of outstanding converter academies following the 2010 Academies Act, and then in 2012 in partnership with Edward May founded the Community Academies trust. Philip is a passionate teacher with over 20 years experience in the mathematics classroom. He believes that all young people have talent that should be nurtured and has devoted his career and professional life to the quest for excellent social, personal and academic achievement for all. Those values that drove him to teach maths, lead a maths department, take various senior roles as Assistant and Deputy Headteachers and become a Headteacher, are also at the heart of his drive to secure the best education for the communities that our trust serves.
Philip was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to education.
Steve has been a Baptist Minister since 1987, serving firstly in a church in an area of urban deprivation and latterly in a village church in Warwickshire. He presently serves a village church in rural Mid Wales.
From 1999 Steve took a seven year sabbatical from full time ministry and worked for a national charity, initially as part of the management team in a project for the resettlement of offenders, followed by a stint as the manager of a residential drug rehabilitation centre. He spent a few years as an acting operations support manager and acting operation manager.
After returning to ministry in 2006, he continued his links with the charity, offering management support in difficult situations. And working as an interim operations manager during a period of re-organisation.
Steve served as a local councillor on the now defunct Rochester City Council, during this service he specialized in the field of human resources and the chairing of quasi-judicial bodies such as: Housing Benefit Review Board, Human Resources Appeals and Hackney Carriages appeals.
After the abolition of Rochester City Council, Steve served as the Deputy Leader of the newly created Medway Unitary Authority, where again he specialized in the field of Human Resources. Steve was responsible for the oversight of all the staffing implications of setting up a new authority, agreeing a new management structure, liaising with recruitment consultants and chairing the interview panels for the appointment of all senior officers of the new council.
As well as serving on the local education committee, Steve has served as a governor on four schools, including a period of more than a decade as chair of governors of a Junior School.
Steve was also a member of the Kent Police Authority and the chair of the Medway SACRE (Statutory Advisory Committee for Religious Education).
Steve has a degree in theological studies, a post graduate diploma in applied theology and a diploma in care management.
Having worked in an area of urban deprivation where the life prospects of young people were blighted by the educational opportunities available to them, Steve is passionate about raising standards and ensuring that as many young people as possible have the opportunity of a high quality education. Steve brings considerable experience in the field of Human Resources and his experience in chairing quasi-judicial bodies is invaluable.
Job Titles:
- Head of Grange Park Primary School
Ron retired in 2013 from a career of providing architectural services over more than 40 years. His last position was that of Technical Director within the architectural department of RPS group Plc, an international Environmental Consultancy. He managed a team of architectural staff delivering design services to Clients in both the Private and Public Sectors. His responsibilities extended to dealing directly with Clients, agreeing services and fees to secure commissions for future business, as well as delivering multi-million pound projects from inception to completion. Ron has experience in various forms of building construction having completed new build and refurbishment and conversion of older buildings, including Listed Buildings and projects within conservation areas.
His advised Clients in how to best deliver their aims and objectives, providing guidance and support with regard to appointing other specialist consultants, agreeing budgets, normally in conjunction with a Quantity Surveyor, and delivering a completed project on time and within budget. He has also administered building contracts on behalf of the Client with an appointed main contractor, including leading the selection and tendering process. He understands the Town & Country Planning process and the Building Regulations and has spoken at Local Government Committee meetings on behalf of the Client.
Ron joined the Board of Governors of The Polesworth School in 2009 and has since served on a variety of panels. In his role as Governor, Ron was involved with the Local Governing Body when The Polesworth School transferred to Academy Status and the founding of the Communities Academies Trust.
Ron has had two sons educated at The Polesworth School who have since developed successful careers with one being a Barrister and Part Time Judge for the Employment Tribunal (East Midlands) living in Cardiff, and the other, formerly a Forensic Scientist, but more recently a Chemical Processing Engineer for a Local Business. Ron also currently has two granddaughters attending Birchwood Primary School and understands what excellent community schooling can provide for young people.
Ron works in the voluntary sector locally and has done so for over 40 years as an officer in The Boys' Brigade. He is President of the Mid-Staffs & Sandwell Battalion of The Boys' Brigade with around 400 boys and girls in membership. Ron's commitment to his local community belief in the value of education has driven him to contribute through governance of our trust.
Ron joined the Board of Directors to bring specific areas of expertise in relation to Real Estate and Property Management.
Job Titles:
- Head of Kingsway Primary School
Simon is a Partner and Head of the charities and not for profit team at PKF Cooper Parry, a leading Midlands accountancy firm with 36 Partners and a 450-strong team.
Simon has twenty years' experience in the accountancy profession having trained and qualified with a Top 10 national firm, HLB Kidsons before joining Tenon and then Birmingham based Clement Keys where he was a Partner for 9 years before its merger with PKF Cooper Parry.
Simon works exclusively with clients in the charity sector including several local and regional academy trusts and multi-academy trusts. He is responsible for leading the firm's audit work with its academy client base and provides regular training for directors and trustees on governance matters ensuring all are up to date with legislation.
His work in the sector enables him to bring best practice experience to Community Academies Trust. Simon was also nominated to join Academy Ambassadors which is an organisation that works in bringing business professionals together with multi-academy trusts to build strong and innovative governance arrangements.
Simon joined the local governing body of Birchwood Primary School just prior to its conversion to an academy back in 2012 and was a founding member and director of Community Academies Trust. After chairing the audit committee, he became Chair of the Trust in September 2015 and has been Chair throughout the growth of the Trust from a six school multi academy trust to the size that it is today.
Simon is passionate about excellent community education and firmly believes that schools in the Trust should preserve their local identity whilst supporting each other to share best professional practice.
Simon has lived in the community of Polesworth all his life where he attended both Birchwood Primary School and The Polesworth School before studying mathematics at the University of Warwick. He is married and his two sons now both attend The Polesworth School.
Job Titles:
- Head of Operations and Compliance
Job Titles:
- Head of Heathcote Primary School
Trystan lives in Rugby, Warwickshire with his family.
After spending his childhood in Wales and the Middle East, he graduated from the University of Wales. Following a Certificate from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, he then embarked on a commercial career.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources