Board of Trustees

Name	Term of office	Responsibility
Deirdre O'Donoghue	02/10/23 – 31/08/27	Chair of the Trust Board, Trustee
Gary Smith	11/02/22 – 31/08/27	Accounting Officer, Trustee
April Gurney	11/02/22 – 31/08/27	Trustee
Keith Bobbin	11/02/22 – 31/08/27
Leah-Marie Smith	11/02/22 – 31/08/27	Trustee
Owen South	20/07/22 – 31/08/27	Trustee
Alison Paveling	01/06/24 - 31/05/27	Trustee
Maxine Newell	28/06/24 - 27/06/27	Trustee

The Role of the Trustees

Trustees are appointed by Members.

Trustees are appointed for their knowledge skills and/or experience in the following areas as required by the Board:

Corporate and Business Strategy/Development
Financial management/Accounting
Asset management
Communication, Marketing and PR
Education QA & standards
Special Education Needs
Safeguarding
Enhanced and Alternative Provisions
Child Support Services
Education Assessment Frameworks, curriculum development
Educational Charities
County and Local Council
Chief Executive Officer (Trust Performance and Development)

The trustees are the charity trustees (within the terms of section 177(1) of the Charities Act 2011) and are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the trust in accordance with the provisions set out in the memorandum and articles of association. The board of trustees is the accountable body for the performance of all schools within the trust and as such must:

Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Hold the executive to account for the educational performance of the schools and their pupils, and the performance management of staff
Oversee the financial performance of the trust and make sure its money is well spent

Because trustees are bound by both charity and company law, the terms ‘trustees’ and ‘directors’ are often used interchangeably. We use the term trustee as it avoids the possible confusion caused when executive leaders are called directors.