DMAT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Trustee / Lead Trustee for Estate Management
I have always believed in wanting to give back and supporting the community. I saw the difference that teachers and staff made to my own children at Durrington High School and became a governor over 25 years ago. My own background has been in retail leadership and then many years ago I established my own businesses in construction and fashion.
I am not an educationalist but I do understand the absolute value of recruiting and retaining exceptional staff to work with our children.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Headteacher - the Laurels Primary School
Charlotte is an exceptional leader. appointed as Headteacher of The Laurels Primary School in 2018, under her outstanding leadership drive and commitment, the school has been transformed in all areas to a successful and thriving primary, delivering excellent outcomes for all children.
The level of deprivation and need is significant; ranked 1 out of 296 primary schools in West Sussex; outcomes in 2019 were 81%. Charlotte is able to draw on other DMAT leaders for finance, site and HR/legal support leaving her to focus on her children, staff and school.
Job Titles:
- Director of Research School
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Trustee
- Partner of the Nordic Schools
Dr Rogers is a Principal Education Advisor and NPQEL Course Director for Education Development Trust and leads his own consultancy company. He has previously been a Trustee for a multi-academy trust in Plymouth and has held the role of Director in both a large UK multi-academy trust and a teaching school alliance of 84 schools, with responsibility for school improvement and professional development. He was elected to represent the southwest of England on the Teaching School Council's National Board, latterly with a focus on research and CPD.
Dr Rogers has significant expertise in effective system leadership at scale, leading to impactful and sustainable improvement. Specialisms include supporting schools in difficulty (with a track record of improvement), leading oracy programmes, leadership development and professional coaching. Dr Rogers has worked with a range of clients including local authorities, the Diocese, multi-academy trusts, the Army, BBC, Babcock International and Save the Children.
Dr Rogers is a partner of the Nordic Schools and the Global Equality Collective, a founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, and holds a master's in Educational Research and a PhD in Education from the University of Exeter.
Helen has worked in education for many years and has taught and led in both secondary and primary schools including a Teaching School Alliance. Helen is currently a Trustee at the EKO Trust.
She has also worked as a consultant for a Local Authority leading on workforce development and governance. She is a trained facilitator and leads development for school teachers and leaders.
Her passion in education has always been developing others so that all children are given the opportunity to learn with the best possible teachers and leaders. This has been achieved through being an outward facing leader, working and learning collaboratively and establishing effective networks.
Neil trained as a History teacher and has taught across the south of England for over 30 years.
He started his career in Portsmouth, then became Head of Humanities in Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey before moving into senior leadership at a large secondary school in East Grinstead, West Sussex.
He was a Deputy Head for 20 years, responsible for staff training, pedagogy and staff welfare.
Neil joined the South Downs School-Centered Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) hub for Inspiring Future Teachers in September 2023 and enjoys working with DMAT colleagues and the Durrington Research School to develop and support the next generation of teachers. His role is to lead the Teacher Training team and provide high quality school-centered training to primary and secondary trainees across West Sussex and Brighton and Hove. He and the team work with over 20 partner schools and the University of Brighton to enable trainees to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
He is proud that the SCITT course develops trainees into becoming resilient and creative teachers, inspiring students to be the best version of themselves.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Trustees
- Education Consultant
Niki Thomas is an education consultant based in the South of England. She works with individual schools/academies, networks & collaborations, teaching school alliances, MATs, local authorities and other educational organisations. Formerly a Headteacher, a co-leader of a networked learning community, a local authority consultant adviser (specifically on collaborations and networks) and a leadership programme facilitator. Since 2007 she has worked in a variety of regional and national facilitation roles for the former National College for School Leadership including regional leader, NLE trainer/broker and models & partnerships associate. She was the Lead Associate for National College for Teaching and Leadership for Southern England covering SE, SW and London regions, strategically leading the work of the associate team to develop teaching schools and school-based ITT. She has worked with three Research Schools in England during the early phases of their development supporting professional development planning. She currently works as a national associate for Education Development Trust on the Schools Partnership Programme, supporting clusters and local education systems to develop high quality, robust collaborative school improvement and peer review practice across England and North Wales. This has now expanded to include the MAT partnership programme which facilitates peer to peer reviews between MATs. She has also worked with Education Development Trust to develop a bespoke middle leadership programme for schools in Alexandria, Egypt. Since 2021 she has worked as a partnerships adviser to EDT to support the development of the delivery partner network for NPQs and ECF.
