Members and Trustees

Trustees

 

Jonathan Hopkins (Chair)	Jonathan has long-established networks across education and public affairs on children, young people and families; previously Principal Officer of a teaching union and board director of communications companies; with nearly 20 years of school and academy governance and the National College leadership development programme, and Oxfordshire County Council's Schools Organisation and Admissions stakeholder group. Jonathan brings skills in leadership and governance in schools and charities to the Trust, alongside his expertise in comms and PR from his ‘day job’.
Lynn Fathers	Lynn is the Vice Chair of the Trust Board and the Board’s lead for Safeguarding. Lynn has over 20 years’ experience in school governance in the academy and maintained school sectors.  A qualified teacher, School Business Manager and accredited clerk Lynn worked previously in full time and part time teaching and administrative roles before serving in a variety of roles with Oxfordshire County Council and working as a consultant following retirement, developing and providing governing body training and governance reviews. Lynn brings a substantial knowledge of education, compliance and governance.
Ian Behling	Ian returns as trustee from January 2024; after a year since leaving the board due to starting a new job.  Ian will provide primary governance experience, is a former long serving chair of a local primary school and the lead governor for primaries in the Abingdon Partnership of Schools.  Ian is also link trustee on Net Zero, linking with his professional work.
James Browning	James has strong business and leadership skills and is currently the COO of Lift Schools, one of the largest multi-academy trusts. He has a deep understanding of how to maximise resources to enable teachers and school staff to have the greatest positive impact on pupils. In addition to his executive role, James is Deputy Chair of Governors at Ridgeway Primary School and a Trustee of Sikh Academies Trust, bringing governance expertise and a strategic perspective on education leadership.
Dr Grace Clifton	Grace is Associate Head of the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport at the Open University and brings this expertise to the Trust as well as her recent experience as a local Abingdon Town Councillor. She has served as a primary governor in a local church school.
Heather Darcy	Heather is an experienced Senior Leader and teacher. She is currently Assistant Head at St Helen and St Katharine, responsible for Higher Education, Careers, Alumnae and Partnerships. She is a 2010 Teach First Ambassador, having completed the Leadership Development course in the West Midlands, who then went on to work as a Head of Sixth Form and Higher Education in both the state and independent sector for 11 years. She brings her professional scrutiny and analytical skills to the Trust Board having worked in a wide range of schools from very challenging maintained to the independent sector.
Steve Fisher	Steve is an education leader with a proven track record of school improvement, both at secondary and primary level, and currently Executive Headteacher of a SAT in the northwest. He has over a decade of improving schools behind him and brings a wealth of expertise and skills to the Board providing knowledgeable challenge and support to the Trust executive and schools. He has designed and implemented curriculum and staffing models that significantly improved school finances and improved outcomes. He received the NPQEL in the first cohort, and has prior experience of designing and leading on leadership training programme for one of the country’s largest MATs.
Jo Milsom	Jo is Vice Principal at Abingdon and Witney College. After an early career in the financial sector, she began working in the childcare and early years sector initially but moved through the age groups until starting in the Further Education (FE) sector more than 10 years ago. Jo has experience and expertise in Student Services, Learner Support and Foundation Learning, safeguarding and SEND. She brings deep knowledge of corporate HR and SEND and disadvantaged students to the Board.
Michael Nga	Michael has a long and varied legal career, having qualified in both England and Wales, Malaysia and New South Wales, Australia. He is presently the Head of Legal for UK and Ireland at BMC Software Ltd (since 2016) and has also been the senior legal advisor at Oxford University Press, as well as working as a solicitor in the UK and Malaysia. James Browning James has strong business and leadership skills, and currently is COO of AET, a very large multi-academy trust. He brings an in depth understanding of how to leverage resources to ensure teachers and school staff can have the biggest positive impact for their pupils.
Terry Watts	An effective, high integrity leader with extensive board level (including CEO) experience in building businesses, from start-up to SME and multinational, multisite businesses in the private and not for profit sector. Terry has a track record of delivering transformational change at pace by winning the trust and support of people at all levels in the team/board. Driven by the desire to make a sustained and valuable impact and create commercially sustainable, growing organisations.
Dan Young	Dan brings expertise in marketing to the Board. As Senior Brand manager with Miele GB, Dan brings a perspective that is commercially driven, with experience in marketing, team leadership, commercial management, and propositions development across industries including education, retail, cyber security and technology.
Julian Thrussell	Associate Trustee (sits on the Compliance committee) Julian provides advice and expertise in IT security and business continuity standards.

Jane Johnson

Head of Governance Jane joined the Abingdon Learning Trust in April 2024 and supports governance across several Academy Trusts and Schools in the Oxfordshire County. Following completion of a degree in Economics, Spanish and German at Northumbria University she went on to work in international academic library supply, for Blackwell’s Library Services and later as Managing Director of Dawson Books, part of the Bertram Group - one of the pioneering companies at the time in eBook solutions for academic libraries. Following a change of career in 2018 she retrained as a Languages Teacher and worked part-time as a Clerk. This brought about opportunities in wider trust governance where she continues to develop her skills further and work full-time. She also has prior governance experience at a local school and as a trustee of a company pension scheme.

Debbie Brooks

Deputy Head of Governance As a former primary phase teacher for fifteen years with leadership experience, and with an understanding of both the independent and state education sectors, Debbie brings her knowledge of the phase and governance to the role of clerk to Rush Common School, and the Trust Board’s Education Standards Committee.