Caroline was previously an Executive Director in the London Borough of Ealing leading on education and community services, she instigated one of the first all- through 3 - 19 age range academies in the country. All schools she inherited were removed from categories well within time expectations. She achieved her doctorate in performance management in 2001 and subsequently became Director of Education & Training in Babcock International Group a FTSE 100 company developing their successful BSF programme.

She has worked with The National College on succession planning and in The Innovation Unit, creating programmes that have enhanced the way that managers learn about managing and inspired learning leaders in local government, private sector as well as schools.

She has written for professional publications, such as The Times Educational Supplement and Management in Education as well as books and papers on mentoring, learning about learning and the 9 -19 curriculum.

Caroline was awarded a CBE for services to education in the Queen’s New Year Honours List 2015.

Henry is the Chair of The Elliot Foundation. He has significant executive level experience building and leading small teams in both the private and voluntary sectors. He started his career at Goldman Sachs and was offered a partnership in 1992. He founded his own investment management company and has worked for several prominent fund managers since selling it. He has been a trustee of Hamilton College (Clinton, N.Y.) for more than a decade. Over time, he has served on nearly all of the Board’s committees and currently chairs its Investment Committee, while also sitting on Budget & Finance, Nominations and the Executive Committee.

Henry is a member of the Advisory Board of IntoUniversity and the Development Board of City Year London.

TEF Trustee

Judith taught across the mainstream primary age for 20 years, and then became involved with the inclusion  of children with complex needs within a mainstream setting which led onto becoming an advisory teacher for SEN.  Judith managed SEN services within a Local Authority and with the advent of Children’s Services  managed social care services relating to disability and vulnerable children and families.  During this time Judith was integral to implementing a funding system that supported early intervention and the inclusion of children with complex needs.
 
Following this Judith became a freelance Consultant and completed a LA review of autism, managed an early years advisory service, led an EU project on social inclusion in Turkey and completed a review of SEN provision in a large LA.

Judith is a magistrate working both the criminal and family court and is involved in other voluntary community projects.

TEFAT Member - Primary Leadership & Innovation

Deryn was a Director of the Innovation Unit from 2002 to 2009 and supported hundreds of schools, colleges and LAs in their quest for solutions to the biggest challenges facing the system. In the privileged position of senior civil servant in the DFE she and the Innovation Unit team had direct access to ministers and policy makers, thereby helping bridge that gap between practitioners and policy formation. She has been head of middle and primary schools at one point amalgamating 3 schools in a challenging situation. She is a national associate with the National College and has particular expertise in New Models of Leadership, School Business Managers, Teaching Schools, and the NLE Fellowship programme. Currently she is working nationally with emerging chains of academies. She is expert in the Power to Innovate legislation as well as federation and collaboration governance regulation.

TEFAT Member
Inclusion & Special Educational Needs

Sue’s last post was as Head of SEN Strategy and Inclusion in a London Borough, with responsibility for the SEN Assessment and Statementing Service, the Educational Psychology Service, SEN Transport and the Outreach Support and Portage Services. She was part of an integrated service for children with additional needs, where the focus was on preventative work and integrated working across health, social care and education.     

Sue has spent her career working in the field of inclusion and special educational needs. She has worked as a social worker with children in care, as a teacher in mainstream and in a special school, and has carried out research at the Institute of Education with SCOPE. She has spent 27 years working as an Educational Psychologist for several different Local Authorities, including 6 years as a Principal Educational Psychologist. 

Sue is currently a trustee of a charity that provides mobility training and social activities to children with significantly impaired motor function. She also works part time in the NHS, sitting on a panel reviewing the rights of those who are sectioned under the mental health act.

TEFAT Trustee, Chair of the Trust Board and Chair of the Academic Board

Chief Executive of Unity Schools Partnership, an academy trust based mainly in Suffolk, formerly a Regional Schools Commissioner, local authority director of education and primary headteacher.

