Trust Board

John Vickers

Chair of Trustees, July 2017 to present

John has more than 35 years’ experience of working in comprehensive schools in rural, urban and inner-city environments, including over 20 years as a secondary head teacher in Birmingham, North Yorkshire and Coventry.

More recently, he has worked as a freelance education consultant in association with three Local Authorities and a wide range of individual secondary schools in Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, and Bradford. His main focus has been challenging and supporting senior leadership teams and governing bodies of secondary schools to secure school improvement.

Jonathan Brake

Trustee from July 2015 to present

Jonathan is a Principal Rolling Stock Consultant at Birmingham’s Mott MacDonald Ltd. – global management, engineering and development consultants. He is also the former Chair of Governors for the ATLP’s Hill West Primary School. He was also a Governor (2005-9) and then Chair of Governors (2009-2013) at the ATLP’s Hill West Primary School.

His projects have included: reviewing the ability of East African railways to be upgraded to handle a potential significant oil traffic; undertaking a study of the ability of Ghana Railways to carry gold ore for a prospective mine; independent checking engineer for monorail trains in Kuala Lumpur; rolling stock and operations lead for the development work for a new heavy haul coal railway in Mozambique; studying a failed introduction of a new train in the Netherlands; engineering manager for the development of a heavy haul freight railway in West Africa.

Heather Morris

Trustee from October 2015 to present

Now retired, Heather’s longstanding career in education began in 1970, when she joined Birmingham City Council’s Education Department, progressing to Principal Officer in the employee relations team of Human Resources.

In 2007, she moved to work in a secondary school in the south west of Birmingham which had recently come out of Special Measures and then became part of a multi academy trust.

As part of her administrative role, Heather led and managed teams of various sizes, and worked with others to interpret legislation, terms and conditions of service for support and teaching staff and advised schools. Her areas of expertise included HR, Finance, Site and Health and Safety. She was the only non-teaching member of the Senior leadership team.

Tim Sewell

Trustee from August 2011 to present

Qualifications: BA (Hons) Public Administration, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing

Tim is a Managing Consultant at Sewell & Wood Recruitment & Consultancy. He has extensive experience in governance in the semi-public sector and of operating in the private sector, with a longstanding track record of running multi-million pound turnover and investment organisations. Tim has held many board positions, including Chair of the Birmingham Social Housing Partnership. His professional positions in social housing organisations include 11 years as Chief Executive of the Family Housing Association (Birmingham) and Group Corporate Services Director of the Anglia Housing Group, Norwich. He brings more than 10 years of School Governor experience.

Brian Cookson

Trustee from March 2018 to present

Brian has continuously taught in secondary schools since qualifying in 1973. Although qualifying in Humanities, he developed and taught pre-vocational programmes and was a vocational programme assessor. Together with a colleague, he developed, promoted, taught and became Director of what became a nationally acclaimed 16-19 programme known as TOPS for students who otherwise may have left education with few qualifications.

Brian undertook work in research into the development of pre-vocational education at Warwick and Keele Universities. He has maintained this firm interest and recently completed a 6 year period working with the European Commission ET 2020 Group in Brussels with specific remits in Entrepreneurship Education and Transversal Skills.

Brian has a strong trade union background. Following on from local union roles, he has been a member of the NASUWT National Executive for 20 years.
Brian is still a member of the TUC General Council. He was also Lay Auditor, responsible for auditing the work commissioned by the European Commission, for 8 years for the ETUCE representing education trade union members across Europe and based in Brussels.

Brian has been a member of the England and Wales Teachers’ Pension Advisory Board and the Scottish equivalent. He remains a member of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Board. He has also been Chair of Trustees of a private pension scheme since 2009.
He is passionate about education, teaching and working with young people.

Richard Gill

Trustee, Finance Committee and CEO

Qualifications: BMus, University of Huddersfield; Degree (APEL) University of Roehampton; CfBT, Graduate Teacher Programme; NPQH, National College of School Leadership

A National Leader of Education, Richard is the Teaching Schools Council member for the West Midlands. He also represents Sutton Coldfield on the management board of the Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP).

Richard joined the outstanding Arthur Terry School in 2010 as deputy headteacher, before being appointed joint headteacher in the same year. In 2011 Richard led on the successful application to become one of the first 100 teaching schools in the country.

