Chief Finance Officer

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Sue has been a school business management professional for 28 years, starting her career at Roade School in 1993. For the last 22 years Sue has been School Business Manager (SBM) and support staff governor at Sponne School.  Sue became CFO for Tove Learning Trust at its inception in November 2016 and was instrumental in the set up and development of the trust. She has extensive experience in financial management, human resources and estates management and sits on the Northamptonshire SBM Forum and other local networks.

As CFO, Sue provides guidance on financial strategy and risk management to the Board of Trustees and schools across the MAT, and leads on the due diligence process when on boarding new schools into the trust. Sue is committed to ensuring schools joining the trust retain a high degree of autonomy but ensures this is supported by the right balance of accountability, internal scrutiny and assurance required by Trustees, the ESFA and DfE.

Director of Education (West Midlands Hub)

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Carl has worked in secondary education for 22 years after commencing his working life in industry, in particular the engineering sector. Carl followed the traditional route to senior leadership, working at a number of Birmingham schools to gain experience and expertise. During this time, he worked with Challenge Partners and as a data consultant supporting schools across the country in a range of educational areas. Carl has been a headteacher for the last 7 years, with over 5 years as the headteacher at Grace Academy Darlaston, part of the Tove Learning Trust.

As Director of Education, Carl’s role is to support the academies within the West Midland hub in ensuring our students are provided with inspiring educational experiences that lead to outstanding outcomes. Carl has consistently demonstrated that he is able to develop strong standards for student behaviour and progress in different settings. He is passionate about developing staff teams so they can reach their full potential in serving their school community.

Director of Education (Primary)

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Jamie has been a primary teacher and leader for over 23 years.  He began teaching in a very large four form entry, inner city primary school in Hull, before moving to a small rural school with only 90 children split across three classes. He has held a number of different roles from Leading Literacy Teacher, SENCo etc before becoming a headteacher 13 years ago. 

During his time as a headteacher, he has led three schools very successfully, moving one out of Ofsted category of Special Measures in only 9 months, before it gained a ‘Good’ grading 18 months later.  Jamie believes in distributed leadership and autonomy for staff to be the best they can be. He is committed to every child succeeding and ensures that all pupils (including disadvantaged and those with SEND) achieve the very best outcomes, as well has having a memorable primary education.

School Improvement Lead

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Richard joined Tove Learning Trust in September 2020 as school improvement lead. Richard has worked in secondary schools for 26 years, with 20 of these leading teaching and learning in a senior position. Richard has supported other primary and secondary schools to develop their teaching and learning. He has worked across a variety of schools across the country and across the OFSTED range. Most recently, he undertook two headships of secondary schools in Leicestershire.

As School Improvement Lead, Richard is passionate about improving the practice of all teachers in the trust by creating connections within and across all schools. His firm belief is that by enabling teachers to engage in professional dialogues with each other, and by sharing best and next practice all will achieve a consistently high standard within the classroom which in turn will lead to improved outcomes for all learners.

Admin Assistant

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Claire joined Tove Learning Trust in January 2020 as Admin Assistant.  She provides administrative support to the central Tove Learning Trust management team.

Claire is an Accredited Clerk and has several years' experience working in governance in both secondary and primary school settings and helps coordinate all the associated governance compliance across the MAT schools.

School Improvement Director Teaching & Learning

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Emily joined Tove Learning Trust in January 2020 as school improvement director. Prior to this Emily had worked in an outstanding secondary school for just over 9 years. Emily has a range of experience working on and drastically improving a below average department, being part of a school improvement team improving the teaching and learning across a school with specific work on KS5 learning as well as a wealth of pastoral experience.

As School Improvement Director, Emily works on improving Teaching and Learning across the Grace Academy Schools within the trust. Emily is a member of the Academy Leadership Team at Grace Academy Coventry where she collaboratively works with the leadership team to drive forward the quality of education.  Emily is passionate about improving the teaching and progress of all our students within the trust to give them the best possible start in life. A key priority for Emily is to forge links and harness expertise within the trust schools to improve outcomes for all.

School Improvement Director Mathematics

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Louisa joined Tove Learning Trust in September 2019 as school improvement director for maths.  Louisa trained as a Chemical Engineer and worked in the nuclear and pharmaceutical industries prior to becoming a maths teacher in 2005.  Louisa has worked in a variety of schools within the local area, most recently as deputy head teacher with a focus on curriculum development and assessment.

