Members
Raymond Ward
Wayne Bradburn
Katy Kent
Lucy Willcox
Members are defined by the National Governance Association as the guardians of Trust governance. They are responsible for holding the Trust Board to account, ensuring governance is effective and that the Trust is operating within its Articles of Association and fulfilling its charitable objectives.
A typical AGM would include:
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Reviewing the membership of Members and Trustees
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Quality Assurance of the work undertaken by the Board of Trustees
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Receive the audited annual accounts
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Appointment of external Auditors
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Update on Trust performance and growth
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Trustees
The Trust Board are responsible for the strategic operations of the Trust, setting the direction, holding the Chief Executive and Senior Leaders to account and ensuring financial probity. As charity Trustees, they must also ensure that they are complying with charity law requirements. The Board of Trustees has a Finance & General Purposes Committee and an Audit & Risk Committee. Details of membership and attendance for the Trust Board and for these committees can be found in the documents below.​
The Board of Trustees
Mrs G Bladon
Chair
Mr K Grayson
Chief Executive
Mrs J Briscoe
Trustee
Mrs R Maver
Vice Chair
Prior to co-founding my own company in 2018; specialising in educational technology, online safety and school improvement, I worked in Wolverhampton schools for 18 years as a teacher, subject specialist and senior leader.
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In 2008 I was seconded to the Local Authority to support schools in their adoption and implementation of education technologies and became Head of the Learning Technologies Team in 2011. During this time, I worked with many schools, both in the UK and internationally, which has provided me with invaluable insights into leadership and management styles, teaching and learning, curriculum design and assessment. I have had the opportunity to work with the UK Department of Education and the Governments of Wales, Australia and Kuwait to design curriculum opportunities and professional development for teachers.
I have an MA in Education, hold the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers and am a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. I am also a Governor in another Wolverhampton school.
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Mr G Hawkins - Vice Chair
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Now semi-retired, I have worked in primary and secondary education since 1976.
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From 1996 to 2014 I worked in a local government school improvement service where, in 2005, I became the Senior Inspector for Primary Curriculum Innovation & Co-ordination. As part of my role I led on a number of strategies, managed a team of consultants and led on all matters relating to primary assessment.
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I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors (FCIEA) and an accredited Chartered Educational Assessor (FCIEA/CEA), a member of the ‘Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment’ (AAIA) and an accredited ‘School Improvement Partner’ (SIP).
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Throughout my career I have worked extensively with schools to build leadership capacity, improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the understanding and use of assessment data.
In 2014 I became an independent Education Adviser and through a number of activities, I continue to support schools in their pursuit of excellence.
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I am a Chair of Trustees for another MAT, and also a Governor at another school in the City.
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Mrs G Bladon - Trustee
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I have been a teacher for over 30 years, seventeen of these as a Headteacher. I have worked in a number of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire schools and during this time I have also worked as a School Improvement Advisor and now as a National Leader of Education.
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I joined Elston Hall Primary School in 2007 as Headteacher and have led the school from an inadequate judgement to an Outstanding Ofsted at the beginning of 2015. We received accreditation as a National Teaching School in the autumn of 2015.
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My desire to offer school improvement support across other schools in Wolverhampton led to my recommendation to Governors that the school should convert to become an Academy and form its own Multi Academy Trust – this of course has resulted in the position we are now in with four schools as part of our Trust.
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I hope from examining other Trust documents and statements , it is clear that my underlying philosophy remains rooted in schools that offer excellent teaching that ensures children’s learning and progress is of the highest standard. It is these principles that will drive any further expansion of our Trust while ensuring we retain the excellent partnerships already created.
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Mr K Grayson - Chief Executive
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I have been a solicitor for over 20 years and my main area of specialism is employment law. I represent employers and employees in tribunal claims and have extensive experience in both contentious and non contentious matters including drafting employment contracts and advising on a wide range of issues including redundancy, unfair dismissal,equality/discrimination and settlement agreements. I also have expertise as a litigator with experience in general civil litigation and professional indemnity work.
I currently work at Mortimers which is a general solicitors practice with offices in Shropshire and Hereford. Prior to that I worked in a large team at the Birmingham office of Pinsent Masons an International Law firm.
I am a former pupil of Goldthorn Park Primary School
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Mrs J Briscoe - Trustee
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I came to Education following a year in investment banking with Goldman Sachs as a graduate analyst. I have worked in secondary schools as a Chemistry teacher and Head of Department for 10 years both here in the UK and abroad (East Africa and the Middle East). Leaving the classroom in 2019 took me to a new role in Teacher Education, where I have worked in both the design and delivery of programmes such as the Early Career Framework, NPQs and Master's degrees, all of which are designed to support leaders at every level to affect change in their schools and MATs. I have recently made a move into designing content using the best thinking from the world of Business (as well as Education) and hope to use this new and expanding knowledge on strategic leadership, disruptive innovation and finance and governance to support me in my role as a Trustee.
