Governance

Working as a member of the European senior management team of an international specialty chemical company, degree qualified, I have over twenty years’ experience at Director level in sales, marketing, business development and supply chain. This includes nine years living and working in Belgium.

I have extensive involvement particularly in the water utility sector with budgets, tendering and contracts to audits, logistics and site health and safety enables me to bring such skills to support the development of the Academy Trust.

I am an Investment Manager. I have a Business Studies degree and am an Associate of the Society of UK Investment Professionals. I was Chair of the Governing Body at Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College for a number of years.

I have been employed at Director level by a number of leading investment firms in the UK including Nelson Investment Management, formerly based in Tarvin. I currently work for Strategic Retirement Solutions a leading Pensions specialist. My career skills include strategic thinking and planning, financial knowledge, both at a business and personal level and being part of the Governor team that led Tarporley High School from being a Community School to Foundation and then Academy status.

I have over 30 years’ experience in various useful fields; running an employment agency and for the past 15 years as a Company Secretary with a major role in employment contracts, HR and Management. I have been involved in school governance for many years, a role which I very much enjoy.

Formerly a Barrister specialising in Childcare Law, I have spent many years in theatre production both in the UK and in Germany, latterly focusing on set and costume design including: Associate Costume Designer: “Jack and the Blingstalk”, The Harold Pinter Theatre London, Costume Design Assistant: “The Autumn Garden”, Jermyn Street Theatre and Shirleymander: The Playground Theatre.

Since attaining a Fine Art Diploma in 2016 I have been developing a practice in textile art and surface pattern design alongside my theatrical work.

I was called to the Bar in 1988. Specialising in Childcare Law, I worked in a variety of roles between 1991 and 2011 such as Barrister in the UK and Community Mediator in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA. I used to be a parent Governor and chaired the Safeguarding Committee.

Alongside the law, I have had a lifetime interest in the creative arts. My stage and production management experience began in earnest in 2000 since when I have worked both in the UK and Germany, predominantly as a stage/production manager. I taught drama at the Independent Bonn International School, Bad Godesberg, and led children’s drama groups both there and in Cheshire.

Having started his career in the Primary sector he moved to teaching in Secondary schools as a History specialist, spending a number of years as a Head of Department and as a Head of a large sixth form. David has worked extensively with schools, local authorities and government agencies in developing teacher and initial teacher expertise and in the development of teacher training and teacher education.

David previously taught at Liverpool Hope University initially leading the Secondary PGCE programme and most recently as Vice Dean with responsibility for Teacher Education programmes and as Director of Recruitment & External Liaison. David has significant experience in school development and governance and has worked on a number of new-build projects, most recently Chairing the Education Transition Group for a new £33m Academy in Newton-Le-Willows and was Chair of Governors.

Working as a member of the European senior management team of an international specialty chemical company, degree qualified, I have over twenty years’ experience at Director level in sales, marketing, business development and supply chain. This includes nine years living and working in Belgium.

I have extensive involvement particularly in the water utility sector with budgets, tendering and contracts to audits, logistics and site health and safety enables me to bring such skills to support the development of the Academy Trust. I have been chair of Trustees in a single academy Trust and of the MAT since December 2020.

I am a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) of 20+ years.

I have work in Local Government all my working career, in various finance roles, internal audit and currently in the education sector as business manager at a primary school. I am also a Parish Clerk for my local parish, a role I’ve undertaken for approx. 15 years. Having worked for local government in a variety roles and in particular internal audit for many years, I am very aware of the Nolan principals of public life, and the need for good governance and strategic oversight.

For five years I was a director of a not-for-profit community café set up to provide wider community benefit (e.g. working with students with learning difficulties and volunteers). As a new company, I was involved at its inception, transforming a redundant building into a café, setting up the business, internal processes and governance requirements, later applying for grants to extend the premises.

I annually volunteer to audit a local methodist church accounts, and have done so for a couple of years. This gives me a good overview of charity finances.

I began my career in education in 1986 as a teacher of Design and Technology at The Mosslands School in Wallasey before assuming a Head of Faculty role at Wirral Grammar School for Girls in January 1992.

In 1997 I was seconded to Wirral Local Education Authority as Advisor for Design and Technology which, with a change of emphasis developed into an advisor on school improvement. I returned to Wirral Grammar School for Girls in 2000 as Assistant Headteacher.

In 2004 I was appointed Deputy Headteacher at The Whitby High School in Ellesmere Port, assuming the role as senior, sole deputy in 2009 before being appointed Headteacher in 2011.

As Headteacher, I led this over subscribed large secondary school of 1650 students and almost 200 staff with an annual budget of almost £7m. I worked with colleagues to ensure that we offered the very best curriculum to enable all students to achieve their best I also believed that a good school offered all staff opportunity to develop whilst ensuring a healthy, well managed budget. In May 2022 the school was judged GOOD by Ofsted.

