Our Members & Trustees
Our Trust has three levels of governance: Members, Trustees, and Local Governors. Our Members are the 'guardians' of the Trust, holding our Trustees to account and overseeing their work. Members have the power to appoint or remove Trustees, change the articles of association and appoint or remove auditors. Our Trustees hold overall responsibility for our Trust and have four core functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure it’s money is well spent
- Ensure the voices of school stakeholders are heard.
Each of our schools has a Local Governing Body (LGB). Our LGB's act as a critical friend, providing challenge and support to their school. Their core areas of focus are Stakeholders, Standards, and Safeguarding. In our Church Schools, LGB's also have a focus on SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools).
Our Members and Trustees are as follows:
Members: Kay Crosse, Tanya Ovenden-Hope, David Parker (Chair) and Askel Veur (The Umbrella Trust of the Diocese of Truro).
Trustees: Mohamed Abdallah, Sonia Blandford, Clare Crowle (CEO), Phil Mason (Vice-Chair), David Parker (Chair), Derek Rushton, Mark Lees, Mark Smith, Holly Sykes, Mike Teague, Russell Crawford, Samantha Sutherland and Dean Ashton.
For more information about governance, and for key governance documents, please click here.
Members
Kay Crosse
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Date of appointment - 01.10.19 Kay Crosse is a qualified teacher and has a Masters degree in early years education. |
Tanya Ovenden-Hope
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Date of appointment - 01.09.22 Tanya is Professor of Education at Plymouth Marjon University (the University of St Mark and St John). A senior academic leader with innovative scholarly engagement in educational improvement and effectiveness at a national and international level. She has 29 years of cross-sector educational experience and was awarded Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014 and Enterprise Educator of the Year in 2014. She is a published author of academic texts and research and holds an associate role with the Department for Education, an Adjunct Professor in Education at Cape Breton University, a Member for three Multi Academy Trusts, a co-opted executive committee member of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and Special Interest Group (SIG) Convenor for the British Educational Research Association (BERA). Tanya is committed to education for transforming lives and has held roles as Head of Sociology (Wheatley Park School, Oxford), Programme Team Lead for Education and Higher Education (Truro College), Additional Inspector for Ofsted, Head of the School of Secondary and Further Education Studies (Plymouth University), Director of Education (Cornwall College). Tanya’s current research is in school improvement, with a focus on socio-economically deprived coastal regions in England and educational isolation. |
David Parker
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Date of appointment as a Member - 15.05.21 Date of appointment as a Trustee - 11.09.20 David is a retired former CEO of a local academy trust and before that a secondary school headteacher for fifteen years. |
Askel Veur |
Date of appointment - 01.09.19 Askel Veur (meaning ‘Great Wing’ in Cornish) is The Diocese of Truro’s Academies Umbrella Company. The Diocesan Education Department works not only with the 44 Church schools but also a large number of community schools, their representatives take up roles on the boards of multi-academy trusts that include both church and non-church schools. The focus of this work will always be on improving outcomes for children. The Diocese of Truro is committed to being a significant partner in raising standards in schools for children in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. They play an active part in the new school-led education system set out in the recent White Paper: Educational Excellence Everywhere. This involves providing expertise, training, support, challenge and grants in all the seven identified areas of excellence. |
Trustees
Mohamed Abdallah |
Date of appointment 02.12.2022 (Trustee appointed) Mohamed’s career began in youth work and pupil referral units, before spending over a decade leading pioneering inclusive practice at an ‘Outstanding’ all-through mainstream school. |
Dean Ashton
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Date of appointment - 01.09.24 (Member appointed) Dean is the founder and CEO of Reach South Academy Trust. Reach South currently operates 17 primary, secondary and special academies in Plymouth, Devon, Bournemouth, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The Trust also plans to open two new academies in 2026. Dean was part of the small team that established REAch2 Academy Trust along with its founder, Sir Steve Lancashire in 2012. Dean also established the business model for the launch of Reach4 Academy in 2015. Dean began his career as a secondary Science Teacher before taking roles in school management and leadership. He then moved into Local Education Authority leadership as Deputy Director of Education before becoming a Corporate Director of Children’s Services. Dean has held several Trusteeships and Directorships including: Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Youth Justice Board; Chair of the South West Grid for Learning; Chair of the Cornwall Children and Young People’s Partnership; and Chair of the Cornwall Local Safeguarding Children Board. Dean has also led an educational consultancy. Dean has been the Director of Operations for REAch2 and Reach4 Academy Trusts.
