Our Team

Our people are the heartbeat of everything we do.  From teachers and leaders to support staff and governors, each person plays a vital part in shaping lives and building brighter futures. 

 

Members

Members are the guardians of the trust. They make sure the organisation stays true to its purpose, hold the Trustees to account, and appoint new Trustees when required.

Gwen Onyon:  Gwen served as the headteacher of a large comprehensive school in the North West, having previously held a number of senior leadership posts in secondary schools.  She led considerable developments in provision for pupils with SEND, sharing expertise across a number of schools.  She has also served as an Ofsted inspector, regularly inspecting schools in the West Midlands across a range of ages and types of provision.  Gwen is passionate about the education and life chances for young people and always endeavours to put them first. As a Member she always strives to ensure that AET does its very best for the different communities and schools it serves.

Rich Hickin: Rich brings a wealth of experience and dedication to the field of education. With a background spanning various leadership roles, including Partnerships Director at Ark Curriculum Plus (part of the Ark School MAT), he has demonstrated a strong commitment to driving positive change within the education sector. His tenure in business development, client management, and strategic planning roles at organisations including Hodder Education, Energy & Utility Skills, City & Guilds and Pearson Plc has equipped him with valuable insights into the education ecosystem.  He has also served as Parent Governor and Vice Chair of the Governors at Alvechurch CofE Middle School from 2018 to 2023.

Lysandre Notley:  Lysandre is an Academic Registrar of Birmingham Newman University. Her professional experience in this field has given her a wealth of experience in dealing with HR issues, staffing appointments, handling complaints and supporting students and staff during their University experience.  She has also previously served as Foundation Governor of Alvechurch Middle School from 2012 and is experienced in the oversight, challenge and support that is required of those roles.

Guy Shears:  Guy has a wealth of experience within education, spanning headteacher and executive headteacher across a wide range of educational settings from early years to sixth form.  He is currently the founding Chief Executive of Central Region Schools Trust MAT in Birmingham which is a multi-academy trust established by the Royal Society of Arts in 2012. He has a proven track record of driving school improvement leading transformative changes within 13 schools.  His leadership approach focuses on raising standards in challenging areas with a strong commitment to creating a distinctive school culture that promotes social justice. A National Leader of Education and a lead Ofsted inspector, Guy also serves on the Department for Education’s West Midlands Advisory Board and leads a CEO learning group on "Culture at Scale" for the region.

Diocesan Corporate Member:  As Alvechurch Middle School is a Church of England school, the Trust has a Diocesan representative as a Member who ensures the Trust upholds the school's Christian foundation and complies with the Church's governance and education agreements.

Sam Griffiths:  As Sam is the Chair of the Trustees, she automatically holds the role of Member of the Trust as well.  Sam is an experienced board adviser and governance professional, specialising in effective boardroom governance. A qualified accountant (FCCA) and member of the Institute of Directors, Sam holds the IoD Diploma in Company Direction and EcoDa’s Diploma in European Corporate Governance. Sam is also currently pursuing a part-time doctorate at Cranfield University focused on entrepreneurial boards.  Professionally, she supports boards through performance reviews and the development of high-quality annual report content. Beyond this, she contributes to several governance and policy forums both in the UK and internationally. Sam is a strong advocate for collaboration, continuous learning and enjoys working alongside inspirational, purpose driven teams.  She also serves as Trustee and Treasurer of Rebuild East Midlands, a charity supporting victims of modern slavery. 

Board of Trustees

The Trustees are the decision-makers who set the vision, strategy and priorities for the trust. They oversee standards, finances and safeguarding across all schools.

