Our Team
Senior Leadership
Gary Kelly - Chief Executive Officer
Gary has a wealth of experience gained during 20+ years as an education and skills professional. He has held senior leadership positions in inner-city high schools, multi academy trust's and local authorities in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire....
Ian Kirkham - Chief Operating Officer
Ian is responsible for overseeing all non-educational functions across the Trust including Estates, HR, IT and Finance. Ian is a fellow of the ISBL, and with an expertise in school based operations, Ian oversees the Central Office team, ensuring...
Juliet Brown - Lead Principal (Primary)
With over 26 years’ experience in the Education Sector, Juliet’s particular skillset lies in Primary Education. She has been a highly successful Primary Principal, led two schools in the role as Executive Principal and is also an accredited Local...
Simon Corner - Lead Principal (Secondary)
Simon is the Principal of Wade Deacon High School and the Lead Principal across the Wade Deacon Trust’s Secondary phase. Simon is a highly successful leader with a proven track record of leading school improvement and improving standards; his...
Central Team
Stuart Robertson - Chief Financial Officer
Stuart is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales with over 10 years’ experience as a qualified accountant. Having worked for 6 years in MAT finance directly and prior to that 8 years auditing Independent Schools,...
Jonathan Lowe - ICT Director
Jonathan is responsible for ICT strategy and development across the trust. In addition he leads on Data, GDPR and Marketing. Jonathan has worked in Education for almost 25 years and has demonstrated expertise in ICT systems and Management...
Brian Crombie-Fisher - HR Director
Brian is responsible for the provision of a dedicated and experienced HR service, offering advice and guidance to school leaders, the development of policy and practice, and maintaining good relationships with unions and professional associations....
Barbara O'Connor - HR Assistant Director
Barbara works with the Principal HR Officer to advise school leaders on employee relations issues, including all aspects of grievance, disciplinary, and absence management casework, and including complex cases. Barbara is CIPD qualified and...
Helen Dunbebin - HR Officer
Helen supports the HR Assistant Director and HR Director to advise school leaders and Principals on all queries throughout their employee’s employment, such as recruitment, disciplinaries and absence management. Helen is CIPD level 7 qualified and...
Jo Yates - Trust Senior Finance Officer
Jo has fourteen years’ experience within the education finance sector and brings expertise in HR, Internal Auditing, Payroll and Finance from other industrial sectors. Jo supports the Business Managers across the trust by processing and distributing...
Jennifer Murphy - Director of Teaching School
In addition to a wealth of teaching experience in her subject specialism, over the past ten years, Jen has held a number of senior leadership positions. In her current role as Director of Teaching School, Jen is responsible for the delivery of...
Jane Goulding - ITT Leader
Jane is the Professional Mentor for the Teaching School, leading on teacher training through School Direct and PGCE routes. Jane leads on all aspects of School Based Learning for our Associate Teachers, and coordinates and leads on the Professional...
