Governance

I have been associated with Southam College for the past 13 years. I was a Parent Governor for 9 years, and Chair of Governors for 5 of those years.

Both my daughters attended Southam College and are currently studying Quantity Surveying (Sheffield Hallam University) and Speech and Language Therapy (Cardiff Metropolitan University) respectively. They both benefitted from the guidance and support that the outstanding staff offer to all the students. In addition to academic rigour, the students have access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities that help them to develop the life skills, resilience and self-belief to equip them for the world of work. These are opportunities that I believe should be available to all students supported within the MAT.

A former Nurse and NHS Manager, I retrained as a Social Worker, completing my Degree at Coventry University in 2013. Having relocated to Derbyshire in 2015, I am currently working at Derby City Council with the Preparing For Adulthood Team. I work with 14 - 25 year olds who have a complex learning disabilty and specialise in Safeguarding investigation and Mental Capacity Assessment. In addition, I am the lead Social Work Practitioner in Derby for EHCP's (Education Health and Care plans - formally Statement of Special Needs) and I see my role as integral to promoting the educational opportunities for all young people.

Whilst living in Southam, I worked for 9 years with Orbit housing as a non-executive director, and served as a JP working predominantly in Family Court.

I am able to bring commercial and public sector management experience to the MAT, with a sound understanding of financial management, human resources, marketing and strategic planning. I am confident to challenge the status quo, and debate ideas and thinking. I champion fairness, equality and justice and lifelong learning.

All young people deserve the best education possible to equip them for the opportunity and challenge of the exciting world we live in - as a parent I am pleased to be able to support the MAT to "be the best" for every student.

I started teaching in 1973. I taught in two town junior schools and then moved onto the headship of a small rural primary school. From there I was seconded to Northampton University, then a teacher training college, by HMI to develop their non-discriminatory practice primarily in terms of race. During this time I worked within ITT and ran courses for head teachers on matters of equality both within the curriculum and in terms of management and HR issues. It came to an abrupt end when I was asked to immediately take over a school where the head teacher had committed suicide and the staff and pupils were in trauma.

Following the secondment I was appointed to the head ship of an inner town lower school with a diverse pupils population. The school became very well known for its inclusive anti-racist practice, IT and design. I was part of a team of Head Teacher and advisors who ran weekend training sessions for other head teachers on the new initiative of local management of schools.

From there I became the manager of the Multicultural Education Service with a staff in excess of 120. During that time we developed clear anti-racist guidelines for schools, developed curriculum resources and curriculum plans which were sold nationally, contributed to a wide range of local and national conferences and training, work with the Race equality Commission to develop national guidelines in that field. OFSTED rated the Service as a 1 which in modern terms would be outstanding. I was also for a time doubling up as the acting head teacher of an infant’s school covering the absence of the head teacher over 2 terms.

I also acted as a senior equalities officer to the county council. I developed equalities monitoring systems and initiated and led on anti-homophobia packs for schools (the first in the country) and other organisations. I was particularly proud to work with a committee to erect a memorial to Walter Tull. For a short time I was an acting Senior Education Officer for special schools, from which I became the executive head teacher of a secondary SEBD school in special measures. When it came out of special measures two years later I retired and worked with excluded teenagers and young people with mental health issues on a one to one basis. I was asked by the LA to come out of retirement to be the head teacher of a junior school in special measures which came out of category two years later. During that time I worked with the local infants and secondary school to create the first all through school in our county. Something I repeated a few years later in another town when I acted as head teacher of the junior school, then the infant school and then special unit leader in the secondary school. For three years I coordinated the training and development of 19 schools in a cluster arrangement whilst also working with Warwick University delivering a unit of study to undergraduates on a BA Course in early years and as part of the ITT team. I now act as the link between the university and a consortium of schools training at present 12 post graduate trainees. My role is to moderate grades and to quality control the training.

As a former member of the board of Education Excellence for All, an academy sponsor, I was the instigator of our programme to build and establish an outstanding special school in our locality. This opened in September 2016. I was also the interim head teacher of one of the primary schools joining the MAT and retired in August 16.