Sam Griffiths, Chair:  Sam is an experienced board adviser and governance professional, specialising in effective boardroom governance. A qualified accountant (FCCA) and member of the Institute of Directors, Sam holds the IoD Diploma in Company Direction and EcoDa’s Diploma in European Corporate Governance. Sam is also currently pursuing a part-time doctorate at Cranfield University focused on entrepreneurial boards.  Professionally, Sam supports boards through performance reviews and the development of high-quality annual report content. Beyond this, she contributes to several governance and policy forums both in the UK and internationally. Sam is a strong advocate for collaboration, continuous learning and enjoys working alongside inspirational, purpose driven teams.  She also serves as Trustee and Treasurer of Rebuild East Midlands, a charity supporting victims of modern slavery. Overall, she brings a strong combination of strategic insight, financial acumen, and governance expertise to the role of Chair.

Kerri Monaghan, Vice-Chair:  Kerri has a degree in Biological Sciences and has been a Police Officer since 2002. During her career she has been on front line response, a Child Protection Detective, a family liaison officer working on high profile murder cases, custody sergeant and response sergeant. Kerri’s latest roles have been Firearms Licensing manager making decisions on behalf of the Chief Constable as to who should be granted firearms and explosives as well as managing the department, staff and budgets. Currently she is the force lead for use of force, stop and search and officer assaults.  Outside of work, Kerri is part of WeCops, the largest social media based space delivering CPD and raising the profile of British Policing across the world.  Kerri has been a School Governor since 2016 and Chair of Governors from Jan-24 to Jul-25. During this time she has dealt with exclusions, appeals, head teacher and deputy recruitment, staff dismissals and an Ofsted inspection.  Kerri is also a Scout leader and qualified Swim England Judge, power boat and marine radio licence holder.  Safeguarding, risk assessment, problem solving and decision making run through all aspects of her life. 

Alison Carter:  Alison has worked in the field of Deaf Education for more than three decades and has been a senior leader for the last 25 years. For more than a decade, she has led a specialist school for the Deaf within the maintained sector, gaining outstanding school status in the school's latest OFSTED Inspection (Nov-22). The school is a founder member of the Birmingham Special Schools Co-operative Trust, which is a highly successful collaboration between 7 maintained foundation special schools in the city.  Alison has also chaired Birmingham Special School Association and Special Forum, which is a group of 27 special school throughout the city.  In addition, she has acted for several years as a regional tutor on the Teacher of the Deaf Masters course at Leeds University.  As an accredited special school improvement partner (SIP), Alison also supports school improvement in special schools as well as facilitating Headteacher Performance Management.  She has chaired the Sign Bilingual Consortium in the past and continues to lead their Curriculum and Assessment Seminar Group.

Tina Davies:  Tina started her professional career with Ernst & Young and holds professional qualifications as both a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor.  Having moved from accounting practice into indusrtry over 20 years ago, she has held a number of roles for multinational engineering groups, both in headquarters and in more operational, divisional roles.  She currently holds the role of Senior Tax Advisor at a British headquartered plc.  Since 2006 she has been involved in several governance roles.  This includes acting as a Trustee of a church for 14 years, including acting as leader to the Finance team.  She has also held numerous responsibilities within the church including leading two different children's groups, being a hosting ream leader as well as working for the church as an Administrator for 3 years.  For the past 6 years she has been Trustee and Treasurer/Head of Finance committee for a charity called Hope at Home which assists victims of Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking.  She has experience of school governance as parent governor then co-opted governor of Meadows First Schools for 5 years, most recently as vice-chair.  She has extensive experience with budgeting and financial reporting, recruitment and performance management, reviewing legal contracts and a range of governance related matters.

David Grange:  David was born in Birmingham and attended Keele university in Staffordshire before working for Ford of Europe in the central IT function at their head office in Brentwood, Essex. The six-monthly placements included varied roles and working throughout Europe.  A new role at AT&T in Redditch meant a move back to the Midlands with involvement in the company’s expansion into supplier communication. David is now working for an international supply chain company, still in IT but focused on business development and commercial management, developing skills such as budget responsibility and managing a diverse team.  Outside of work he has been a Governor at Chadsgrove School for several years, both as a Parent governor and latterly as a Co-opted governor, chairing the premises committee and enjoying being involved with the inspirational pupils and staff.  He has also been involved Jigsaw Players, a local drama group in Bromsgrove helping backstage during productions including the annual pantomime.