TEFAT Trustee - Chair of Finance Committee

David is the Greater London Authority’s Assistant Director of Finance, leading on the preparation of the Mayor of London’s £16bn budget for fire, police, transport and the Olympic legacy. He is also responsible for the GLA’s financing of major infrastructure investments across London such as Crossrail and the Northern Line Extension. This included leading the first local authority bond issuance in 25 years.

Previously he worked in senior finance positions at three London Boroughs, including running a local authority’s schools and education finance function.

David is a trustee of Charter Academy Trust Southwark. 

Andrew spent 26 years with BP, mainly in corporate communications, in London, Brussels and Melbourne, working variously in publications, internal communications, government and political relations and issues management. Among other duties, he led cross-industry and cross-cultural task forces, to define and conduct advocacy on public policy issues affecting the oil and petrochemicals industries in the UK and the European Union.

In May 2005 Andrew began an alternative career, in local government, representing Garden Suburb ward on Barnet London Borough Council until he retired in May 2014. During his first term in office his posts included chairing the Council’s Education Overview & Scrutiny Committee. In December 2009 he was appointed Conservative Group Deputy Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council, and took on the Education and Children’s Services portfolio.

Andrew has served on several school governing bodies, at primary and secondary level and is now LGB Chair for Claremont Academy in Barnet.

TEFAT Trustee

Bob has most recently been Director of HR and Governance for The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust which he joined as a founding director in 2011. He established the HR and academy governance framework for the trust as it grew from nothing to 27 academies. He has led on trade union and employee relations, consultation and negotiation, policy development and the admissions process.

Before this he spent 21 years as a local government officer including posts as head of school effectiveness, head of education personnel and payroll and assistant director for children’s services. This included leadership of workforce issues, training and development, governance, extended schools, healthy schools and community cohesion.

Previously he spent 16 years teaching in west London (secondary) as head of department, coordinator of technical and vocational education and senior teacher. Currently he runs his own education and HR consultancy company.

Hugh is an award-winning international business leader with over 25 years’ experience enabling education and learning organisations. Over the last decade he has nurtured the Elliot Foundation from concept to become one of the more successful primary school trusts in the country. At the same time he has helped other school trusts with their organisational design and strategy.

Prior to the Elliot Foundation Hugh worked in commercial education for 15 years, setting up his own education business in Russia in the 1990s, then running conference and training businesses across Europe for IIR and Reed Global. Throughout his career he has volunteered in the state education and third sectors as a governor and supporter of education charities. He is an Advisory Board Member for the British Council, the Education Policy Institute and the Federation for Education Development. He also serves as Vice President and Trustee of BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT.

Latest declaration of business and pecuniary interest can be found here.

TEFAT Trustee

As a business analyst for a leading international law firm, Shaheen managed the development of information systems and processes across the organisation before transferring her skills to the education sector, becoming Founding Trustee of a faith designated Free School. She led on the development of the application and pre-opening phase of the project to turn the Trust’s vision into reality, and has served as Chair of Trustees since the school opened in 2020. 

Shaheen was recruited as Operations Manager for an academy trust of Free Schools in 2017 and had oversight of HR, estates, ICT, governance, procurement, data protection and new school development. She managed all operational aspects of the successful transfer of schools to a larger trust before moving to her current role in 2021 where she is Head of Operations for a large inner London primary school. 

TEFAT Trustee

As Managing Director of BCS Learning and Development Ltd, Lucy is responsible for the development and delivery of world class standards in certification and education for the IT and digital industries.

She has been a learning and development professional since the early 90s and previously worked for Thomson NETg, Wave Technologies and CompTIA as well as being on the board of a CompTIA and Microsoft Gold Partner training company.    

She is a non-executive director of the ICDL Foundation.

David is an education content and engagement consultant with a background in TV, video and digital content strategy, operations, and mass-market campaigns, having held senior roles at BBC Education, the Learning and Skills Council and Teachers TV.  He is experienced in leading the design and roll out of nationwide education initiatives and major change programmes for improving teaching and learning , with a particular focus on fostering and maintaining the engagement of teachers and school leaders for sustainable impact.  David also has 5 years experience as a primary school governor.