In addition to my career as teacher and Headteacher I have been the governor of two Primary Schools (Cornist Park Primary School, Flint, Flintshire and Whitby Heath Primary School, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.)

My passion in education is to support young people to achieve their best through a structured curriculum that meets their needs. I retired from my position as Headteacher at The Whitby High School in August 2022 after being a senior leader in schools for 25 years. I am now beginning a new career as a Leadership Consultant working with the Best Practice Network and individual schools.

I am a solicitor with 20 years’ experience. I qualified as an employment lawyer with Eversheds Sutherland LLP, later moving in-house to the legal team at AstraZeneca PLC. I have held a number of roles at AstraZeneca, including as Vice President of Human Resources supporting the AstraZeneca Board Remuneration Committee. I am now Assistant General Counsel – Employment Legal and lead a team of lawyers in China, Sweden, the UK and US and have responsibility for employment legal advice relating to AstraZeneca’s 75,000 employees in over 80 countries.

I am married with two children who attend Eaton Primary school. I enjoy cycling and cinema.

I have worked in finance my entire career, 21 years at Citibank and the last 6 at HSBC in London. My time has been primarily spent working in the Corporate Trust business, working in the sales team and for the last 12-13 years in Transaction Management, responsible for the review of contractual documentation to ensure compliance with the bank’s policies and procedures, interfacing directly with Partners & Senior Associates within law firms and CFOs/CCOs at our clients. Since joining HSBC my focus has been exclusively as a Trustee & Security Agent, acting as an independent party working in the best interests of investors, major corporations, supra nationals and many familiar household names.

I have recently been appointed Director of HSBC’s Trustee vehicle. As a member of the board, I have responsibility for making discretionary decisions in the bank’s name and I have reporting responsibilities to senior management and the other board members. In my day-to-day role as a Transaction Manage, I look after a team of 5 individuals, allocating work, acting as a sounding board and an escalation point/decision maker. HSBC maintains a rigorous training regime focussing on ethics, compliance, risk and customer service which we undertake on a regular/annual basis. I have recently taken on the voluntary role of Treasurer for the City of Chester Swim Club.

I have been a teacher for 28 years, working in a range of schools. Most recently I was the Headteacher of Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College. I was also the lead for the Cheshire Vale Teaching School Alliance which I set up when Tarporley High School was successful in its bid to become a Teaching School in 2014.

Having extensive experience in school to school support in a range of schools, I have also been successful in SIF and emergency school funding bids to finance whole school support in a number of schools. I was also the chair of governors for a primary school during which time the school formed a MAT with two other primary schools.

I am determined that our schools are given the best possible support so that they continue to provide an inclusive education which provides exceptional academic and personal development for our students.

I have a wealth of experience working in many senior positions in Human Resources within the financial services industry, several blue-chip retailers and, currently, in the independent education sector at The King’s School, Chester.

My current role, for the last six years, is Director of HR at The King’s School, which also has charitable status. During this time, I have headed up several ISI inspections ranging from a full EQI, a whole school compliance inspection and two material change inspections with outstanding success. I have fundamentally changed the leadership and school’s focus on safer recruitment (KCSIE and ISS) and compliance, and I work alongside the Headmaster as part of the whole school leadership team. This whole school approach ensures we review and consider pupils from EYFS to sixth form in all decision making. As part of the whole school leadership team, we work together as a cohesive team to work towards our strategic goals and look for current and future opportunities to benefit all pupils.

The leadership team at King’s has been paramount to the success of Chester Schools Together partnership with several local schools, which is thriving at bringing the community together and providing networking opportunities in the area. I am very much aware of the Nolan principles and, working for a charity, these standards are upheld by all Governors and leaders at the school.

I have two daughters; one currently in Year 9 at Tarporley High School and one currently in Year 6 at Tarvin Primary School, who will be transitioning to THS in September.

I have worked in a variety of roles in education since my first job as a primary school teacher in 2001 in Bristol, working across both the primary and secondary sectors as well as in a school support role supporting schools develop as they became academies.

I have considerable experience in curriculum development at primary and KS3 and have held senior leadership roles in both the primary and secondary sectors in both individual schools and federations, as well as working for the SSAT in both a regional and national role with a focus on professional development and sharing of best practice.

I became a Headteacher in 2012 and have moved into being an Executive Headteacher and now the CEO of The Learning Partnership where I have developed a multi-academy trust from a single primary school to a trust of 15 schools including the primary, secondary and college sectors.

I have been a trustee of another MAT and I am currently completing an Executive MBA in educational management.