Melanie Hawkett:  Melanie is an experienced leadership trainer delivering and designing Institute of Leadership & Management training and approved programmes. She is also an experienced business coaching with a Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative  Level 5 qualification in Business Support.  She also focuses her time supporting SME’s to develop business strategies for sustainable growth and people development through WCC funded growth programmes.  In a voluntary capacity, she is Chair of the Board for Young Enterprise focusing specifically on delivering enterprise in education and connecting businesses to young people.  Melanie is also the founder of the North Worcestershire Business Leaders and Business Awards.

Carli McCallin:  Carli is a qualified teacher and experienced leader specialising in Early Education (0–7) and Special Educational Needs. She began her leadership career as a Head of School in a large maintained nursery school and later in a primary school. Following this she moved into inspection work, gaining experience across the early years and schools sectors in the UK and internationally, including serving as a lead inspector for schools. She now works for a local authority as an Education Advisor.  Carli holds a BA in primary education, NPQ for headship and NPQ executive leadership and a Postgraduate Certificate in SEND (SENDCO Award). She has extensive experience in school improvement, self-evaluation and governance, and is skilled in understanding school’s unique context and driving effective improvement. Her professional interests include curriculum design, inclusion, and the pivotal role of early education has in shaping long-term outcomes.  Carli has served as both a co-opted governor, staff governor and more recently as a parent governor

Executive Leadership Team

The Executive Leadership Team provides professional expertise and day-to-day leadership. They support schools with finance, governance, operations and compliance, so that headteachers can focus on children and young people. 

Deb Rattley, CEO:  Deb has 38 years’ experience in the special, mainstream and outreach education sectors working across the 2-25 age range. She was appointed CEO for Aequalis Education Trust in September 2025. Prior to this she was Headteacher at Chadsgrove School for 16 years (2009-2025) in which time the school was graded outstanding by Ofsted on 4 consecutive inspections. She is also Principal of Chadsgrove Specialist College (since 2016) which was graded outstanding by Ofsted in addition to leading a highly successful School to School Support Service and Pathways provision for young children aged 7-16 who are experiencing Emotional Based School Avoidance. The Service is also responsible for delivering the Physical Disability Outreach Support on behalf of Worcestershire Local Authority.  Deb is a National Leader of Education, led a successful National Teaching School and provides school improvement advice to other schools, and is part of the School Improvement Partner (SIP) Network. She was previously Chair of the Heads of Special Schools Association in Worcestershire for 10 years.  Deb has gained a Master’s Degree in Education Management (MEd), National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL), which alongside her significant experience working in the maintained and independent sectors, both day and residential schools, has been a strong foundation for extended roles such as associate university lecturer and educationalist trainer. She frequently delivers training for both trainee teachers and teachers undertaking continuing professional development, including leading NPQH training across Worcestershire for 3 years. Deb also leads Chadsgrove’s partnership with the University of Birmingham, delivering a bespoke school-based Teacher Training programme (PGCE) for Special 

Jacequeline Pitt, CFO:

David Snell, Deputy CEO and HT to Alvechurch CoE Middle School:

 

Academy Leadership Team

The Academy Leadership Team comprise the CEO, CFO and Deputy CEO together with the Headteachers from each of the schools.

David Snell, Headteacher of Alvechurch CoE Middle School (see profile above).

Bec Gayden, Headteacher of Chadsgrove School & College

Scott Smith, Headteacher of Fairfield First School

Scott is the Headteacher of a proud village school nestled on the outskirts of Bromsgrove, committed to leveraging its beautiful natural surroundings to enrich the curriculum and instil an appreciation for the local area.  As a leader, Scott is dedicated to cultivating a safe, secure and stimulating environment where every child can flourish across all dimensions:  academically, emotionally, socially, physically and creatively.  He leads a committed and dedicated staff team to maintain high standards.  Under Scott's guidance, the school is known for its caring reputation, strong achievements and a culture that values excellent behaviour and good manners, underpinned by high expectations for all.  His philosophy centres on the children believing that that they achieve their best because they are highly valued.  Scott is passionately focusing on providing balanced learning opportunities to help children grow into confident, successful, independent and responsible people.  Crucially, he places immense value on strong home-school links, recognising the vital role that parents play in education.  He champions a partnership built on mutual trust and understanding, ensuring clear and open communications through various channels.  Scott's ultimate goal for the children, achieved in partnership with the community is encapsulated by the school's mantra of, "Aim high, work hard, have fun and care for others".