TEFAT Trustee

Faye has been a criminal barrister for nearly 20 years. Beginning her career at the independent bar based in the midlands she appeared on behalf of the prosecution and defence in serious criminal trials in the crown court and higher courts. Faye has particular skills that enabled her to work with young offenders and vulnerable witnesses gaining extensive experience in advocating for young defendants, victims and those with complex needs. More recently Faye has turned her primary focus to environmental prosecutions in an effort to improve housing for disadvantaged families and has completed her masters degree in healthcare ethics and law.

Alongside her professional career, Faye has owned several businesses being involved in the day to day management as well as negotiating contracts, budgeting, HR and ensuring stakeholder engagement. With a proven record of turning failing businesses around and generating profits above the industry standard, Faye is a respected employer and collaborator.

Faye recently returned from living in Japan for three years with her young family where she thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a different culture, education system and foods!

TEFAT Trustee

Paul is Director of Schools and Education services for the Eden Academy Trust, a Multi Academy Trust of special schools. Before joining Eden Paul was head at a Residential Special School for 10 years which had Outstanding OFSTED ratings for both education and care. Throughout his career Paul has worked within a variety of SEN settings in education and care, and was previously a senior social worker for children and families. Paul completed his Doctorate through the University of Reading. This research study looked at the effects on special schools following on from the changes to the SEND Code of Practice and how the changes from BESD (behaviour, emotional and social difficulties) to SEMH (social, emotional, mental health) influenced practice in special schools. 

Finance Director
simon.pink@elliotfoundation.co.uk

Simon did his accounting training at the National Audit Office, and spent time at HM Treasury before moving to the museums sector where he spent five years as Director of Finance and Resources at the Wallace Collection. For the last ten years Simon has been Director of Finance and Operations/Chief Operating Officer at two decent sized multi academy trusts, building teams and processes from when they were small and adapting as they rapidly grew. Simon has had responsibility in that time for all aspects of operations, from finance, HR, recruitment, estates, ICT through to governance.  He has also been a governor at six academies, including a Chair of Governors at a secondary and a primary, both of which Ofsted rated as 'Outstanding' for the first time during his tenure. Outside of work Simon is father to two primary school age children and a keen traveller and photographer.

HR Director
ruth.dickens@elliotfoundation.co.uk

Following an initial legal career supporting local authority education and social care provision, Ruth has extensive HR experience specifically within the education sector having led HR functions and supported school leadership, management and governance across primary, secondary and post-16 sectors. As a graduate member of the Institute of Legal Executives, Ruth brings a pragmatic approach to HR matters and is committed to delivering a service which is solution focussed and empowers leaders to secure the right HR outcomes. Ruth led the HR provision across a large Multi Academy Trust in Nottinghamshire prior to joining The Elliot Foundation and previously worked for one of the country’s leading HR and payroll firms providing specialist HR support to schools nationally. She has extensive experience of complex casework and has led significant projects including the development of HR services to support expanding organisations. Ruth has served as a school governor, is an accredited Safer Recruitment trainer and is currently a member of a primary and secondary sector Multi Academy Trust in Cambridgeshire.

Programme Director
andy.kreppel@elliotfoundation.co.uk

Andy is an experienced senior manager, with a strong track record in project, programme and change management, service definition, procurement and supply chain management. He has worked in education for the majority of his career and has overseen over 60 Academy conversions.  He has a varied project portfolio, ranging from the programme management of a 7 Academy programme across Manchester to building and implementing the procurement and supplier management strategy for a major government learning contract. Andy most recently worked as the Transformation Director for a Chartered Institute, driving process and systems transformation across the business.  

Trish is an experienced education strategic planner. She has held a number of senior management posts within Local Authorities and has, over a 15 year period, led major education capital investment projects through their initial scoping and briefing, stakeholder consultation and detailed design development into successful completion.
She has substantial experience in preparing business case proposals and strategic plans for significant school reorganisation and major capital development proposals across the country. Trish has been lead project manager for the successful delivery of several sponsored Academy projects across the country. Most recently, she was commissioned to manage the establishment of one the country’s first tranche of 24 Free Schools which successfully opened in September 2011. As a specialist in education capital strategy, asset management and project management, Trish is an established lecturer, delivering national programmes of training courses, seminars and conferences on a range of capital planning and project management matters.

