CORINIUM EDUCATION TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
Chiquita has been Trust Lead (CEO) since 2018, initially combining this post with her substantive role as Headteacher of Cirencester Deer Park School until September 2022 when she moved into the executive position fulltime. With over 30 years of experience as a school leader, including 19 years as a Headteacher, Chiquita remains deeply committed to education and working collaboratively in the best interests of children, young people and school staff. She has a strong understanding of education developments and wealth of expertise relevant to trust development and school improvement. She is currently a member of the Schools' Forum and the Gloucestershire Education Forum. She is also involved in regional academy trust networks. Until July 2023, Chiquita was the long serving Chair of the Partnership Board of the Gloucestershire Initial Teacher Education Partnership (GITEP) which secured a second ‘outstanding' judgement from Ofsted in May 2023. Chiquita has been recognised as a National Leader in Education and trained as an Ofsted inspector. Since the early 2000s Chiquita has been a member of national steering groups, including Applied Learning (Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) and the DFE's Leading Edge programme.
A qualified chartered accountant, Claire has extensive experience in financial risk management, gained during 25 years working in investment banking and insurance, including senior management roles. She also holds a PGCE in secondary teaching and taught mathematics at a local secondary school before assuming the role of School Business Manager, which she held for 5 years, and in which she was a member of the senior leadership team responsible for all non-teaching aspects. Now retired, Claire's active participation in education continues with her role as a governor of Farmor's School, Fairford. She has also been a trustee of an educational charity in Cirencester.
Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE was Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 2012 until 2021. She came to the college from the National Trust, where she was Director-General from 2001-2012. During her time there, she made the Trust warmer and more welcoming, bringing the houses to life and raising the profile of the Trust's work in the countryside. Before the Trust, she was Director of the Women's Unit in the Cabinet Office (1998-2000), Director of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (now Campaign to Protect Rural England) from 1987-98 and Secretary to the Council for National Parks (now Campaign to Protect National Parks) from 1980-87. She has an MA and MPhil from Cambridge University in Geography and Land Economy. Fiona now holds a number of non-Executive roles. She is Chair of the National Audit Office, the Council of the Royal Agricultural University, the International National Trusts Organisation, the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, Cambridge University's Botanic Garden and its Bennett Institute for Public Policy. She is a trustee of the Grosvenor Estate, the Green Alliance and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Her book The Fight for Beauty was published in 2016. Fiona was appointed CBE for services to the environment and conservation in 1998 and DBE in 2008.
Dave is an experienced educational practitioner with a wide range of experiences, expertise and interests. He has worked extensively with school leaders, governors, and a range of third sector organisations. He spent three years as Regional Leader for the South West with the National College for School Leadership where he designed and led leadership development programmes and curriculum innovation projects, as well as supporting the development of system leadership models. He has also worked as an independent school improvement consultant with a range of local authorities and multi academy trusts. Dave is passionate about working with emerging and developing subject leaders. He has co-constructed and facilitated successful programmes to build their capacity to lead pedagogical and curriculum change and evaluate the impact of their work. He has experience as an inspector with HMI Estyn in Wales and has recently been accepted to begin training as an inspector with Ofsted.