 

Leigh Satchwell, Headteacher of Meadows Nursery & First School

Leigh brings over 27 years of experience in primary education, working across a range of mainstream settings to support children’s academic and personal development. For the past 12 years, he has served as a Headteacher and joined Meadows First School in January 2024. Since then, Leigh has worked hard towards maintaining high standards of teaching and learning, with a strong emphasis on inclusion and safeguarding. The school retained its Outstanding Ofsted rating in February 2025.  Leigh holds a BA (Hons) in Geography, a PGCE in Education and the NPQH, alongside additional professional development in curriculum innovation and whole-school leadership.  A firm advocate for collaboration, Leigh has worked extensively to strengthen partnerships between schools. He currently serves as Chair of The Bromsgrove Learning Network, Vice Chair of the Worcestershire Primary Partnership and regularly represents schools at Worcestershire County Council Education Committee meetings.  He remains passionate about fostering peer-to-peer networks that drive school improvement and share best practice.  At the heart of Leigh’s educational philosophy is the belief that every child deserves an inclusive, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they feel safe, valued and empowered to succeed. He is committed to promoting equality and ensuring that all pupils, irrespective of background or ability, have access to high-quality education.

 

Alison Paisley, Headteacher of Stoke Prior First School

Local Academy Governing Board

The Local Academy Governing Boards focus on the needs of their individual schools.  They know their communities well and they work with their Headteacher to support pupils, families and staff.  Chadsgrove College have a Board of Directors who carry out a similar role to Governors.

Alvechurch Middle School

Chair of Governors:  Louise Wilde

Vice-Chair of Governors:  Andy Holmes

Staff Governor:  Dan Pattison

Co-opted Governors:  Annette Delaney, Tony Wallis, Louise Wilde, Shirley Webb

Diocesan Governors:  Gail Rogers; Susan Watkins

Parent Governors: Ameta Bandhan; Andy Holmes; Gayle Stilwell

 

Chadsgrove School

Chair of Governors:  Julia Boonnak

Vice-Chair of Governors:  Lorraine Petersen

Staff Governor:  Rebecca Sabel

Co-opted Governors:  Julia Boonnak, Lorraine Petersen, Shirley Webb

Parent Governors: Richard Bates; Danielle Keating; Octavian Radalescu

 

Chadsgrove College

Chair of Directors:  Lauren Hill

Directors:  Roger Gill-Russell; Pete Sugg; Rachael Gardener

 

Fairfield First School

Chair of Governors:  Lynn Ball

Vice-Chair of Governors:  Neil Edwards

Staff Governor:  Sarah Hadley

Co-opted Governors:  Lynn Ball, Neil Edwards, Claire Wing, Shirley Webb

Parent Governors: Richard Brooks; Alex Storey

 

Meadows First School

Chair of Governors:  Georgina Chancellor

Vice-Chair of Governors:  Neil Edwards

Staff Governor:  Sarah Hadley

Co-opted Governors:  Lynn Ball, Neil Edwards, Claire Wing, Shirley Webb

Parent Governors: Richard Brooks; Alex Storey

 

Stoke Prior First School

Chair of Governors:  Sophie Basche

Vice-Chair of Governors:  Helen Hulse

Staff Governor:  Tom Gregory

Co-opted Governors:  Helen Hulse, Rob Hunter, Rebecca Sabel

Parent Governors: Sophie Basche, Melissa Reiner