Trust governance

Term of office: 3 October 2022 - 2 October 2026 

Anna is a Co-opted Trustee - appointed by the Board

Anna is a senior official in the Department for Education and, following an internal reorganisation, has recently moved to work in the newly established Yorkshire and The Humber’s Regions Group where she is the Head of Delivery for North Yorkshire, Humberside and the Programme Management Office, having previously being based in the North region.  

Anna has worked on academies delivery for over 6 years with the aim to help raise education standards and develop MAT capacity within the regions.

She has extensive knowledge and experience of working with the education sector having worked for the Department for over 20 years and, as well as working on delivery, has worked on various policies including teachers’ pay and conditions, teacher supply and initial teacher training.  

Anna is a member of the Trust Board's Standards Committee.

Term of office: 1 October 2024 - 30 September 2028

Al is a Co-opted Trustee - appointed by the Board

Further information to follow

Term of office: 1 September 2021 - 31 August 2025

David is a Member appointed Trustee

David has worked in local government for 38 years, spending the last 18 of these with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council until his recent retirement.

David is a CIPFA qualified accountant and was Senior Finance Manager in Stockton responsible for finance associated with a broad range of areas including Children’s, Adults and Community Services.  He’s worked in the field of schools and associated education funding for the last 24 years. Since its inception and until recently David has been the finance lead on Stockton’s Schools’ Forum.

David has experience of working with a host of stakeholders and partners including academies, companies, other LAs and the ESFA. In terms of school governance, he’s served as a member of the Interim Executive Board at Thornaby Community School and has provided governor training.

David is keen to give back to those areas he's valued working with over his career. David is particularly enthusiastic about supporting children with learning difficulties and disabilities to gain the best outcomes possible in preparation for adulthood.

David is the Chair of the Trust Board's Resources & Audit & Risk Committee. 

Elizabeth is the Chief Executive Officer of Horizons Specialist Academy Trust (HSAT), which was established as a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) on 1 August 2013 and has been a recognised Sponsor MAT since November 2015.  Elizabeth is also the Trust's Accounting Officer.

After graduating from university, Elizabeth gained postgraduate teaching qualifications in both secondary and primary education and taught in both sectors.  Building on this experience, Elizabeth moved into the area of special education and gained a range of postgraduate qualifications.

Elizabeth already had wide experience of leading and managing in a variety of settings prior to taking up post in 2009 as Executive Headteacher of Stockton Borough First Federation: a "hard" federation of two special schools, having been a headteacher of three special schools in Scotland, including that of Principal of The Royal Blind School in Edinburgh (giving her valuable experience of the independent and charitable sector).  In addition, she gained valuable experience of working as an Associate Assessor with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) in Scotland – a role which involved Elizabeth in the inspection of specialist SEN and mainstream-based provision across Scotland and the Highlands and Islands.  She also had the experience of heading up services for SEN at local authority level as a member of the education directorate in East Dunbartonshire Council.

Under Elizabeth's leadership, Stockton Borough First Federation evolved from a modest amalgamation of two special schools into a more dynamic organisation where staff and financial resources were increasingly moved and reorganised seamlessly to meet pupil and student need.  Consequently, Elizabeth viewed the move to academy status as a natural, necessary and sound progression on the journey towards ensuring that student needs and support for their parents and carers were the primary "drivers" in organisational change and professional development and focus.  Her philosophy of "no child left behind" is at the heart of Horizon Specialist Academy Trust's determination that innovation and sound practice based on robust self-evaluation are key elements in improving learning and teaching.  Furthermore, the freedoms of academy status - combined with successful funding applications to the ESFA - have enabled HSAT to improve the quality of its facilities as well as employing its own specialists in areas such as speech and language therapy and educational psychology.  The Trust’s strapline “to do more and to do it better” continues to underpin the work of the Trust.

Elizabeth was a co-opted member of the Regional Schools Commissioners Headteacher Board for the North of England from 2016 until March 2024 and she is also the representative for Special Schools/Academies on Special Schools' Voice  - a national group which seeks to provide a collective voice for special schools and those seeking to create the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

Elizabeth was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Education in The Queen’s 90^th Birthday Honours List of June 2016.

Term of office: 12 July 2021 - 11 July 2025

Maurice is a Member appointed Trustee

Maurice is the previous Chair of the Board of Trustees and prior to this was Vice Chair at the Trust's inception in 2013.  He has been involved in the governance of the Trust’s academies/schools for over 28 years.  Maurice is also the Lead Safeguarding Director for the Trust. 

Prior to retirement, Maurice was a senior police officer directly responsible for 300 staff and a £10m+ budget.

He is a former Trustee of North England Children’s Cancer Research Fund and also of Tees Country Products and Tees Country Products Enterprises.  He is a current Director of La Bastille Ltd.

Speaking about the Trust, Maurice is very clear in his vision that the Trust can continue to deliver the best possible education to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across the Tees Valley, to help them maximise their potential and realise their aspirations.

As well as Vice Chair of the Trust Board, Maurice is a member of the Resources & Audit & Risk Committee and the Standards Committee, and is also the Lead Trustee for Safeguarding/Child Protection.

Term of office: 12 July 2021 - 11 July 2025

Colin is a Member appointed Trustee

Colin has been a governor for over 29 years, including more than 18 years at Abbey Hill (Vice Chair for 2 years and Chair for 4), Chair of Stockton Borough First Federation from its formation until its conversion to Horizons Specialist Academy Trust (7 years) and Chair of the Trust at its formation in 2013 until 2017 (4 years).  Additionally, he was a governor of Ash Trees Special Primary School for 3 years.

Colin graduated in Metallurgy and worked worldwide in production, processing, computerised production planning, business development and commercial management roles until early retirement from the position of Sales and Marketing Director of a multinational multi million turnover engineering contracting company with 500+ employees. 

His charitable activities include 15 years in the Round Table organisation in several continents and 4 years in Rotary International, plus numerous years as a director of charitable trusts providing work for people with learning difficulties.

Colin is the Chair of the Trust Board’s Standards Committee and is also a member of the Resources & Audit & Risk Committee.

Term of office: 16 December 2022 - 15 December 2026

Baxi is a Member appointed Trustee

Baxi has been a Member appointed Director since 2014. After completing medical training over 20 years ago, he specialised in mental health and is currently working as a Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director in Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust which is a leading Mental Health Trust in the area. He has experience in research, medical education and clinical psychiatry. He is passionate about use of technology and data as tools to improve efficiency and overall productivity.

Baxi is a member of the Trust Board’s Resources & Audit & Risk Committee 

Chair of the Board of Trustees

Term of office: 1 September 2023 - 31 August 2027

David is a Co-opted Trustee - appointed by the Board

David is a highly experienced and well respected education professional who has unrivalled experience and expertise in supporting school leaders and trustees in the development of effective governance models.

David brings over 40 years of experience in the education sector to his work and this includes extensive headship experience, a range of senior management roles in local government, a national advisory role in the DfE's BSF programme and consultancy and leadership roles in the private sector. He also worked with the MoD for two years on supporting the transition of service children. 

He has Qualified Teacher Status and is a graduate of the University of Warwick. He was an Ofsted inspector for 13 years. David was selected as the NGA’s Outstanding Clerk of the Year in 2015 and was a member of Sir David Carter's expert group that developed the DfE's Competency Framework for Governance. He also helped to develop the DfE's framework for school/academy clerks. Latterly in his career, David provided governance support to a number of Multi Academy Trusts in the north east of England.

David is a member of the Trust Board’s Resources & Audit & Risk Committee and the Standards Committee.