Dominic is a chartered accountant, with 15 years' experience working across both practice and industry. Initially training within the Audit & Assurance practice at PwC in London, he later transitioned to a team specialising in operational restructuring, working predominantly with NHS Trusts across the county to implement operational change and efficiencies. Following the birth of his first child in 2018 he moved out of practice and joined Corin Group, a medical device manufacturer based in Cirencester. Here he leads financial planning and analysis for global operations. As a member of the operations leadership team, he works closely with the Chief Operating Officer and heads of function including manufacturing, supply chain and IT, to develop and implement the company's strategy going forward. Outside of work Dominic enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, exploring the Cotswolds and surrounding areas.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Headteacher, Kemble Primary School
Emma is a very experienced primary school headteacher. She currently supports other headteachers across the Trust and is committed to sharing good practice and working in partnership to find solutions to the challenges faced by all schools. Emma was appointed to the post of Headteacher at Kemble Primary School in September 2020, having previously joined the school as a part time teacher. Before relocating to the Cotswolds in 2016, Emma held the position of Headteacher at a large primary school located in London which under her leadership moved from ‘Requires Improvement' to ‘Good'. Her teaching experience has been throughout the primary age range, but the Early Years Foundation Stage is her particular area of expertise. Emma believes passionately in preparing children for the next stage of their education, using a strong knowledge-rich curriculum, and in developing confident and responsible citizens for the future. She actively keeps up to date with current educational research and developments, as well as the Ofsted framework.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Headteacher, Chesterton Primary School
Libby initially took up her post for 2 days a week in April 2022 to ease the transition, before assuming the substantive role in September 2022. Libby previously worked in Worcestershire as Head of School and most recently held a senior post responsible for the Quality of Education at an Alternative Provision School where they recently moved from "Requires Improvement" to "Good" in 2022. A specific area of expertise and interest is in improving teaching and learning and curriculum development and she holds the National SENCo Award having been a SENCo in a previous primary school. She also has extensive experience supporting schools across the region by providing additional leadership capacity and support in school improvement. In 2020, Libby wrote a research paper and recommendations for the local authority to further improve its high needs provision across the county. Libby is passionate about improving outcomes for all children by increasing life chances, opportunities and aspiration through educational excellence.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Headteacher, Siddington C of E Primary School
Louise joined the Trust in September 2023. She is actively engaging in sessions led by the Diocese of Gloucester. This is helping her understand leadership of a Church school and the new SIAMs inspection framework. Louise is currently undertaking her NPQH with The Institute of Education in London where she originally trained to teach and completed her PGCE. Louise started her teaching career in Hackney in 2005 before moving to an ‘Outstanding' school in Wimbledon in 2007. Here, Louise gained experience in subject and whole school leadership, mentoring trainee teachers and school governance. In 2015, Louise moved to a school in Roehampton where she contributed to school improvement and created a bespoke curriculum. As Assistant Headteacher, Louise helped lead this school move from ‘Requires improvement' to ‘Good' in 2017. Having moved to Gloucestershire in 2017, Louise taught at Stroud Valley Community School where she led English and played a key role in the school's most recent Ofsted inspection. She also effectively implemented a new phonics' scheme which led to improved outcomes.
Mark has nearly two decades of experience across marketing, technology and operations within industries such as financial services, property and healthcare. Mark is the Managing Director of Personal Finance Technology at Moneyhub. Mark has held previous roles as the Global Senior VP of Marketing & Product at AML RightSource and Global CTPO for for Appellon. Mark and his husband moved back to the UK in 2017 after spending the previous three years working and living in Sydney, Australia. Mark's career has seen him engage with, support and advise private and public sector organisations including brands such as the NHS, Meta, ING Direct, Red Rooster, TikTok and Sydney Olympic Park. Mark and his husband are the proud dad of two boys.
Martin had a career as a Finance Director for a number of public and private bodies and joined Cirencester Deer Park School as Director of Support in 2003. He then gained extensive experience of the state education sector through leadership of all the support functions within the school for many years. Together with Chiquita Henson, Martin led the process of gaining Foundation status, then Academisation of the school and finally the formation of the Corinium Education Trust. Martin is a Chartered Management Accountant and holds a Diploma in School Business Management. Martin chaired the Gloucestershire Association of School Business Managers for a number of years and developed a benchmarking process for secondary schools in the county which was acknowledged by the Department for Education. Martin has provided training to many schools and school business managers on finance, governance and assessment data. Martin retired from the post of Director of Finance at the Corinium Education Trust in 2021 after 18 years with Cirencester Deer Park School and the Trust.
Martin is a Kings Counsel who until retirement worked as a barrister in the field of town and country planning and environmental law. He was involved in a large number of strategic scale projects running teams of consultants and providing advocacy in public inquiry hearings. He was involved in the presentation of cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Since retirement he has been actively involved as a member of the Church of England's General Synod, a member of the Gloucester Diocese Bishops Council and Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Group. He is a trustee of Sportily, a Gloucester Diocese sport and mission initiative, and a trustee of the Cotswolds Lakes Trust. He is involved with his local community having organised and promoted through to its final stages the Kemble and Ewen Neighbourhood Development Plan and has been a member of the Kemble School LGB. He is an active member of the church in the village.