Niki has extensive experience and proven track record in educational consultancy, facilitation and development of networks, leadership development and school improvement. She has an MA in School Effectiveness from the University of Sussex and has undertaken extensive facilitator training. She has worked on the facilitation of coaching training as part of several leadership programmes and has engaged in bespoke coaching for Executive Headteachers and Heads of Schools.
Job Titles:
- Director for Education Development Trust
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Trustee / Lead Trustee for Finance & Information Security
Pauline has over 30 years experience working in schools as a science teacher, subject leader and pastoral leader, and senior leader. Pauline was headteacher of Thomas Bennett Community College before joining DMAT in 2019.
As a senior leader for many years in a high deprivation area Pauline has vast experience of the passion, drive, determination and resilience required to deliver sustained school improvement in challenging circumstances. Pauline's leadership of teaching and learning played a fundamental part in Thomas Bennett Community College moving from RI to Good and achieving its best ever results. In addition, Pauline has also successfully led staff professional development, pastoral systems, behaviour management, attendance, safeguarding, and KS3 progress and outcomes. Pauline believes in the power of strong collaboration and developing colleagues. She values being part of an outward looking team with a robust, inclusive vision that works at pace to improve the life chances of young people. As Headteacher Pauline was a governor and has previously delivered governor training in a variety of areas.
Upon joining DMAT Pauline worked with colleagues within the Research School and SCITT and alongside teachers at all career stages. Pauline supported teachers with evidence-informed, personalised development in both teaching and learning within the classroom, and as leaders within the schools. Her work was impactful, giving staff confidence to raise expectations of their own practice. Currently, alongside her role as Deputy CEO Pauline also leads the science programme and the overall PGCE programme in the South Downs SCITT, affiliated to the University of Brighton.
Pauline is married, lives in Surrey, and has two grown up children.
Sue's life-long belief is that every child deserves an excellent education, whatever their starting point and it is her job, and that of the DMAT team to make it happen.
Sue knew she wanted to become a teacher whilst still at primary school and after a lifetime in education she is still passionate about working with others, leadership, staff development and school improvement.
Sue has taught cross -phase from Early Years to KS5 in West Sussex, Southwark and Croydon. She has held many leadership roles including as an advisor in Southwark school improvement, Head of Department, Head of Year, Deputy Headteacher, before being appointed as headteacher at Durrington High School (DHS) in 2003. DHS was one of the largest secondary schools in the country, and was in very challenging circumstances. Sue remained as headteacher, longer than she intended, never finding a school to tempt her away from the students and staff. Together, they created an amazing school, realising the potential that had always been there. DHS has had sustained high performance for many years and is recognised nationally for its work in teaching and learning.
In 2014, with the Chair and Vice Chair of governors, Sue was a founding member of Durrington Multi Academy Trust (DMAT). The trust now includes; Durrington High School, Durrington Research School (one of only 34 in the country), Laurels Primary School, and the South Downs SCITT (OFSTED rated outstanding). Sue was headteacher and CEO until 2023 when she retired from headship to focus on growing DMAT.
Sue is relentlessly enthusiastic about working with colleagues, school improvement, making a difference and always believing that the impossible is possible! She was extremely proud and humbled to be recognised in the Queen's Jubilee Honours list 2022, being awarded an MBE, for her contribution to education and leadership of schools and DMAT.
For Sue, ‘team' runs through everything at DMAT: ‘ Children need great teachers, great associate staff, great governors. Every child deserves to go to a great school. That is what continues to inspire and drive me. I am privileged to have worked and continue to work with some of the most amazing and inspirational people, from whom I learn every day. Children only get one chance. We work to make it the best, so that doors are open to them, life choices transformed and dreams are possible'.