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Sonia Blandford(SEND Trustee) |
Date of appointment - 05.09.22 (Foundation appointed) Sonia has over 40 years in education as teacher, school senior leader, researcher, teacher educator, university dean of education, pro-vice chancellor, school governor, MAT trustee, and author; Professor of Social Mobility Plymouth Marjon, Visiting Professor of Education UCL, Honorary Professor Warwick University; Founder and former CEO award-winning charity - Achievement for All 3As; The Prince’s Trust Learning Lead – Taskforce 2030. Named in Debrett's Sunday Times 2015 and 2016 list of the Top 500 Most Influential People in the UK, 2016 Women of the Year Awards, 2018 UK Social Mobility Award Leadership of the Year, 2022 BBC Making a Difference Awards. |
Russell Crawford |
Date of appointment - 29.09.23 (Trustee appointed) Professor Russell Crawford joined Falmouth University in July 2020, coming from Keele University where he was a Senior Lecturer in Academic Development. In 2017, he received the National Times Higher Education ‘Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ award and was also recognised as a 2018 National Teaching Fellow for his sustained impact on positive student outcomes and higher education teaching across a range of national projects. â?¯At Falmouth, he is leading projects to transform curriculum, to develop excellence and remain market-aligned by leading on portfolio strategy as well as oversight of our collaborative partnerships, all aligned with their 2030 Strategy and mission, vision and values. He remains active as a pedagogical researcher and uses his position to ensure learning and teaching research strengths are integrated into undergraduate and postgraduate teaching across all modes of delivery at Falmouth University. |
Clare Crowle (CEO) |
Date of appointment - 25.04.22 (Ex-officio) Clare is an experienced, successful educational leader, having been involved in Academies and Multi-Academy Trusts since 2010. Prior to her appointment as Kernow Learning CEO in April 2022, she was a Headteacher of an outstanding school (Trenance Learning Academy), Executive Headteacher of two schools, a National Leader of Education, Regional School Improver and the Deputy CEO of Kernow Learning. |
Phil Mason(Vice-Chair) |
Date of appointment - 01.09.19 (Member appointed) Phil has been a Governor and Director in Primary Education since 2007. As Chair of governors he helped lead St Columb Minor Primary School in its transition to academy status and then helped lead the creation and development of the ACE Multi Academy Trust in Cornwall and was Chair of Director from 2013 to 2019. |
David Parker(Vice-Chair) |
Date of appointment as a Member - 15.05.21 Date of appointment as a Trustee - 11.09.20 (Trustee appointed) David is a retired former CEO of a local academy trust and before that a secondary school headteacher for fifteen years. |
Derek Rushton(Safeguarding Trustee and Vice-Chair) |
Date of appointment - 12.03.21 (Trustee appointed) In brief, Derek's career has been in primary education with twenty five years spent in senior management. These positions spanned working in three very different education authorities, culminating in two headships in Cornwall. In these times there were two breaks in service. The first of these was to travel in Europe but also included a period teaching EFL in Germany to business. The second break was a secondment from his headship to work with the Children’s Fund in establishing community service partnerships in North Cornwall – Children’s Centres developed from this! This experience of looking at integrated service partnerships working alongside schools became an abiding interest of his and upon retirement he has continued to develop this. |
Mark Lees |
Date of appointment - 14.05.24 Mark's most recent employed position was CEO of Falmouth Multi-Academy Trust having previously spent 41 years as a teacher and leader in a wide variety of primary schools and as a MAT CEO on two occasions. Mark is passionate about the development of an exciting curriculum for primary age children, set within a stimulating and creative learning environment. Mark has been headteacher of several primary schools in Cornwall including Trenance Infants, Alverton Primary, Threemilestone School in Truro and was the Executive Principal of the five primary schools that made up St Pirans Cross CE MAT. He is proud of the standards achieved and provision in all of these schools, and his leadership abilities were recognised in 2008 when he was awarded the N.C.S.L. Headteacher of the Year in a south west primary school. Mark has had the opportunity to work for Cornwall Council as a Primary Adviser on two occasions, leading on the E.Y.F.S, primary leadership, governance and remodelling the workforce. Mark also spent 1 year as the acting Director for Schools for the Diocese of Truro. He has a wide experience of supporting primary schools with school improvement as a SIP and adviser, and has also been a registered Ofsted inspector. Until the end of March 2023, Mark was the chair of governors at Mabe Primary, securing and strengthening governance. He was in role for 4 years and built a strong and successful LGB in that time. |
Mark Smith |
Date of appointment - 01.09.19 (Member appointed) Mark is a Professional Director with experience in UK public sector environment, UK education landscape and with strong commercial acumen. |
Samantha Sutherland |
Date of appointment - 29.09.23 (Trustee appointed) Samantha is a financial coach, mortgage and insurance adviser with more than 20 years of experience helping clients achieve their financial goals. Samantha is experienced in providing education and support on financial topics such as budgeting, debt management, saving money and planning. She also specialises in helping clients find the best mortgage and insurance products for their personal and business needs. Outside of work Samantha is passionate about helping others and found that the best way to do that is to get involved in the local community. She is a volunteer trustee and the fundraising officer for Newquay Surf Life Saving Club, an important community organisation that provides a safe and inclusive environment for people to learn about water safety and participate in a variety of activities. |
Holly Sykes(Whistleblowing Trustee) |
Date of appointment - 01.09.19 (Member appointed) Holly oversees and delivers the Internal Audit Service for Cornwall Council. In addition she is the lead for the Internal Audit Service for Corserv, which includes Cornwall Housing Limited, Cornwall Airport Limited, and Cormac, as well as for a number of Multi Academy Trusts. |
Mike Teague |
Date of appointment - 31.03.23 (Trustee appointed) Mike was born in Redruth and has lived in Cornwall all his life. He was educated at Treleigh Primary and Redruth Grammar. |