Before joining Arthur Terry, Richard helped to shape young lives across Staffordshire.
After spending a year at Sir Blessed William Howard School, Richard joined the Friary School, Lichfield, as a teacher of Performing Arts, progressing to head of year and head of alternative curriculum, before devising, coordinating and leading a vocational programme for excluded, disadvantaged and disapplied students.

As assistant headteacher at Chase Terrace Technology College, Richard played a major role in the 14-19 agenda across Staffordshire,

After graduating, Richard worked as a peripatetic music teacher and as a freelance musician, performing in a number of nationally acclaimed brass ensembles, orchestras and professional theatre.
He then became a full time teacher for Staffordshire Music Service, eventually becoming an area manager.

Katie Hale

Trustee from September 2019 to present

Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Food & Consumer Management, University of Birmingham

Katie runs her own Marketing & Business Development Consultancy – Halestorm Marketing and has over 20 years business experience. She is the current President of the Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce, part of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. Katie is a former ATLP student, she attended the Coleshill School, before completing her degree in Consumer Management from the University of Birmingham. Her career began in recruitment with the Angela Mortimer Group and she spent eight years at AF Selection, holding the position of a Company Director at the age of 28. In January 2016, Katie was appointed President of Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce. Her contribution to the region includes voluntary roles. She worked on the committee to organise the town’s FamilyFest charity festival and worked with a number of community organisations and businesses to stage a series of successful family event, with all proceeds going to local charities.

Sam Henson

Trustee from December 2019 to present

Sam currently works for the National Governance Association, where he oversees NGA’s policy, information and research service, ensuring it adds to the learning of the organisation and best improves the governance of schools, while supporting the chief executive in leading the organisation to achieve positive change in the policy of school governance. He is also the main policy lead for NGA’s work on multi academy trusts and has specialised in MAT governance structures and schemes of delegation since joining NGA in early 2015. His other responsibilities include overseeing the delivery of NGA’s e-newsletter and bi-monthly magazine, ‘Governing Matters’ to NGA members. He is the joint author of the ‘Staying in Control of Your Destiny’ series and has been lead author on NGA’s induction guide ‘Welcome to Governance’ for the last three years, and now ‘Welcome to MATs’.

Sam has worked in school governance for 10 years. Before joining the NGA, he worked for a large multi academy trust with more than 30 schools, leading an in-house governance team, supporting the trust board and it’s academy committees across a national network of academies providing training, advice and guidance. Prior to that, he worked for a local authority and in the financial services sector.

Tim Sewell

Member from August 2011 to present

Qualifications: BA (Hons) Public Administration, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing

Tim is a Managing Consultant at Sewell & Wood Recruitment & Consultancy. He has extensive experience in governance in the semi-public sector and of operating in the private sector, with a longstanding track record of running multi-million pound turnover and investment organisations. Tim has held many board positions, including Chair of the Birmingham Social Housing Partnership. His professional positions in social housing organisations include 11 years as Chief Executive of the Family Housing Association (Birmingham) and Group Corporate Services Director of the Anglia Housing Group, Norwich. He brings more than 10 years of School Governor experience.

Sally Taylor

Member from July 2017 to present

Qualifications: BA (hons) Sociology, PGCE London University Goldsmiths College
MA Education, Open University

Sally provides high quality interim education consultancy on leadership and safeguarding to schools, multi academy trusts and local authorities. Her recent appointments have been one year interim contract as the CEO at the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership and the interim head of education and learning for Warwickshire County Council. She draws on extensive experience as the director of education for Birmingham City Council and Oxfordshire County Council and as a secondary Headteacher.

Professor Mick Waters

Member from July 2017 to present

Professor Mick Waters works with the schools in the West Midlands in raising standards. This work began as part of the Black Country Challenge and has continued through the University of Wolverhampton’s involvement with the development of academies and Teaching Schools. He works with schools in other parts of the country on innovative approaches to improve learning. Mick is an Honorary Fellow of the College of Teachers and supports several educational causes. He is a patron of the Children’s University, which offers a range of learning opportunities beyond the school environment and of SAPERE which promotes Philosophy for Children as a route to learning. Mick is also a patron of the Curriculum Foundation, which seeks to promote a voice for the power and potential of the whole curriculum. Mick supports the National Association for Environmental Education as a vice president and is also chair of CoEd which promotes compassionate education. During his career, Mick has been a teacher and headteacher before working at senior levels in Birmingham and Manchester Local Authorities. He worked at a national level with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority where he was Director of Curriculum.