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Mrs R Maver
Mr D Brown
Trustee
Mr R Lawton
Trustee
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Miss A Carr
Trustee
Mrs J Ahir
Trustee
I retired in 2015 following 43 year’s service in Education. I was previously a Headteacher of a Primary School in the West Midlands and have experience in managing all aspects of schools including budget and finance control, staffing, maintaining curriculum levels and implementation of Government and Local authority standards. Following that I worked for Wolverhampton Adult Education tutoring students completing supporting the teaching and learning Level 3, assessing work and observing students within their placements. I was also an internal verifier for the college.
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Mr D Brown - Chair
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A proud, born and bred, Wulfrunian! I qualified as an accountant at Tarmac Plc before becoming a recruitment consultant in a specialist accountancy recruitment business in 1998. After a series of promotions I completed the MBO and became owner of that business in 2011. I am passionate about my city and the fortunes of its youth as their education and upbringing is of intrinsic importance the city’s prosperity going forward. I am confident by experience in both finance & recruitment in addition to running an enterprise may, in a small way, support stakeholders to the Elston Hall Learning Trust deliver educational excellence to the children.
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Mr R Lawton
I began my career in banking in 2010 following university when I joined Lloyds Banking Group on their graduate scheme. By 2013 I secured a Senior Management role in Wolverhampton. During this period, I completed my Professional Certificate in Banking and became an Associate on the London Institute of Banking & Finance. I completed my Professional Diploma in Banking Practice & Management in 2016 with Distinction. In 2017, I joined Barclays Bank where I am now a Relationship Director. I am currently focusing on the West Midlands performance and integration with our local professionals and wider community. I will also be looking to start my MBA later this year.
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Mr O Dallaway - Co - opted Trustee
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15+ years experience IT industry specialising in sales growth, negotiation and strategic transformation.
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Currently working for Google as part of the leadership team responsible for helping customers digitally transform.
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Cyber Security CISSP qualified
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England Netball Level 1 coaching qualified
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Strong interest in STEM education and development in Wolverhampton and have a BA in East Mediterranean History and an MA in Heritage Management.
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Miss A Carr
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I have over 15 years in working in the project management industry in the private and public sector.
I am currently working as a Project Officer for City of Wolverhampton Council working on a wide range of transformation programmes for our residents, services and businesses in the City. I lead key pieces of activities linked to Projects and Programmes to ensure that an output is delivered for our key stakeholders.
I have 3 young children who attend a school within the trust for which I have played an active role as a Local Governing Board member ( including parent governor, vice chair, chair and chair of panel hearings across the Trust). I strive for the best for our children and our school community holding leadership teams to account and ensuring processes/procedures are being adhered to. With my project management, governance and governor background I wish to be part of Elston Learning Trust and to understand how best practices can be shared across the trust - providing the best possible care for our children and wider school community.
I have a BSc (Hons) Information Systems from Leeds Metropolitan University. I hold an Associate Project Management and PRINCE 2 Foundation qualification. These qualifications will aid in my career development and contribute to effective challenge across the Trust. I consider myself as an active team player, proactive and a supportive individual to my colleagues and the school leadership team.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my young family as well as the wider family, reading and keeping fit on a regular basis. I also enjoy socialising with family and friends- all significant factors which contributes to my mental health and wellbeing.
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Mrs J Ahir
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Local Governance Arrangements
From September 2025, Elston Hall Learning Trust has updated arrangements for local governance seeing the change from a traditional Local Governing Board at each school, to the introduction of new Advisory School Committees (ASCs).
The ASCs are small, focused groups who will support the Trust Board to fulfil its purpose and strengthen governance by providing robust challenge and scrutiny at school level. ASCs will meet on a termly basis, during the school day when evidence-based practice can be part of every meeting.
We believe this re-energised model will empower those governing locally to have better quality conversations, supported by quality evidence.
ASCs are tasked to seek assurances for Trustees on SEND, Safeguarding, Standards and Stakeholder engagement and the ASC will report back to Trustees following each meeting.
ASC representatives will include the Headteacher, a staff representative, two elected parents, and there will be availability for other community representation as needed through additional Appointed Representatives. The committee will also be supported by an external senior leader, from within, or even outside of the Trust.
Further details of membership of the Advisory School Committees can be found on the school’s websites under Local Governance.
Our Academies
