Our Board Trustees are appointed for their wide ranging knowledge skills and/or experience in the following areas:
Co-opted Trustees
Board Trustees may appoint Co-opted Board Trustees with the required skill set as is necessary to support its development from time to time. Co-opted means a person who is appointed to be a Trustee by being co-opted by Trustees who have not themselves been so appointed.
Joanne was Chair of Governors at Dartington C of E Primary School supporting the school community through the academisation process to join the Trust in April 2021. Joanne has spent her professional life working with small to medium-sized companies in the creative and software industries and currently works at the University of Exeter as the creative industries impact and partnership manager.
Rebecca is a Director in an international law firm, having worked in the legal sphere for her entire career. Rebecca brings legal insight to the board as well as having a keen interest in all areas of strategic growth, risk and commercial focus. Rebecca is local to the South West, having grown up in North Devon and lives in Exeter.
Reverend Paul holds the office of Trust Incumbent. He has considerable pastoral and educational experience and has had a long association with the Learning Academy Partnership since its conversion to a Multi Academy Trust. Reverend Paul has seen the expansion of the Trust and the sharing of a commitment to first class teaching underpinned at every level by a strong Christian Ethos.
Mark's career has covered various role and responsibilities including setting up his own Consultancy business, working as a Design Engineer, co-founding a company to develop x ray and image processing technology for the food sector and CEO of Spectral Fusion Technologies responsible for recruitment and management.
Phil is an experienced Chief Finance Officer who matches excellent technical skills to incisive commercial awareness. He has 17 years of experience as a Financial Director within multiple sectors across multiple countries enabling him to provide clarity, design strategy and enabling actionable business development.
Adnan is an Assistant Professor of Finance and Accounting at University of Exeter and his research concentrates on advanced-level issues on corporate finance, financial reporting and contract design. Adnan is a strong believer of leverage one can attain via education and that the stronger the foundations of early education the greater the leverage.
Maria is the CEO of YMCA South Devon, who provides Alternative Education for children & young people that can’t access full time mainstream education and also a very busy nursery for babies to pre-school age children. Maria has worked in many different settings with children & young people for over 20 years and strongly believes everyone has a right to quality education and that it is our duty as professionals to make it accessible for them regardless of any disadvantages they might face.
Henry sits on the EMEA executive team and diversity, inclusion and equity committee for his global risk management company, Control Risks, where he is a partner. Henry grew up and attended school in Torquay, and both understands and values the impact that these schools, their teachers, and their support staff have on students and their families. Henry’s combination of local knowledge and HR and risk analysis experience will support the Trust’s growth and development to support and enhance pupil outcomes.
Gavin is the CEO of Infinity Academies Trust, a majority Church of England Multi-Academy Trust based in Lincolnshire. Gavin has been involved in primary education for over 20 years as a teacher, Headteacher, Executive Headteacher and CEO. Gavin worked for the Lincolnshire County Council leading on Education Strategy and supporting schools experiencing difficulties. He has successfully led schools through Ofsted inspections and academy conversions and Gavin is currently the Chair of Lincolnshire’s School Forum.
Heather has over 30 years’ experience in the public and private sectors in a variety of roles: headteacher; Ofsted inspector; NPQH trainer and assessor (NCSL); Senior School Improvement adviser in a small local authority; Interim Strategic Leader for school standards and effectiveness and curriculum innovation in a large local authority and; service transformation and design in a north west of England Council. A diverse career characterised by success both in engaging people and generating high levels of confidence and commitment in order to support rapid improvement in outcomes for pupils. Heather's career has been characterised by a passion for making a difference so that all children, irrespective of their starting point in life, can look forward to a flourishing future.
Our Board of Trustees are looking to strengthen and expand our School Trust family of schools and are currently restructuring governance to meet the changing landscape as our School Trust grows.
The Board of Trustees are open to an ongoing review of governance to ensure that it retains and grows a high level skill base and highly effective governance, in order that it continues to increase its capacity to support the growth of the School Trust.
The Board of Trustees actively seek new members to the current board. This is a voluntary role.
The Trustees can be contacted through:
Juliet Brodie, Governance Professional
c/o Learning Academy Partnership,
Suite 4 Zealley House,
Greenhill Way,
Kingsteignton,
TQ12 3SB
Email: clerk@lapsw.org