Mick has written books on the curriculum, teaching and learning, and leadership, as well as making presentations at numerous national and international conferences.

Alan Wharton

Member from July 2018 to present

Now retired, Alan has extensive experience in management and leadership roles within a number of different sectors. He spent 25 years working for IBM as a Systems Analyst, Programmer and Marketing Manager; responsible for sales team in the Midlands. His role included recruitment of sales personnel from universities. Prior to his retirement, Alan was Sales Director for a medium sized company in the Midlands, marketing manufacturing software.

Sir Tim Brighouse

Member from September 2019 to present

Qualifications: Degree in Modern History, Oxford University,
PGCE, Oxford University Department of Education

Sir Tim Brighouse is a former teacher who has enjoyed a distinguished career in education, spanning five decades. Tim was the Schools Commissioner for London and Chief Education Officer in both Birmingham and Oxfordshire, where his work was championed by Ofsted as: “an example to all others of what can be done, even in the most demanding urban environment.”

He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education, a Non-Executive Board Member of Research Machines and Advisor to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Sir Tim studied for a degree in Modern History at Oxford University, where he trained to be a teacher in 1961. He taught at various levels for several years and became a deputy head aged 26.

His career in educational administration began in 1978 as Chief Executive Officer of Oxford, a position he held for 11 years.

In 1989, Tim was appointed Professor of Education at Keele University, where he founded the Centre for Successful Schools.

Tim was the Chief Education Officer of Birmingham for 9 years from 1993. In 2002 he was appointed Commissioner for London Schools, where he served until 2007.

Tim was knighted for his achievements in education in 2009 and has received numerous honorary degrees and doctorates. Tim is the author of several books, including: ‘What Makes a Good School Now?’ ‘How Successful Head Teachers Survive and Thrive’ and ‘The Jigsaw of a Successful School’.

Heather Morris

Trustee from October 2015 to present

Now retired, Heather’s longstanding career in education began in 1970, when she joined Birmingham City Council’s Education Department, progressing to Principal Officer in the employee relations team of Human Resources.

In 2007, she moved to work in a secondary school in the south west of Birmingham which had recently come out of Special Measures and then became part of a multi academy trust.

As part of her administrative role, Heather led and managed teams of various sizes, and worked with others to interpret legislation, terms and conditions of service for support and teaching staff and advised schools. Her areas of expertise included HR, Finance, Site and Health and Safety. She was the only non-teaching member of the Senior leadership team.

Katie Hale

Trustee from September 2019 to present

University of Birmingham graduate, Katie, runs her own Marketing & Business Development Consultancy – Halestorm Marketing and has over 20 years business experience. She is the current President of the Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce, part of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. Katie is a former ATLP student, she attended the Coleshill School, before completing her degree in Consumer Management from the University of Birmingham. Her career began in recruitment with the Angela Mortimer Group and she spent eight years at AF Selection, holding the position of a Company Director at the age of 28. In January 2016, Katie was appointed President of Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce. Her contribution to the region includes voluntary roles. She worked on the committee to organise the town’s FamilyFest charity festival and worked with a number of community organisations and businesses to stage a series of successful family event, with all proceeds going to local charities.

Jonathan Brake

Finance Committee from July 2017 to present

Jonathan is a Principal Rolling Stock Consultant at Birmingham’s Mott MacDonald Ltd. – global management, engineering and development consultants. He is also the former Chair of Governors for the ATLP’s Hill West Primary School. He was also a Governor (2005-9) and then Chair of Governors (2009-2013) at the ATLP’s Hill West Primary School.

His projects have included: reviewing the ability of East African railways to be upgraded to handle a potential significant oil traffic; undertaking a study of the ability of Ghana Railways to carry gold ore for a prospective mine; independent checking engineer for monorail trains in Kuala Lumpur; rolling stock and operations lead for the development work for a new heavy haul coal railway in Mozambique; studying a failed introduction of a new train in the Netherlands; engineering manager for the development of a heavy haul freight railway in West Africa.

