Trustees
Board Meeting Attendance and Declarations of Interest
Trustees
Ruth Ingman
Chair of Trustees
Date originally appointed: 21st May 2024
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Ruth has over twenty years’ experience as a Non-Executive Director in the public, private and third sectors including Non-Executive Director at Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Primary Care Trust Board, Vice Chair of Leicester Arts Centre Ltd, (Phoenix Digital Media Centre), Governor at Leicester College, President of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Chamber of Commerce, Trustee at Leicester Charity Link and Vista. She started her career at the Bar before building her consultancy business specialising in employment law and HR. Her first degree is in Law, and she was awarded her Masters degree in Law and Employment Relations from the University of Leicester. She is currently an Independent Chair for NHS England.
Melvyn Redfern
Chair of Audit and Risk Committee
Date originally appointed: 23rd Sept 2020
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Chartered accountant who qualified with Ernst and Young in 1991. Melvyn moved into industry in 1993 and has spent the majority of his career in finance roles for healthcare businesses. His experience is broad and extends beyond financial accounting and reporting and includes audit, corporate governance, tax, pensions, insurance and M&A projects. Whilst he doesn't have prior experience as a trustee in an education environment he does have long standing experience as a pension trustee. Mel is keen to bring his finance and governance experience to bear and to provide support to a local community organisation.
Bernadette Green
Chair of Education Standards Committee
Date originally appointed: 19th March 2018
Appointed by: Academy members
Retired Headteacher of Crown Hills Community College in Leicester. Prior to taking up the post at Crown Hills, Bernadette was the Head Teacher of Riverside Community College. She successfully led the school out of Special Measures after only 16 months. Bernadette worked as a Team Inspector for Ofsted for a number of years until July 2019. She also carried out consultancy work between 2017 and 2019 which included audits for Leicester City LA and supporting for two terms a Leicestershire School deemed inadequate by Ofsted in June 2017.
Daniel Giardiello
Chair Pay of Performance and Personnel Committee
Date originally appointed: 23rd Sept 2020
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Former Leicestershire teacher and school senior leader of 13 years who for the past 4 years has worked as a Senior Partnership manager for Arbor Education, England's fastest growing Cloud MIS supplier to schools. In his role for Arbor, Daniel oversees a team who build relationships with MATs that are looking to bring about efficiencies in the way that they operate, whilst also improving the timeliness and quality of insight they gather from the data they hold across their IT systems. Having worked as a Deputy Head in SEN for a large portion of his teaching career, Daniel also takes a keen interest in looking into the ways in which schools and trusts cater for students who are either vulnerable or have particular Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs.
Kieron Hall
Chair of Finance and Business Committee
Date originally appointed: 12th June 2020
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Present CEO Nexans, a sustainable energy group. Responsibilities include leading staff, sales, marketing, supply chain, warehouse, HR, customer services and finance. Over 20 years’ private sector experience for UK and overseas listed companies.
Paul Wilson
Trustee
Date originally appointed: 12th Dec 2017
Appointed by: Academy members
Principal of WQE & Regent College in Leicester. Chair of the Leicester Tertiary Federation and board member of the cross-phase Leicester Education Strategic Partnership. He is also governor of a secondary school in Leicester. Has expertise in national education policy, charity law and governance, strategic planning, use of data to target improvement, curriculum development and financial management of a large organisation and experience of complying with legal, regulatory and financial frameworks.
Suzanne Cooper
Trustee
Date originally appointed: 6th June 2021
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Suzanne’s career has been in Finance, HR, Leadership and Governance and for over 30 years she has been working in the education sector, both private and state. For 17 years she was a School Business Manager and member of the Senior Leadership Team. In June 2016 she took semi-retirement to become the part time Governance and Compliance Manager for a multi academy trust. Over the years she has delivered training courses for business management, finance and governance across the UK. Suzanne also worked for the DfE Value for Money Unit working with schools across the East Midlands in a consultancy role. She was a trustee for 7 years for The National Association of School Business Management and in 2015 was awarded the fellowship of NASBM, now known as ISBL (Institute of School Business Leadership). Suzanne was also the Finance Trustee in a Primary School in Lincolnshire. With her experiences and skills Suzanne has always played an essential role in establishing new structures, ensuring they are robust enough to support growth. She has evaluated practice, advised and supported on all issues within the posts she has undertaken to ensure that arrangements are effective, enabling schools/trusts to meet their statutory obligations and achieve their strategic vision. Suzanne is committed to maximising the welfare and education of all children through her work.
Tim Laws
Trustee
Date originally appointed: 1st June 2021
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Tim is a Change Management Specialist and experienced operations leader. He currently works with North Northamptonshire Council, supporting the authority’s ambitious transformation programme and is now a Senior Change Management Specialist at Cambridge University. Tim has extensive experience over fifteen years within education and children’s services, most recently as Head of Operations for a multi-academy trust where his portfolio included procurement, health & safety, risk, IT and Estates. As a part qualified accountant and experienced financial manager, Tim is able to offer constructive challenge as well as contributions to sustainable strategy development. Tim became a Trustee after leaving the education workforce as he was keen to use his experience to continue contributing in the sector. Tim is a member of the Finance and Business Committee.
Victoria Raynor
Trustee
Date originally appointed: 1st June 2022
Appointed by: Foundation/Trust
Victoria is a safeguarding and pastoral care expert, with extensive experience in leading safeguarding, attendance and behaviour both operationally and strategically across schools and multi academy trusts and works closely with statutory and non-statutory agencies including charities and CICs. Victoria’s experience includes quality assurance, due diligence and onboarding of new schools into multi academy trusts, school improvement, leadership coaching, supervision, DSL training and Alternative Provision leadership. Victoria is keen to use her experience to support the trust in maintaining high standards of care, safety and welfare for all children. Victoria is also a Governor at a primary school.
Members
Stephen Hopkins
Date originally appointed: 13th Sept 2021
Stephen is a National Leader of Governance (NLG) and has over thirty years’ experience of school governance. He has been a member of a university governing body, a trustee of a large national MAT where is chaired the Education and Personnel Committee, the chair of a small secondary MAT and the chair of an IEB and a Primary Single Academy Trust. He is the Chair of the Community Inclusive Trust - a MAT with 15 academies ( special and primary )
Simon Hudson
Date originally appointed: 13th Sept 2021
Simon has been with the L.E.A.D Academy Trust since November 2019 and was appointed as the Head of Governance in February 2020. Before moving to L.E.A.D. Simon was at Archway Learning Trust in Nottingham, as Governance Services Manager. In both cases Simon has acted as Secretary to the Board of Trustees and the Members. Simon completed the Clerks Development Course in 2016 and in 2019 passed the ICSA (now CGI) Advanced Certificate of Corporate Governance.
Tomas O’Duibhir
Date originally appointed: 13th Sept 2021
Currently CEO of Kingsley Learning Federation, a small Special MAT with 2 schools within Northamptonshire. Previously, Headteacher at Kingsley school an outstanding special school in Kettering.
Miranda Cannon (Previously Chair of Trustees Sept 2016 – Aug 2021)
Date originally appointed: 13th Sept 2021
Resigned 5th February 2024
Stuart McDonough
Date originally appointed: 13th Sept 2021
Resigned 20th February 2024
Gina Fox
Date originally appointed: 1st Sept 2024
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