David was Headteacher at The Ashcombe School from 2004 to 2019, having previously been Deputy Head. When SESSET was established in 2017 he became Executive Head and Accounting Officer. He was instrumental in The Ashcombe becoming a Language College in 1998 with a focus on the innovative use of technology in language learning and working collaboratively with all local schools in the Dorking Schools Language Development Group. This expanded with the formation of the Dorking Schools Partnership. He also continues to be involved with the Surrey Alternative Learning Programme which was set up in 2010 to coordinate provision across Surrey.

As well as working with the Association of School and College Leaders at a national level on data, he has also worked with Surrey Heads and other groups. He continues as co-chair of the Leadership Partner Schools Network, a small countrywide group of schools.

David has been a lead and team member of the Monitoring and Evaluation Team for Oasis Community Learning, a large national MAT, since 2013. This involves supporting and challenging academies and providing mentoring for academy leaders. David has also contributed to the due diligence process for expanding the number of academies.

For the last 5 years David has been the Education Adviser for the (now) Venturers Trust working with the 2 sponsors, schools and governors, providing advice and guidance including about the recruitment of CEOs and principals. David is an active governor of 2 of the secondary schools.

David has been an active lead inspector of both maintained and independent schools for Ofsted since 2012 and has been an inspector since 1997.

David has worked as an Associate for PiXL since 2013, working with senior leaders in a range of schools. David have recently been involved in the recruitment of senior personnel. David is also a member of a small team which provides induction for new schools, more recently including AP. 

David was headteacher of 3 very different secondary schools for over 18 years, in both Great Yarmouth and Surrey. David spent a year successfully rescuing a school out of special measures.

David worked as a School Improvement Partner for Surrey and Redbridge, including advising governors about performance management, and David have been both a tutor and an assessor for NPQH.

In summary, David has wide experience and expertise in education, as a teacher, leader and adviser/inspector and David has extensive experience of governance both at school and trust level. As a result, David believes he may be able to provide the trust with useful advice and support.
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Chris is a political campaigns and communications specialist, having worked across political parties at local and national levels. During 2014-15, as National Campaigns Director, Chris took the Green Party, at that point, to their most successful election results in their history; quadrupling their share of the vote. In 2012 Chris also led the successful campaign to elect the independent candidate George Ferguson as Bristol’s first elected mayor. Chris is currently Acting Chief Executive Officer of the League Against Cruel Sports and Chair of Trinity Community Arts.

Having completed a BEd (Hons), Yvonne worked in distribution and logistics management and latterly in change management. Yvonne became a governor when her children started school and became an Additional Skills Governor (ASG) for Surrey County Council, supporting many schools for eighteen years and then became a Local Leader of Governance (LLG) from September 2020 . Yvonne has led and developed governance in challenging circumstances and has helped governance committees to develop a strategic understanding of their role in school improvement which leads to a positive impact on the future life chances for every child. In 2013 Yvonne became a National Leader of Governance (NLG), was reappointed in October 2021 and has used her skills to support schools beyond Surrey. Yvonne continues to share her governance expertise across maintained schools and academies.

Ron taught in Kent, Sussex and Surrey for 30 years, 20 in senior leadership, and twelve as Headteacher, taking two schools from categories to Good and Good with Outstanding features.    Ron served on the corporation of a General FE college, was a governor of a primary federation and continues to serve as Chair of Governors of a PRU and local state boarding school.  He was Chair of the Surrey Secondary Headteachers’ Council (2015 to 2018), sitting on the Surrey Safeguarding Children Board, SEND Governance Board, School Improvement Partnership Board and Schools Forum. In 2018 he received a Pearson’s National Teaching Award for ‘Headteacher in a Secondary School’. He is now a consultant working with primary, secondary and all-through schools across England.

Julie is a retired solicitor. Specialising in Property Finance and Development, Julie worked in London throughout her career and was the first female managing partner of a City of  London law firm.  Since her retirement, Julie has held a number of non-executive positions in not for profit organisations.  In addition to her role at IET, she is currently a Trustee of Transform Housing & Support and a Governor of  Colfe’s School in Greenwich. 

I have been a Headteacher for 10 years, 7 at Rodborough School in Milford. I have been teaching for 30 years, following a 3 year period working in the Home Office. I was a member of the Wey Valley College Management Committee between 2015 and the formation of the Inclusive Education Trust in 2021, from September 2017 as Chair. During my time on the committee, it was a privilege to work with the team at WVC as they took the College on the journey to outstanding.

Catherine Allam (ACMA CGMA)

Chartered Management Accountant

Catherine’s 19-year career has been spent in Consumer Packaged Goods Industries working across the Finance function. She is recognized as an exceptional People Leader and her Commercial Business Partnering has led to external award nominations. Outside of work she is the mother of young two sons and is passionate about children and young people. It is in this spirit that she is also treasurer and trustee of a local scouting group.

I am a School Business Leader with 20 years’ experience , 19 of these as part of the Senior Leadership Team. I am currently working  at Charters School, a SAT with 1700+ students, I sit as part of the exec team here working at Deputy  Head level.    I have worked in many different contexts although my experience is predominantly in secondary schools.     In my current role I am responsible for all of the areas you might expect HR, Finance, H & S, Estates, DPO to name a few.     I am also now a DfE accredited School Resource Management Advisor, working to support other schools in the effective use of their resources and  a mentor for other school business professionals.

I think this experience puts me in a great position to support a school or trust in the critical friend role. I am very familiar with the work of Governing Boards,  attending Resources and FGBs in my own school. In addition I have previous experience as a parent governor and as Chair for a short time at  WVC. ​​

Melanie Anouf is the Learning Producer at the Young Vic. 

She graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London, where she discovered her love for using the arts in socially engaged settings. With an emphasis on facilitating spaces filled with joy, play and belonging, over the last 14 years, she’s had the privilege of learning and growing her practice in Alternative Provision.  

Through INNOVATE, a Young Vic Taking Part project, which used the arts to teach the full curriculum she has had the opportunity to explore the use of the arts and creativity in teaching and learning approaches as well as within the whole school environment.  

Adam is a Chartered Accountant with many years business experience across the private and public sectors. Much of career was spent with PwC where he was a Corporate Finance partner working in the UK, the United States and Central and Eastern Europe. Most of his work involved advising companies and entities working with or in the public sector, particularly in health, housing and local government.

After PwC Adam worked as a Senior Civil Servant in various commercial roles across Government at the Department for Health, the Shareholder Executive (Department for Business) and at the Department for Communities and Local Government. In the Civil service he advised Government Departments on governance matters as well as providing commercial advice on transactions including business disposals and procurement.

For the last six years he has been a Non-Executive Finance Director at Urban Intelligence, an early stage property technology company.

Adam is a local resident and has lived in Leatherhead for the last 20 years.

Tony has a wide ranging career in education and has served in all areas of leadership including as a headteacher.  He currently works a Family Support practitioner (NVR nonviolent resistance) Associate Partner with Partnership Projects UK.

Tony has worked as a mentor, coach and is a fellow of the chartered college of teachers and was awarded a professional doctorate in March 2024 

An extremely driven, focused, and dynamic Leader with 20 years’ experience working in private Industry, International Relations, and Education.  I currently operate at management board level, leading the English Language Teaching business at the British Council, across 46 individual markets.  I have led change programme across different industries, through a complex economic backdrop.  This has been achieved through broad stakeholder engagement, and a comprehensive understanding of the challenges which an organisation faces to enable it to deliver on its strategy and for its learners and people.