The Central Team

Paul Kennedy

Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer

My role as CEO requires me to wear many hats, which are all directed to ensuring that children receive the very best education possible in every one of our academies. This includes leading and delivering the vision and strategy of the Trust, as agreed by the Trustees, connecting schools together for mutual support, developing and managing people, nurturing our Christian ethos and culture, ensuring our schools receive the challenge and support they need and continually aiming to improve our performance in all areas. A major part of the role is to develop key relationships with the Trust which support continual school improvement so our children, staff and communities can flourish as an active expression of the Church of England’s Vision for its role in Education.

In my role as Accounting Officer, I ensure that we follow correct policy and procedures in the handling of public money to be financially sustainable and fulfil our legal responsibilities.

Rachael Jarrett

Chief Finance & Operating Officer

My Role as CFOO is to support the CEO in the vision, development and operations of the Good Shepherd Trust. 

I provide strategic leadership for the day to day administrative and central business operations of the Trust, ensuring that our systems are both effective for today’s needs and tomorrow’s growth. 

I am tasked with ensuring the Trust is run as effectively as possible, delivering central services to our schools and supporting them to fulfil their goals.  This includes overseeing all systems, structures and staffing for Finance, IT, HR and Estates. 

Alex Clark

Chief Education Officer

As Chief Education Officer I am accountable fo the trust's education strategy in partnership with the CEO. I provide quality assurance to the trust board on all aspects of our schools, including effective performance of our head teachers/ principals.

I work with a growing education team to support our schools in their unique contexts. I have a passion for ensuring high quality professional development both within The Good Shepherd Trust and beyond, and I am a facilitator for leadership NPQs. My other area of interest is in effective governance in school trusts.

Chris Stewart

Head of Finance & Risk

David Bird

Head of HR

My role is to devise and deliver a people strategy to support the Trust’s growth and aim to provide an excellent employee experience.

We aim to reduce workload for schools by automating transactional HR activities where possible and the HR team provide advice and support to our schools to help them to do this.

Mark Philpott

Head of Buildings and Estates

I am responsible for delivering an effective estates and facilities management across the Trust ensuring it is compliant with relevant legislation, that all buildings and estates are safe and fit for purpose. This involves leading, shaping and developing Estates & Facilities Management function in order to provide the best possible environment for teaching and learning whilst providing an efficient building and estate management service.

Felicity Mackrory

Head of Governance

In my role as Head of Governance, I am responsible for delivering a high quality, professional Governance service across our Trust.  The role is to provide advice and support to trust and school leaders on all matters relating to Governance, and associated compliance to ensure our service remains effective, compliant and responsive to statutory and Trust requirements. 

In addition, I act as Company Secretary for the Trust. 

Maria Roberts

Senior Education Officer

As Senior Education Officer, I am responsible for the quality assurance of all schools within the trust against the Ofsted framework and aspects of the SIAMs framework. I visit schools regularly, working with leaders to validate their self-evaluation and agree where the school currently sits in terms of Ofsted categories such as 'Quality of Education' and 'Personal Development'. This information is then fed via the Chief Education Officer to trustee directors and local committees, meaning that all stakeholder have a consistent, accurate view of each school and its journey. Schools that are performing strongly are encouraged to share their expertise. Where a school needs extra support to improve, this is provided by the trust.

Having worked previously as one of His Majesty's Inspectors of schools, I continue to lead Ofsted inspections of schools in the south east. This means that GST schools benefit from current information and expertise around the inspection process.  

Liz Tedbury

Head of Inclusion, Safeguarding & Wellbeing and DSL

As Head of Inclusion, Safeguarding and Wellbeing, i oversee the provision for our most vulnerable children at the Good Shepherd Trust schools.

The monitoring and support I provide is wide ranging and varied, such as auditing of provision. support through Networks and Supervision, as well as targeted support where required in schools.

Strategically, I review the Trust policies and procedures in response to the latest advice and guidance regarding matters relating to Inclusion, SEND and Safeguarding, and work with Senior Leaders, Designated Safeguarding Leads and SENCOs to implement these within our schools.

Suzanne Higgins

Head of English

As Head of English, I am tasked with ensuring that the quality of teaching and learning in English within the trust's schools is first class. I support school leaders and teaching staff with the monitoring, planning and implementation of effective learning experiences in phonics, reading, writing, speaking and listening to ensure our pupils are effective communicators and use these skills to fully access the wider curriculum.

As part of the Education Team, I am focused on working on with each school to support the needs of their own pupils whilst ensuring there is a strong and consistent approach to the teaching and assessment of English across the trust. We promote effective networking to share good practice amongst our schools so that our staff are well supported and confident.

I have a particular passion for developing a love of reading in children and enjoy working with schools to create a strong reading culture that in turn supports the development of their language and writing skills.

Jade Hills

Head of Curriculum and Pedagogy

As Head of Curriculum and Pedagogy, I support school leaders in the review, evaluation and development of their curriculum and the improvement of teaching and learning pedagogy to ensure that pupils across The Good Shepherd Trust receive the best possible educational experiences and outcomes.  

As part of the Education Team, I am focused on ensuring that each school curriculum is not only rigorous and aligned with national standards and our Trust principles, but also dynamic and engaging, catering to the diverse needs of the pupils across our Trust. 

I work collaboratively with school leaders and teaching staff to develop innovative teaching strategies and pedagogical approaches that foster a culture of continuous improvement through a range of networking and professional development experiences. 

I am passionate about evidence-informed pedagogy and committed to our schools retaining their distinct personalities whilst ensuring we firmly share the same values and high aspirations to prepare our pupils for a bright and successful future. 

Susie Pietrzak

Head of Early Years

Kate Evans

Director of Education - Quality Assurance

Supporting the Headteacher appraisal process