Trust Central Staff (ID 1062)

• John Henrys
  Chief Executive Officer
  John Henrys

  John has worked as CEO of LwLAT since 2019. Previously he has worked as a local authority advisor and on senior teams at school and trust level in the West Midlands and Northamptonshire. He has a deep understanding of effective systems within a Multi Academy Trust and this knowledge ensures the schools are working as effectively as they can in key areas of their operation. This knowledge also ensures that systems are in place that enable the trust to hold themselves to account across a number of KPIs and ensures that the right resource is deployed in the right areas to support across the trust.

  John welcomes the challenge of working in the education sector and volunteers as a trustee and advisor for trusts in Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

• Lorna Chandler
  Director of Secondary Education
  Lorna Chandler

  Lorna leads on the education element of school improvement across the Trust and brings our Principals and leaders together, encouraging an open and collaborative culture. Lorna ensures that the primary driver in decision making across the Trust is the wellbeing of our pupils, followed closely by the wellbeing of colleagues. Lorna also engages with numerous external partners to make high quality CPD, curriculum development and quality assurance activities & resources available to all.

  Lorna has been working in school leadership for more than 16 years, including several years as Principal of a large 11-18 academy. After a spell in industry, Lorna began a teaching career as a science teacher, then faculty leader where she worked with several training partnerships to develop students and teachers in the early stages of their career.

  After spending several years in an outstanding all-through school as a senior leader, Lorna shifted her focus to schools that required urgent and rapid improvement. As Vice Principal and Principal, Lorna has played a key role in the improvement of several schools and also worked across a large, national Multi Academy Trust as a school improvement partner prior to joining LwLAT.

  Lorna is committed to ensuring all children can access high quality education, regardless of background or starting point and has completed a Master’s degree in education, focussing on equality, diversity and inclusion.

• Kate Madia
  Director of Primary Education
  Kate Madia

  Kate is our Director of Primary Education and their role is to work with schools to improve standards in the quality of education, personal development, behaviour & attitudes, leadership & management, and Early Years provision. Kate also has a Trust wide responsibility for delivering and developing our CPD offer.

  Kate has experience in rapid school improvement that has led to successful outcomes and inspection judgments. Kate has also worked cross phase as both a Specialist Leader of Education in English and a Local Leader of Education focusing on School Improvement. Kate believes that every subject should be valued equally and she is passionate about raising standards by improving pedagogy and the curriculum offer.

  Kate is proud to serve our schools and watch them grow. She believes that all children deserve to have the very best education, and she puts our students at the center of her decision making with the aim to deliver this and enable them to thrive beyond LwLAT.

• Natalie Collins
  Trust Implementation Coach
  Natalie Collins

  Natalie is responsible for developing teaching & learning across the Trust and supporting the implementation of the curriculum. Central to Natalie's role is collaboration; she brings together the wealth of knowledge and expertise of staff from across the Trust and they work together to inspire a new generation of leaders and teachers. Natalie's career began as a primary teacher in Leicester and she trained as a Reading Recovery teacher, igniting a passion for ensuring that all children learn and love reading. She is an experienced teaching and learning consultant and is focussed on closing the attainment gap to improve chances for young people. Natalie is inspired by the children and young people she meets and works alongside colleagues to drive a culture of high aspirations.

• Kim Kent
  Trust Supervision Lead
  Kim Kent

  Kim is the Learning without Limits Academy Trust Safeguarding Lead, she has worked within the diverse community of Leicester for many years and is inspired by both staff and pupils.

  Prior to her current role, Kim was an Assistant Principal, a member of the SLT, SENCO and DSL at Babington Academy and completed her NSPCC Child Protection Supervision Course upon joining the LwLAT Central Team.

  Kim's role is essential for making sure that Trust staff have the training and skills to keep our children safe. Whilst the role of safeguarding can be challenging, Kim finds working closely with inspiring people who put children at the heart of what we do to be rewarding.

  As the Trust Safeguarding Lead, Kim has organised a wide range of specialist safeguarding courses for the Safeguarding Leads across the Trust and takes the opportunity to attend any training which will further the development of her safeguarding knowledge and skills.

  As well as the Safeguarding Lead for the Trust, Kim is also a Specialist Leader of Education for Special Educational Needs and a Trauma Informed Schools trainer.