Having been a governor at Southam College for many years, latterly as the Chair, I am a founding Member and Trustee of the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust.

I have now retired but my working career was predominantly as a senior Accountant in various commercial and public organisations. I have, however, also been a Financials Systems Implementation Consultant, a Project Manager and an IT Service Desk Manager.

In my spare time I played a range of sports (mainly Rugby, Badminton and Athletics). With regard to the latter, I was an Athletic coach for children aged 9 to 18; a competition Field Judge; and a Junior Team Manager at Leamington Athletics Club.

I am committed to the vision statement of the Trust and how this will affect all the stakeholders (pupils, parents, staff, and the local community). At the same time, being an Accountant, I will endeavour to ensure that the Trust is governed on a sound financial basis so that it can grow and continue to provide the best education possible for all its pupils.

coming soon

My name is Mark Billsborough and I live in Stockton. I have a 10 year old daughter who attends Stockton Primary and I was previously a Parent Governor at her school.

I’m originally from Northern Ireland but after studying in Wales I remained on the “Mainland”. I have a science background but moved into the commercial and finance sectors. For the last 18 years I’ve worked in the Energy industry, in senior roles ranging from wholesale energy trading, risk management and renewable investment. I’ve worked extensively across Europe and have led teams in Sweden, Germany and Italy. I’m therefore familiar with governance of large commercial businesses, financial and investment modelling, management of professional multi-discipline teams and of course, the energy sector.
I currently work for a company which builds large scale offshore wind farms. As a Member of the Trust I use my skills and experience to enhance our growing community of schools.

Having been a governor at Southam College for many years, latterly as the Chair, I am a founding Member and Trustee of the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust.

I have now retired but my working career was predominantly as a senior Accountant in various commercial and public organisations. I have, however, also been a Financials Systems Implementation Consultant, a Project Manager and an IT Service Desk Manager.

In my spare time I played a range of sports (mainly Rugby, Badminton and Athletics). With regard to the latter, I was an Athletic coach for children aged 9 to 18; a competition Field Judge; and a Junior Team Manager at Leamington Athletics Club.

I am committed to the vision statement of the Trust and how this will affect all the stakeholders (pupils, parents, staff, and the local community). At the same time, being an Accountant, I will endeavour to ensure that the Trust is governed on a sound financial basis so that it can grow and continue to provide the best education possible for all its pupils.

I have been involved in education for over 35 years, and during that time I have seen many changes in education, curriculum and management of schools.

During my teaching career I taught all ages from 5-16 in special schools in Coventry. I began with teaching children with moderate learning difficulties, evolving over the years to children on the autistic spectrum, severe learning difficulties, and latterly complex needs and behaviour difficulties.

I was a member of the special school’s maths working party developing schemes of work across all the special schools in Coventry for children working below national curriculum level 1, which worked alongside the national curriculum. We also developed moderation materials to be used across the schools, which could also be used in mainstream schools.

I have been involved in governance for 23 years. For several years I was a governor in a village primary school, becoming Chair when the school went into special measures. I am also a governor in an outstanding secondary school. I attend regular training, and my most recent has been around Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment in schools.

I started my teaching career as a History teacher in 1993 at Foxford School in Coventry. I moved to Alderman Callow in 1998 to take on the role of Head of History. I remained at Alderman Callow until 2004 and was promoted to the position of Assistant Headteacher responsible for Teaching and Learning. In 2004 I moved to Aston Manor School in Birmingham to take on the role of Deputy Headteacher responsible for Teaching and Learning/Standards/Achievement. In 2009 I took on the role of Headteacher at Southam College. Since this time the school has achieved two outstanding Ofsted reports and is consistently one of the top performing schools nationally. I am currently Executive Principal of the Stowe Valley MAT, whilst continuing to work as the Head of Southam College. I am also National Leader of Education.

Throughout my career I have had the pleasure of working with hugely talented and dedicated students and staff. They have helped me to formulate a belief that all children have massive potential, and with appropriate support can achieve absolutely anything. I live by this belief on a daily basis and remain grateful for having the privilege of working with such talented students, staff and Governors.

