Trust Board

TRUSTEE BIOPICS

LESLEY GWINNETT

Lesley is the CEO of Endeavour Learning Trust, having completed the Executive Educators programme with Ambition School Leadership. She is the Executive Headteacher at Tarleton Academy, where she was the full time substantive Head from September 2011 to 2016, when a Head of School was recruited to enable Lesley to develop the MAT, the Teaching School and engage in wider school to school support. In her career Lesley has worked in a range of schools in social priority areas (Runcorn, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland) and, prior to Tarleton, as a middle and then senior leader at Holmes Chapel in Cheshire East, for which she successfully secured Teaching School status in 2011. Lesley has also spent a year on secondment at Edge Hill University (2010) developing school improvement outreach work with the Faculty of Education. 

Lesley is currently also acting in an Executive Head role at Wellfield High School whilst establishing the new senior and middle leadership team and Head of School. She is also the Chair of the Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen and Lancashire (BBL) Academy Trust Network, whom she also represents as an invited member on the BBL Sub Regional Improvement Board. Lesley is vice-chair of the Lancashire Association of Secondary School Heads (LASSH) and is also chair of the Executive Board of the Endeavour Learning Teaching School Alliance and the Curriculum and Assessment Leaders sub group. Lesley is a National Leader of Education and an NCTL accredited Pupil Premium Reviewer.

In her roles she has developed extensive experience and knowledge of transformational school improvement strategies, legal and HR processes, budget maximisation, curriculum design, appraisal and capability procedures and leadership development. 

HELEN DICKER

Helen is Chair of Endeavour Learning Trust and of the Local Governing Board for Tarleton Academy.  She has a degree in Engineering Science from Durham University and is a Chartered Civil Engineer. She worked as a geotechnical engineer and project manager on various contracts before focusing full time on her four children and voluntary work.

Helen was Chair of Governors at Tarleton Community Primary school for 16 years and became a Governor at Tarleton High School as well in 2010, leading the governing body through the legal and other processes for conversion to Academy and Trust status since then.  She has also been a Parish Councillor in Tarleton and at various times Secretary, Treasurer and Safeguarding officer for Tarleton Corinthians Football Club. In all these roles she has successfully led bids for Lottery and other funding leading to £millions of additional investment in community and school facilities. In all her activities, Helen brings a particular focus to leadership and people management issues, including taking responsibility for performance management of Headteachers, recognising these as critical success factor for all the organisations she has worked with.  She was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours for services to education.

RICHARD SACHS

Richard Sachs has had a long and successful career in the NHS focused on governance roles since 1996. During this time he has worked in a variety of NHS settings and he is currently the Director of Quality Governance at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust. The transferable skills that he has used in his governor and trustee roles include expertise around Risk Management, Reputational Management, Performance and People Management and Quality Improvement. His governance background in the NHS has equipped him with the ability to ask challenging questions in a non-confrontational way.  Over the course of his career he has had management responsibility for large teams of employees and with that, the HR and legal responsibilities which such a role brings.

JENNI SMITTON

For the past 20 years, Jenni has worked in organisations responsible for public funding of education and training.  Since 2012, she has worked for the Department for Education with responsibility for financial management, governance and compliance in open academies.  She currently manages a national team responsible for University Technical Colleges.

Jenni is Chair of the Trust Resources Committee bringing her extensive skills in financial management and compliance with charity and company law to the Trust.

DUNCAN BALDWIN

Currently deputy director of policy for ASCL, particularly interested in school accountability. His areas of responsibility include curriculum and assessment, performance data, Ofsted and ICT.

Duncan qualified as a mathematics teacher and followed a career as a teacher and school leader to deputy headship. He has worked as a consultant for Capita, focussing on using data for school improvement. He represents ASCL on a number of boards including Quality in Careers and is an expert member of various DfE panels including Information Standards Board, Achieving Excellence Area methodology, Teacher Supply Model and Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).

STEPHANIE STOKER

Steph’s role as Innovation Advisor for The Business Growth Hub is to support Greater Manchester based businesses to innovate and collaborate.  Having worked across the North West and with over 20 years business development, coaching and management experience across all industry sectors she has helped both start-up and established high performing businesses to innovate and grow. She has owned/managed her own businesses, is educated to Masters’ level and is a qualified Executive Leadership Coach.

Currently working with a rolling portfolio of circa 30 companies/clients on a range of projects to include: growth strategies, proof of market/concept through to commercialising new products and services, developing an innovative culture, building and managing teams, intellectual property and R&D Tax credit issues, improving and streamlining systems and processes, new business generation techniques and routes to market. 

As a Trustee, Steph brings a wide range of expertise to support the ongoing growth and development of the MAT. 

CHRISTINE ADAMS

Christine is Headteacher of Penwortham Middleforth C of E Primary School. This is her second headship following roles in a number of other Lancashire schools. She has a broad range of experience of different types of schools and managing school improvement initiatives. She is also a Governor for a Pupil Referral unit. 

Prior to her teaching career Christine worked for 15 years for ICI Acrylics in a number of senior roles in International Sales, Marketing and PR, which gives her an experience of corporate management roles in addition to educational leadership.