As school improvement director for maths, Louisa works closely with department heads and teachers to raise attainment in maths across the trust.  As an experienced examiner, Louisa delivers school specific CPD, supports teaching and learning through lesson observations and feedback and advises on curriculum design.  Working across all the schools within the trust she ensures best practice is quickly shared across all the departments, and allows moderation of exam papers/assessments.

School Improvement Director Science

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Susan joined Tove Learning Trust in September 2016 as school improvement director for Science.  Susan has wide ranging experience within pastoral care as well as leadership within science where teaching and learning initiatives significantly improved standards.

Susan is passionate about science education believing that high expectations and sharing and developing best practice leads to quality teaching and learning within the classroom.

 As school improvement director for science Susan works with faculty leadership and teaching and support staff through lesson observations and feedback, subject knowledge upskilling, specific department CPD and design of curriculum structure. The opportunity to work across all the schools within the trust allows for collaboration and the improvement of standards.

Principal Accounting Officer

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Lindsay joined Tove Learning Trust in May 2017 as the principal accountant for the trust. Lindsay qualified as a certified accountant in 2003 and had previously worked in accountancy practice for over 20 years, specialising in audit and year end accounts for a wide range of companies.

Since joining Lindsay has seen the trust grow from just two secondary schools to where it is now. Lindsay’s role within the trust is to work with all the schools’ finance teams in getting technically accurate and meaningful finance information for the Trustees. Lindsay also leads on the year end audit preparation and has responsibility for statutory external financial reporting.

Company Secretary

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Katie joined Tove Learning Trust in November 2017 as Heads PA at Sponne School and Executive Assistant to the CEO of Tove Learning Trust. Prior to this Katie worked in higher education and the private sector for over 20 years in a variety of administrative and project support roles. She is adept at juggling multiple projects and liaising with stakeholders, ensuring governance and administration of the trust is fully compliant and efficient.

Katie supports the central executive team on a day to day basis, and undertakes project work ranging from recruitment campaigns to legal due diligence and on boarding for new schools looking to join the trust. She has seen the trust grow from two schools in Northamptonshire and is committed to supporting the trust with its future growth strategy.

Data Strategy Manager

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Jo became Data Strategy Manager for Tove Learning Trust in January 2019, having successfully managed data, exams and attendance for Sponne School for 9 nine years. She has worked within secondary education for 13 years, is a governor at a local primary school, and has extensive experience in the use of data and systems to improve outcomes. Prior to this, Jo worked in purchasing and project management.

As the Data Strategy Manager, Jo drives improvement through systems and training, sharing good and best practice, securing accountability and embedding policy changes. She is passionate about improving outcomes for all students, using data and systems effectively and efficiently to achieve this. 

HR Manager

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Jackie joined Tove Learning Trust in November 2020 as Human Resources Manager. With over 10 years’ experience, Jackie has worked in the public, private and not for profit sector within the Health and Social Care, Education and Events industries.  Jackie previously worked for a Learning Trust in Buckinghamshire as their HR Manager.

Jackie has experience of working in both strategic and operational Human Resources, striving to continuously improve ways of working and to deliver consistently high levels of customer service. Jackie is passionate about the positive impact that Human Resources can have and is looking forward to partnering with the wider trust to produce a positive employee experience for all.

Estates Manager

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Tracy joined the Trust in October 2019 as Estates Manager.  Tracy has worked in Education Estate Management for over 20 years in both Local Authority and Multi Academy Trust settings.  She is a qualified general practice surveyor and experienced Prince 2 Project Manager. Tracy has delivered a number of significant development schemes across SEN, primary, secondary, and the independent school sectors.

As Estates Manager Tracy is committed to ensuring our educational estate provides a fit for purpose learning environment for our pupils. The focus during her first year has been working alongside schools, supporting capital investment projects for compliance and condition building items whilst creating a longer term strategy for capital investment.

Tracy is passionate about carbon reduction, and in addition to seeking both grants and funding for energy improvement initiatives, Tracy is keen to work with schools within the trust to further embed carbon reduction schemes across the trust and into the classroom.