Richard Gill

Finance Committee from July 2017 to present

Qualifications: BMus, University of Huddersfield; Degree (APEL) University of Roehampton; CfBT, Graduate Teacher Programme; NPQH, National College of School Leadership

A National Leader of Education, Richard is the Teaching Schools Council member for the West Midlands. He also represents Sutton Coldfield on the management board of the Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP).

Richard joined the outstanding Arthur Terry School in 2010 as deputy headteacher, before being appointed joint headteacher in the same year. In 2011 Richard led on the successful application to become one of the first 100 teaching schools in the country.

Before joining Arthur Terry, Richard helped to shape young lives across Staffordshire.
After spending a year at Sir Blessed William Howard School, Richard joined the Friary School, Lichfield, as a teacher of Performing Arts, progressing to head of year and head of alternative curriculum, before devising, coordinating and leading a vocational programme for excluded, disadvantaged and disapplied students.

As assistant headteacher at Chase Terrace Technology College, Richard played a major role in the 14-19 agenda across Staffordshire,

After graduating, Richard worked as a peripatetic music teacher and as a freelance musician, performing in a number of nationally acclaimed brass ensembles, orchestras and professional theatre.
He then became a full time teacher for Staffordshire Music Service, eventually becoming an area manager.

Tim Sewell

Finance Committee from March 2018 to present

Qualifications: BA (Hons) Public Administration, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing

Tim is a Managing Consultant at Sewell & Wood Recruitment & Consultancy. He has extensive experience in governance in the semi-public sector and of operating in the private sector, with a longstanding track record of running multi-million pound turnover and investment organisations. Tim has held many board positions, including Chair of the Birmingham Social Housing Partnership. His professional positions in social housing organisations include 11 years as Chief Executive of the Family Housing Association (Birmingham) and Group Corporate Services Director of the Anglia Housing Group, Norwich. He brings more than 10 years of School Governor experience.

Brian Cookson

Finance Committee from July 2018 to present

Brian has continuously taught in secondary schools since qualifying in 1973. Although qualifying in Humanities, he developed and taught pre-vocational programmes and was a vocational programme assessor. Together with a colleague, he developed, promoted, taught and became Director of what became a nationally acclaimed 16-19 programme known as TOPS for students who otherwise may have left education with few qualifications.

Brian undertook work in research into the development of pre-vocational education at Warwick and Keele Universities. He has maintained this firm interest and recently completed a 6 year period working with the European Commission ET 2020 Group in Brussels with specific remits in Entrepreneurship Education and Transversal Skills.

Brian has a strong trade union background. Following on from local union roles, he has been a member of the NASUWT National Executive for 20 years.
Brian is still a member of the TUC General Council. He was also Lay Auditor, responsible for auditing the work commissioned by the European Commission, for 8 years for the ETUCE representing education trade union members across Europe and based in Brussels.

Brian has been a member of the England and Wales Teachers’ Pension Advisory Board and the Scottish equivalent. He remains a member of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Board. He has also been Chair of Trustees of a private pension scheme since 2009.
He is passionate about education, teaching and working with young people.

Sam Henson

Finance Committee from July 2020 to present

Sam currently works for the National Governance Association, where he oversees NGA’s policy, information and research service, ensuring it adds to the learning of the organisation and best improves the governance of schools, while supporting the chief executive in leading the organisation to achieve positive change in the policy of school governance. He is also the main policy lead for NGA’s work on multi academy trusts and has specialised in MAT governance structures and schemes of delegation since joining NGA in early 2015. His other responsibilities include overseeing the delivery of NGA’s e-newsletter and bi-monthly magazine, ‘Governing Matters’ to NGA members. He is the joint author of the ‘Staying in Control of Your Destiny’ series and has been lead author on NGA’s induction guide ‘Welcome to Governance’ for the last three years, and now ‘Welcome to MATs’.

Sam has worked in school governance for 10 years. Before joining the NGA, he worked for a large multi academy trust with more than 30 schools, leading an in-house governance team, supporting the trust board and it’s academy committees across a national network of academies providing training, advice and guidance. Prior to that, he worked for a local authority and in the financial services sector.