• Michelle Plumtree
  Chief Finance Officer
  Michelle Plumtree

  Michelle is a knowledgeable and experienced finance professional who leads on all aspects of finance, both strategically and operationally across the Learning without Limits Academy Trust. Michelle works closely with the CEO, Trust Central Team, Principals and school level finance teams to ensure effective financial leadership and management across the Trust in line with the Academies Financial Handbook.
  Michelle has a background and proven track record in financial management and has worked within the education sector for the last 10 years. During this time Michelle has developed innovative reports including a pupil premium tracker and integrated curriculum financial planning reporting by combining the planning of the curriculum with the budgeting process. The evaluation of these reports has enabled leadership teams to make informed decisions and assess operational risks and effectiveness whilst ensuring the resources required for school improvement and other long term developments are deployed.
  Michelle understands the importance of providing consistent financial reporting information across the Trust whilst ensuring local needs and interests are meet.
  Michelle has a passion for producing engaging reports for multiple stakeholders which enable planning, benchmarking and decision making. Michelle believes in creating a culture of value for money to transform pupil outcomes and experiences during their school years.

• David Goulding
  Chief Operating Officer
  David Goulding

  Dave works alongside a range of internal & external stakeholders to communicate a clear vision and strategy. He is the lead on the planning and delivery of a multi-million-pound transformation and condition project, ensuring that capital funding delivers. Upon project completion, long-term success is secured by the outstanding service that our teams in IT & Estates provide for our students, staff, and communities.

  Dave is passionate about the education sector and making a positive difference by working with people who want the best for the children and staff within our Trust. He has served as a governor for 8 years and is currently the Chair of Governors to the largest primary school in his home city of Coventry.

  Dave has 13 years of experience in education. He started as an IT apprentice in 2010 and began working at Lancaster Academy in 2015 as IT Manager on the delivery of the Building Schools for the Future Programme, gaining accreditation in Prince 2, Agile and ITIL. He then joined the extended Senior Team at Lancaster, leading on marketing & admissions and supporting with behaviour and safeguarding as a DDSL. In 2018, Dave moved to the Trust Central Executive Team to lead on IT and marketing across the Trust and in 2021 took on responsibility for Health & Safety, Estates and Admissions.

• Abigail Evans
  Chief Administrative Officer
  Abigail Evans

  As CAO, Abigail's role is to oversee consistency of Trust-wide systems, processes, policies and procedures ensuring both compliance and efficiencies, in time and money. Abigail works closely with the Executive Team, leading on procurement, policies, and the complex administrative aspects of people management. She also oversees the dine@ inhouse catering service.

  Abigail holds the Level 7 CIPFA qualification in School Financial & Operational Leadership and is a Fellow of the Institute of School Business Leaders (ISBL). After gaining a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design, Abigail worked as a Design and Project Manager in the marketing industry for 10 years before retraining and obtaining her Certificate of School Business Management (CSBM).

  Abigail joined LwLAT as COO in 2019, during which time she honed her skills and expertise, responding to the needs of a developing and continually improving Trust. This led to Abigail becoming a Diploma member of the Charted Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) and an Agile Project Management Practitioner.

  Abigail enjoys supporting Academy based staff through regular onsite visits and collaborative working. Abigail is passionate about staff wellbeing and understands when people feel valued they give the best of themselves. Given the right environment, both staff and students will flourish.

  With 16 years experience in school governance, Abigail is currently serving as Vice-Chair and community governor at a Secondary Academy in her local area. Abigail is committed to ensuring children from all backgrounds have access to good quality education, giving them the best chance to succeed.

• Martine Boyd
  Trust Safeguarding and Attendance Lead
  Martine Boyd

  Martine is our Trust safeguarding and attendance lead focusing on supporting our schools to ensure the well-being of the students remains at the forefront of our work and consistent safeguarding and attendance practices are fully complaint and confidently embedded.

  Martine has completed a wide range of training to ensure the role of a Trust Safeguarding Lead can be fulfilled, as well as ensuring her registration remains current as a Social Worker. Martine successfully completed the NPQLBC in 2023/2024.

• Laura Hardie
  Finance Business Partner
  Laura Hardie

• Manjeet Bains
  Trust Finance Manager
  Manjeet Bains

  Manjeet is ACCA qualified and has extensive experience of working in Audit, Accounts & Finance, providing her with the necessary skills to effectively manage the operations of the Trust financial services & systems.

  As Trust Finance Manager, Manjeet ensures that financial activities are conducted inline with the Trust culture and processes and maintains highly effective systems of financial control.

