Our Team

Anna Balson

Director of Education (Primary)

A National Leader of Education (NLE) Under her dedicated and inspirational leadership, Anna took Mere Green Primary school from a struggling one-form entry, undersubscribed ‘requires improvement’ primary school to an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted outcome in just two years and is now a very popular, oversubscribed two-form entry community primary school.

She maintains strategic responsibility for Mere Green but her wider role now sees her responsible for school improvement and performance management across all primary schools within the group. Anna delivers training, leadership support and challenge to head teachers and leadership teams, as well as developing partnership-wide systems for assessment and portfolios of evidence.
Anna has an outstanding record of accomplishment as a school leader.

Deirdre Duigan

Director of Education (Secondary)

Marie George

Secondary Strategic Lead

Having started her professional journey at Arthur Terry School in September 1999, Marie has been a loyal member of staff since and was part of the Leadership Team that got Arthur Terry to Outstanding.  She moved to Stockland Green School as deputy headteacher and went onto become Headteacher.  Under her strategic leadership Stockland Green School moved from Special Measures to Good and the journey to Outstanding continues.

As Secondary Strategic Lead Marie remains the serving headteacher at Stockland Green School, whilst also providing strategic leadership for two other headteachers and their school teams on their school improvement journey.

Marie wants the very best for all ATLP students and staff and works tirelessly to provide the leadership direction so that all can thrive and grow in our schools.

Jenny Maskell

Primary Strategic Lead

Suzie Norton

Primary Strategic Lead

Ian Smith-Childs

Secondary Strategic Lead

Ian has worked with ATLP since 2013 and has been in education for over 20 years. Through Ian’s leadership and collaboration with leaders across ATLP, The Coleshill School has been transformed from an undersubscribed school which has been in ‘Special Measures’, to a school which has doubled in size and achieved two back to back ‘Good’ Ofsted outcomes.  Ian’s passion for ensuring students achieve the best outcomes, both academically and for their personal development, drives his moral purpose.

In this new role Ian remains the headteacher leading Coleshill School, but also provides strategic leadership other headteachers and their teams.  Ian has an exceptional track record for school improvement and  is currently supporting two ATLP secondary schools on their improvement journey. Through developing exceptional leaders, a relentless focus on learning and teaching and keeping children at the heart of all he does, Ian ensures our children get the very best.

Simon Smith

Chief Finance and Operations Officer

Simon qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 2004 and has significant experience as Finance and Operations Director across the public and private sector, including Children’s Services, Economic Development and Probation Services. He has worked in and around schools for over 11 years and has established high performance teams through a shared services model as well as achieving commercial success through teams that delivered payroll and financial management for schools.

He is committed to improving support services that help deliver better outcomes and life chances for all children and young people and is a particular advocate for improving social mobility for those children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ria Farrell

Head of Finance

Ria has worked in finance for the education sector for 12 years and is a qualified member of the Association of Accounting (AAT). She was a Finance Assistant and Temporary Finance Manager at the University of Birmingham, before joining Arthur Terry School in 2013 as a Finance Assistant. Ria became ATLP Finance Manager in 2015 and supports ATLP schools with all aspects of finance, including training, troubleshooting, budget monitoring, audit and ensuring compliance. Current tasks include processing monthly VAT returns and salary journals, Sage support and ESFA Budget forecast and Budget Outturn returns.

Sandra Martin

Director of HR

Sandra brings a vast amount of experience in business and education and has previously worked at Birmingham City Council and Stockland Green School as School Business Manager. Sandra leads on a number of operational business functions across the ATLP, working closely with school leaders and incorporating HR and payroll.

Michelle Doughty

Director of Operations and Estates

Michelle has worked for the ATLP since 2012 and has over a decade of experience in education and industry, in project management and procurement. Her specialisms include business strategy, project management, procurement and all aspects of estates, facilities and operations. Her diverse skills and knowledge, include experience in exams, data and cover management and as a Clerk to Governors. As a member of ATLP’s leadership team in the last five years, Michelle has led in key business areas and now leads the ATLP Operations and Estates teams across all schools.

Katherine Thomas

Governance & Compliance Manager

A graduate of Macquarie University in Sydney Australia with a Bachelor’s of International Business, Katherine has worked extensively with Senior Leaders in the UK and Australia to provide a broad range of company secretarial and corporate governance functions. Prior to joining the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership in 2022, Katherine was the Assistant Company Secretary of a West-Midlands based social housing provider and led on all areas of governance and legislation related to the company’s regulatory obligations, de-registration and closure.

Katherine is responsible for coordinating the delivery and effective operation of the Trust’s corporate reporting, governance structure and policy framework across the Partnership.

Claire Swann

CEO PA

Claire is an experienced business professional who has successfully progressed her career through the ATLP. Her employment journey began with 13 years working at Lloyds Bank, London, in accounts and staff training new systems, followed by positions at Birmingham City Council. She has worked at Arthur Terry for over 10 years as a Lunchtime Supervisor, Receptionist and Personal Assistant, to interim CEO Sally Taylor and CEO Richard Gill. Her duties include managing the CEO’s diary and arranging meetings and appointments, organising events and conferences and handling all correspondence and calls.

Anna Newson

Head of PR & Communications

An NCTJ trained journalist, qualified to CIPR Member status, Anna brings 20 years of experience in press & PR to the ATLP team, including 15 years in education communications. Her career history includes working for newspapers, PR agencies and large organisations, including the press offices of two leading Midlands universities. Anna has worked with all major international news outlets and is responsible for managing all ATLP communications, including news and media relations; internal communications & newsletters; digital communications and social media; marketing; media monitoring and crisis and issues management.

Georgina Lavery

PA to the Executive Team

Georgina has worked within the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership since 2013, starting at Stockland Green School, then The Arthur Terry School before transferring to work for the Trust.

Prior to joining the ATLP, Georgina had been a PA for in excess of 25 years, the latter 14 being at an executive level. She migrated to the Education Sector from Stockbroking and Investment Services.

Her experience to date has included a wide range of secretarial and administrative duties enabling her to organise a demanding range of tasks within a busy environment.

Georgina’s role as PA to the Executive Team includes supporting Chief of Finance & Operations (CFOO) and Directors of Primary and Secondary Education.