Members (Incl Business & Pecuniary Interests & Terms of Office & Attendance)

The Members of our Multi-Academy Trust are the conscience and moral guardians of its governance. They are tasked with assessing if the Board of Trustees is performing well to ensure that the purpose of the Trust is being met, its values are being adhered to and its charitable object (of “advancing education for the public benefit”) is being fulfilled.

Essentially, this means focusing on the following questions:

Is the Board of Trustees governing effectively and ensuring strong governance across the Trust?
Is the Board of Trustees ensuring that the pupils in the Trust are receiving a high quality education?
Is the Board of Trustees ensuring robust financial oversight?

Although the legal minimum is three members, our Trust is committed to having five members, as recommended by the DfE and NGA, in order to maximise the scrutiny of our Trust’s performance.

Furthermore, although the law permits Members to also be appointed as Trustees, we have decided that Members should not have this dual role. This decision has been made in order to retain a degree of separation between the Members and the Trust Board, in line with DfE and NGA expectations. It is also important to note that, in line with DfE-amended model articles, our Members are not permitted to be employees of the Trust.

Our Members group is made up by:

Helen Sunter

Helen Sunter is Staffordshire’s Deputy Commissioner for Police, Fire, Rescue and Crime, a role in which she demonstrates an unswerving commitment to making a positive difference within the local and wider community.

Before taking on this role, Helen served as a councillor at both Lichfield District Council and Burntwood Town Council. She was then elected to Staffordshire County Council for Burntwood South in 2017, where she served as cabinet member for Highways and Transport.

Helen also served on a working party tasked with supporting local businesses with their post-COVID recovery, where she was able to make made positive contributions, having set up a successful car repair business several years ago (which is still going strong).

At the start of her working life, Helen taught music for 10 years, which has given her a deep understanding and real appreciation of the vital importance of education in shaping young lives and transforming society.

Kate Abbott

Kate has gained extensive experience in educational leadership, including fifteen years in secondary headship in the West Midlands.

She currently works with ASCL as a Leadership consultant, working with Trust Boards to recruit and appoint Headteachers. In addition, she supports Trust Boards in leadership and governance review.

Kate has served as a Governor of Lichfield Cathedral School, chairing the Education Committee. Kate has also and has served as a DfE appointee on the Building Bridges board.

Carli Gallier

Carli is an experienced HR Business Partner, currently in post as People Manager for the Tara Group, a highly successful group of companies with a strong social conscience.

Throughout her career, Carli has worked with a number of legal and HR teams in a variety of organisations, and has developed wide-ranging experience and expertise in:

Recruitment and resourcing strategy
Talent development
Project management
Leadership and management

Carli has a keen and active interest in education, having family members who work in the sector and who are passionate about teaching and its importance in improving children’s lives.

Hugh Reynolds

Hugh attended King Edward VI School in Lichfield and went on to train with a local firm of accountants, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at the age of 22. He retired 38 years later, having become a partner in the firm, where he primarily supported small to medium-sized businesses. He now works as an accountant specialising in looking after the farming community.

Hugh has gained extensive experience in governance, having served as a governor at Erasmus Darwin Academy for over 20 years and as a trustee of the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Charitable Trust.

Having lived in or around Lichfield for over 50 years, Hugh knows the local community served by our Trust extremely well. He has a genuine passion for education and a deep understanding of its vital role in improving lives and expanding the life chances of children and young people.

Darren Ennis

Darren is an experienced business leader and community representative with a strong background in leadership, governance, financial oversight and strategic planning.

He has served as Managing Director of Haywoods Contracts Limited for over 25 years, leading the growth and day to day management of a successful specialist business. Through this role, he has developed extensive experience in financial management, compliance, operational leadership, team development and long-term business strategy. He has overall responsibility for profit and loss, business planning, regulatory compliance and building strong relationships with clients, suppliers and wider stakeholders.

Alongside his business career, Darren has a strong record of local public service and governance. He is Leader of Burntwood Town Council and a District Councillor, where he works closely with residents, community organisations, public bodies and local partners to help shape services, support regeneration and improve quality of life. His work has included community leadership, partnership working, public accountability, funding support and representing the interests of local people in decision making.

Darren has also gained additional financial and governance experience through his long standing role as Treasurer of Grangemoor WMC and through previous roles as a school governor, giving him direct experience of the education sector and the importance of strong oversight, clear accountability and effective leadership in supporting positive outcomes for children and young people.

He brings a practical, independent and community-focused perspective, with a particular interest in effective governance and sound financial management and a passion for helping organisations remain ambitious, accountable and connected to the communities they serve.