Director of Curriculum and Development

johanne.clifton@elliotfoundation.co.uk

Johanne Clifton was until recently the Executive Principal at Billesley Primary School, an outstanding school in Birmingham. She has been a headteacher for over 16 years all in schools in challenging circumstances. Johanne’s love of language and the power of story were what brought her into education and this has remained her central belief throughout her career and informed her practice. 

She is now working with leaders to ensure that the curriculum is rooted in local community contexts and driven by a powerful commitment to social justice and our shared values as a Trust. 

Johanne is an experienced system leader, working as a National Leader of Education in partnership with a number of schools and MATs, a lead inspector for Ofsted with a particular interest in SEND and a school governor in two schools in the West Midlands. She is a passionate advocate of the Arts in education and is a board member for a number of organisations including Stan's Cafe Theatre and Soul City Arts. 

Jem has been a governance professional for 17 years supporting those responsible for governance across all key stages and settings, with a particular interest in the development of effective governance within a MAT and governance of specialist settings.

More recently, having revisited legal qualifications and with refreshed professional interest and determination, Jem now supports schools and families with 'access to education' legal issues (admissions, attendance, missing in and from education, suspensions/exclusions and complaints) alongside advising on complex SEND cases. Jem is delighted to be leading on the Trust's SEND strategy 2022-2025. 

Jem is a governor at Cambridge Special School; a voluntary senior adviser for IPSEA supporting parents with mediation, appeals and disability discrimination claims at SENDIST and a volunteer counsellor for Heads Together supporting young people with additional identified SEND and mental health issues.

Travis was a successful Executive Headteacher of 2 large inner city primary schools for over 10 years. During that time the schools’ results and Ofsted grades improved dramatically gaining Outstanding judgements in many areas from Inadequate and pupil numbers rose from 250 to 1100. He has worked nationally as a Local Leader of Education (LLE) supporting schools in difficulty across the West Midlands and internationally with The British Council in Sudan, Singapore, Spain and with colleagues from Lithuania. Travis volunteered as Chair of Governors and is a fellow of the RSA.

Caroline has extensive leadership experience in primary and specialist provision. She has worked as an advisory teacher and trainer for maths and as a national moderator. Caroline gained experience as a governor in primary and secondary schools. She worked as a school improvement manager for a local authority with strategic responsibility for improving schools in challenging circumstances. Caroline developed a passion for safeguarding after authoring an Independent Management Review of Education for a Serious Case Review and gained further experience as the education representative on a Local Children Safeguarding Board. She trained as an additional inspector for primary and specialist provision in 2016. Caroline has particular expertise in leadership development, sustainable school improvement, behaviour and safeguarding.

Kate has a career in education spanning 29 years. She has worked in a wide variety of school contexts where her leadership has been consistently noted as effective, agile and having sustained impact. As a school leader, she has redeveloped systems and procedures to enable schools to operate effectively and has ensured significant improvement in pupils’ outcomes and progress (typical VA score raised to 109).  Kate has also worked as a school improvement partner and is a team inspector for Ofsted. She has successfully completed NPQEL training.

Regional Director (West Midlands)

Allan is the Executive Principal of two Elliot schools; George Betts and Shireland Hall Primary Academies, serving over 1200 pupils in areas of high deprivation.

Allan has previously supported many schools as a local authority maths advisor and school improvement consultant. It was his passion for school improvement that steered him towards George Betts in 2012. As Principal of the school, it rapidly improved from an Ofsted category to “good with outstanding” features in 14 months. Since then he has achieved more outstanding judgments.

Allan began his teaching career in Y4 and has taught most year groups between Y2 and Y6. Allan’s love and enthusiasm for improving the teaching and learning of primary maths has seen him lead and organise several maths conferences as well as having the opportunity to work with leading maths experts and schools in Singapore.

Allan currently co-leads the Elliot Foundations Expert Teacher programme, which was positively highlighted in the MAT Ofsted report.