In 2016 I worked with a core group of Governors to set up the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust. The Trust has now grown to include three secondary schools and six primary schools (Feb 2020). I am passionate about the Trust supporting schools and communities to make a positive impact on the life of every child.

My name is Iain Geddes, I am the Head of Regulatory Development for HSBC UK. I have worked for HSBC for 22 years and have undertaken a number of senior roles in the UK and the United States, managing teams of regulatory compliance professionals across 55 countries. I have significant governance, risk and regulatory experience spanning multiple lines of business.

I studied Law and Computer Science at DeMontfort University and have an MBA from Birmingham University. I am committed to continuous learning and am currently studying for an MSc in Financial Regulation and Compliance.

I am a proud father of two girls who are/have attended both Southam Primary and Southam College. The quality and variety of their education, and the education of all young people, has never been more important and I believe that the skills that I can bring will make a significant contribution to the strategic direction and governance of the MAT.

Peter is a recently retired primary school headteacher. He is very pleased to be appointed as a Trustee and hopes to use his experience to enhance the development of the quality education the Trust provides.

He has worked extensively in school leadership, also having a spell working at the Department for Education and the National College for School Leadership. He has had experience of school inspection and has supported school development in the UK, Australia and Scandinavia.

He is a great believer in offering children all the opportunities possible during their time at school and building a close partnership with parents. It is essential that the schools within the Trust continue to enable the children to fulfil their potential and become life-long learners.

With 4 grown up children Peter has had experience of all stages of education from Nursery school to University.

I have a background in engineering and first became a governor when my children started school; I now have over 20 years’ experience in the education sector, specialising in governance.

I have been a governor in both Primary and Secondary schools, was Chair of Governors for 9 years and worked as a Chair mentor for Warwickshire County Council. I have written and delivered bespoke governor training courses nationwide, have been an accredited Governor Mark assessor and undertaken External Reviews of Governance. Since 2013, I have worked nationally with multi-academy trusts advising on governance from board level down to local academy level.

I recognise the vital role that Trustees, and governors play in the education sector, and the responsibilities they have towards enabling students, and staff, to have access to the best teaching, resources, training, facilities and pastoral care possible in order that they can fulfil their individual potentials.

Both my children have benefitted from their outstanding education at Southam College and I am pleased to be able to bring my skills and experience to contribute to improving outcomes for all within the MAT.

I have worked in Supply Chains for over 30 years, as an Officer in the Royal Air Force, in Retail/FMCG, as Head of Supply Chain in the Technology sector and European Supply Chain Director in an FCA regulated Insurance service. I am now working as a self employed Supply Chain Consultant, and I have worked with the NHS Supply Chain, with the Department of Health and DeLoittes, most recently on EU Exit resilience.

Having moved to Southam in 2016 I wanted to find ways to proactively integrate into and support the community. I have been an active participant in ‘South Rocks’ and other local initiatives. I have a daughter who attends Southam College, and when they asked for new Trustees to come forward, the opportunity to be involved the Multi Academy Trust seemedunmissable.

I hope to be able to use some of my skills, knowledge and experience to help the MAT deliver its Vision.

I retired from BT Openreach as a Major Programmes Manager with responsibility for all infrastructure build across Leicestershire, having held senior management posts across BT Group including Regional Partnerships Director, Innovation Director, and Principal Consultant. I previously worked in the Ministry of Defence, Logica and Syntegra.

I have degrees in Mathematics (Thames Polytechnic) and Engineering (Durham University).

Before joining the board of the Stowe Valley MAT I was a Director of the Midlands Academies Trust for 8 years where I had chaired the board performance committee, and been a member of the Finance & General Purpose, Audit and Risk committees. I have also served on a number of other boards including Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, Carriers of Hope Coventry, and London First.

Having left school at 16 with very few qualifications, I am passionate about the difference that education can make to life chances and I am delighted to be part of an organisation that wants to help our pupils be the best that they can be.