Chair of Trustees

Trustees

Trustees retiring in last 12 months

Meeting dates for 2024-2025

Full Board - 12th November, 10th December, 4th March, 20th May and 22nd July

Resources and Audit Committee - 15th October, 11th February, 13th May and 8th July 

Education Committee - 18th October, 31st January, 25th April and 18th July

Minutes are available upon request. For contact details see below.

Claire Brown

Claire became a school governor at Portway Junior School in 2005 and served as Chair of Governors for 10 years.   This gave her a wealth of experience in Primary governance through involvement at Portway, interaction with other schools and the Local Authority.

Claire works for Atos (a worldwide IT company) in their UK Finance Operations.  Her role involves Finance systems development, implementation and support - problem solving and working with local and global teams.  These skills have been valuable in her work with schools in Derby. 

Sarah Charles

Current role is at University of Derby as Head of Provider Led ITE and EYTS and Deputy Head of the Professional Studies Department. Member of Quality and Academic Excellence Sub-committee and Teacher Education Research Group. Previously a Leading Literacy Teacher in Staffordshire.

Mike Moore - Vice-Chair of Trustees

Mike worked as a project officer in the School Organisation Team of Derby City Council for over 20 years, mainly with responsibility for advising schools on premises related issues but also on schools emergency planning, health and safety and a wide range of other general educational issues. He held responsibility for the prioritisation, planning and delivery of a large number of very high value Capital Programme school premises improvement schemes. He has previously worked in the City as a Headteacher, so is able to bring a breadth of experiences to his post as a Trustee.

James Wright

James lives in Derby and is a Senior programme manager at Severn Trent, giving him wealth of experience in change, governance management and risk and audit management. Particularly focusing on Digital and Organisational change delivery. James also supports incidents relating to the loss of water supply which has meant multiple experiences of working cross organisations and within the community. James also is the group secretary and trustee of the 66th Derby scout group (Spondon).

Jane Green - Chair of Trustees

Jane has been an Executive Headteacher in a number of schools in Derby City for over 20 years. She achieved National Leader of Education status during this period and has also worked as an Ofsted Inspector. Her current role is Head of Inclusion within The Harmony Trust who have 9 academies in Derby City. She currently chairs the Primary Behaviour Strategic Group for Derby L.A.

Natalie Fowkes

Natalie has over 10 years’ experience working in an internationally recognised Awarding Organisation based in Derby, who develop, register, verify and certificate recognised qualifications for over 800 centres nationally. With her current position of Internal compliance manager she works across the organisation supporting with incidents, identifying areas for continual improvement and conducting audits and reviews. Natalie has two young children one of which attends one of the schools within the trust.

Rose Richmond

Rose is a new Trustee with many years of experience as a Governor.  She strongly believes that every child has a right to an excellent education and that literacy is key.  Her day job is in Real Estate Management in the Telecoms industry which has given her a skillset that includes the management of projects, budgets and people, and a solid understanding of processes and Governance.

Phil Storer

Phil has held several senior roles in both large plc’s and private businesses, both in UK and in mainland Europe.

A qualified finance professional, Phil developed into a generalist. He spent 16 years with Exel (now DHL) where he worked across a number of supply chains with both retailers and producers as well as delivering large M&A and development projects. Latterly, Phil has operated large-scale pan European circular economy (reuse) system models both in the FMCG/Retail and polymer sectors. 

Now retired from full-time employment. Phil is using his experience and knowledge to give something back by helping others.

Samantha Mitchell

With over 20 years of experience in the employability and education sector, Sam has dedicated her career to supporting educational providers in various capacities. For eight years, she held the role of Director and Executive member, gaining valuable insights into the industry's intricacies. However, in January 2023, she decided to embark on a new journey and establish her own consultancy business focusing on assisting educational providers in their preparation for Ofsted, ensuring compliance, staff development, and providing overall problem-solving solutions.

Her strong belief is that everyone deserves a high-quality educational experience and continuous professional development throughout their chosen life path. This belief has been the driving force behind her professional endeavours. She is passionate about empowering educational institutions to deliver exceptional learning environments for students and educators alike.

Lauren Colder

Lauren has over 10 years experience working within finance with her most recent role being a finance consultant to provide finance and CFO support to MAT’s up and down the country. In her current role, she provides support in a number of areas including but not limited to Audit, process review and re-design and implementation of robust financial controls. She currently holds the CFO role in another trust, which has given her valuable insight into the sector.  She has two young children, one of which attends an Odyssey school. She believes every child has the right to the very best education and should be given the same opportunities and support as their peers.