Rachael works closely with our primary school headteachers, subject leaders and early career teachers. She supports curriculum development, teaching and learning and assessment. Rachael previously worked at a local village school, where she taught across the primary phase and was responsible for leading English. In addition, she helped to shape curriculum design, ensuring consistency and coverage of skills. Before this, she worked at a larger school in Hampshire and was part of the team who achieved ‘Outstanding' under the new Ofsted framework in 2015. She takes pride in leading by example, sharing excellent practices learnt throughout her years teaching across Hampshire and Gloucestershire. Rachael has been a Key Stage Two Writing Moderator in Gloucestershire. She has an extensive knowledge of writing assessment, after developing interim frameworks in line with the new curriculum in 2014. Before joining The Corinium Education Trust, Rachael ran Writing Moderation sessions across the cluster for local primary schools. Rachael has a Middle Leadership qualification and is currently studying a National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching. She is also Lead Induction Tutor for ECTs and works closely with the local Teaching School Hub.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Headteacher, Cirencester Deer Park School
Having initially joined the Trust in 2019, first as an education consultant and then as a temporary school leader, Richard was appointed to the post of Headteacher in September 2022 and successfully steered Cirencester Deer Park School through an Ofsted Inspection in January 2023. Richard is a very experienced school leader having previously been a Headteacher and Senior Principal in two multi-academy trusts. Richard has taught and held posts of responsibility in six schools. He began his career as a teacher of Religious Education in 1996 in a large comprehensive in Surrey and since 2005 he has worked in, or supported, schools across the South West and the Midlands. As an education consultant, Richard has supported school leadership teams, led school improvement and contributed to staff development through coaching and mentoring. Currently, Richard actively contributes to ResearchED having presented at Birmingham, Berkshire and the National Conference.
Richard is the third generation of his family which has worked as a solicitor in the town. His connections with Cirencester are extensive and deep, both as a result of having lived in the town all his life, but also as a result of his thirty year career, working mainly on local trust and charity matters. He has involvement with (and responsibility for) many of the local charities and trusts, not least the Powell's Education Foundation, which is the most significant education charity in the town. He is also active in promoting collaboration between charities in the town, with a recent notable success being the organisation in 2014 of a local charity-conference.
Robert Springett, the Bishop of Tewkesbury, represents the Diocese of Gloucester Education Trust (DGET). Robert studied business, then theology at Lincoln Theological College and Kings College London. Ordained in 1989 he served curacies in Colchester, then in Basildon, before being appointed Priest in Charge of South Ockendon and Belhus Park, then Rector of Wanstead. In 2010 he moved to Gloucestershire to be Archdeacon of Cheltenham. Throughout his ministry Robert has remained committed to the Church's engagement with wider society, particularly through its work with schools: He is Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education and a trustee of All Saints Academy in Cheltenham. He is committed to deepening understanding with the wider Anglican communion, developing a partnership between Wanstead and the Church in Northern Uganda and playing a leading role in Gloucester's three way partnership with the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania and the Diocese of El Camino Real in California.
Sarah is a senior HR professional with a passion for people management. Her career has spanned the Further Education and Higher Education sectors and she has a background in the NHS. She has achieved success by driving excellence, compliance and managing risk and she has a demonstrable record of developing and implementing people strategies and organisational development. Sarah is the Director of Human Resources at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester and works at a strategic level whilst leading a team to ensure the needs of stakeholders are met to achieve operational efficiency and that staff are recruited and developed to achieve success. She is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development and a qualified workplace mediator. For twelve years, she was a listening volunteer with the Samaritans and also undertook a number of management roles at a local and regional level with the Samaritans during this time.
Shirley has lived in Cirencester for since 1978 and been active in local education for a great deal of that time, firstly at Kingshill Secondary School and then at Cirencester Infant School, which subsequently became Cirencester Primary School, she retired as a governor last year. She has also been a local Councillor, served on Cotswold District Council for 8 years and on the Town Council for 16 years, during which time she has been mayor of Cirencester twice, 2001-2003 and 2007-2009. She continues to be involved with a number of trusts and grant giving bodies in the town and is currently chair of the Cirencester Community Development Trust. Shirley is a Soroptimist, and has served as club president and president of the South West and Channel Island region over the last 20 year.
Vanella has built a successful career in brands and communications. She has always been passionate about what brands can achieve with great communication. Vanella spent 20 years as a strategic planner in some of the UK's best advertising agencies, including BBH, AMV/BBDO and JWT. She joined Hall & Partners in 2004 as European CEO, and was later promoted to Global CEO. Vanella successfully grew the company, expanding into new markets internationally and working with some of the world's most famous brands and companies. Vanella has chaired of the British Market Research Society and founded the MRS Diversity Group, focused on making the industry more inclusive. She is a coach and mentor to young entrepreneurs and has won a UK ‘Woman of the Year' award for her work helping young people achieve their ambitions.