  Manjeet provides leadership for all centrally employed Trust Finance staff. By inspiring positive communication, so that they can work together in order to achieve the aims of our financial support service Manjeet has established a team that are developed and motivated.

• Matthew Hand
  Lead Governance Professional
  Matthew Hand

  Matt has considerable experience in the governance sector and a proven track record of successfully working with elected representatives, senior leadership and key stakeholders to facilitate decision making.

  As Lead Governance Professional, Matt recognises how the successful running of LwLAT directly contributes to the student experience and provides the best opportunity for our students to succeed. Matt is therefore responsible for ensuring that the Board of Trustees and its committees continue to drive the successful delivery of the Trust's Strategic Direction.

  Matt leads on clerking the Board and its Committees. He oversees the clerking arrangements of the Local Governing Bodies, ensures the Trust meets governance compliance, and provides advice on governance matters to Trustees, Local Governors & the wider team. Matt also leads on the Trust wide development programme for Trustees and Local Governors and provides support when the Trust seeks to appoint new representatives on the Board and its committees.

• Paul Pierce
  Technical Systems Manager
  Paul Pierce

  Paul's role as Technical Systems Manager primarily involves the management and development of the Trust's central IT network, whilst line managing and providing 3rd line support to the Senior IT Technicians across our academies.

  Paul has been a part of Learning without Limits Academy Trust in various ICT roles and continues to develop professionally, recently completing Fortinet NSE4 training to further his knowledge on the firewall system across the Trust.

  Paul has a First-class degree in Computer Networking from the University of Wolverhampton and has played an integral part of a £3.5m IT Refresh Project across 5 schools, including replacing servers, firewalls, Wi-Fi, telephone system, end user/classroom hardware and much more. He is dedicated to building positive relationships across the Trust and ensuring that a high level of customer service is consistently provided from the IT Services team.

• Scott Letts
  Estates and Compliance Manager
  Scott Letts

• Aaishah Shaikh
  Trust Information Officer
  Aaishah Shaikh

  As Trust Information Officer, Aaishah works with the Trust and its Academies, ensuring that Trust wide data and information is consistently and accurately maintained.

  Obtaining a Statistics GCSE at the age of 12 sparked Aaishah's interest in the field of data analytics and she is aspiring to be accredited by CIPFA.

  Aaishah uses a collaborative approach to increase efficiencies. She has extensive experience of interpreting & disseminating datasets and an ability to improve reporting infrastructure & streamline functionality. Aaishah appreciates the opportunity to learn and grow from seniors and embraces new challenges daily.

• Andrea Jarvis
  Trust Catering Manager
  Andrea Jarvis

  Andrea is the manager of our in-house catering service, dine@, looking after Primary and Secondary Academies for LwLAT. As Catering Manager, Andrea is responsible for compliance, Menu Planning & Implementation and working towards NetZero with suppliers, Academies and the Trust. She is also responsible for the dine@ catering team which she helps to develop through a passion for training.

  Andrea has a wealth of knowledge and experience; she has received a First Class Honours degree in Hotel and Catering Management and has vast experience in Retail High Street Restaurants, Business & Industry and Schools & Universities. Most recently, Andrea has attained a Level 4 in Food Safety. She would like to work toward a Food for Life School Award and is looking to help develop children's love of healthy food and sustainable menus in the future.

  Andrea finds working with children and young adults to be rewarding and is passionate about including students in school meals and elevating their voice, with the aim that children will enjoy food and feel confident to be adventurous and creative.

• Karon Wilford
  Trust Finance, HR & Admin Officer
  Karon Wilford

  Karon is our Trust Finance, HR and Administration Officer and has a strong connection with the Learning without Limits community having previously worked at Lancaster Academy and other local schools.

  Karon completed a Certificate of School Business Management course and uses the skills gained from this and from her time working in schools to provide the best experience possible for our team in the Trust Central Offices. Her aim is to be approachable to all and ensure everyone has what they need to carry out their role by using her HR and Finance expertise .

  Karon is proud of the Winning Hearts, Inspiring Minds ethos at LwLAT and the dedication to improving the education outcomes of all pupils that LwLAT represents.

• Libby Nockles
  Payroll and HR Administrator
  Libby Nockles

  Libby works closely with our Primary Academies - Heatherbrook and Woodstock - looking after their payroll and administration needs. She is experienced in running her own business and is keen to use these skills in an educational setting with a focus on continuous system improvements.