Members & Directors
at John Taylor Multi Academy Trust
Members (5)
The Members collectively appoint directors to the Board (see below), hold the Annual General Meeting, and approve the appointment of auditors.
Colin Hopkins MBE
Colin is Chair of the John Taylor MAT. Colin works as a freelance education consultant and is about to begin a project for Warwick University. Between 2006-18, he was Director of Education for Lichfield Diocese. From 2019-22 he worked for the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) as Executive Director of RSA Academies, an ‘umbrella’ trust that oversaw several RSA-sponsored academies in the West Midlands. Colin has been a Director of St Bart’s MAT (19 primary academies in Stoke/N Staffs/Cheshire East/Shropshire) since 2013 and chairs its People and Practice Committee. He has previously held governance roles in several MATs and maintained schools including Interim Executive Boards. He has two children at JTHS. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Chartered College of Teaching and was appointed MBE in 2018 for services to education.
The Diocese of Lichfield Educational Trust Ltd
The Diocese of Lichfield Educational Trust Ltd is a unique and forward thinking strategic partnership which brings together the Dioceses of Birmingham and Lichfield and the University of Wolverhampton.
The partners believe that our alliance will significantly enhance the provision of education in the respective dioceses by delivering a robust approach to high quality school improvement. A key aim is to provide services which will enable all Church schools to be good schools, where children can be offered the richness of experience that the Christian tradition supports.
The Diocese of Lichfield Educational Trust Ltd will adopt a proactive approach to extending educational opportunities for pupils, staff and governors across the Midlands region.
Dr Sharon Inglis
Sharon is a Senior Lecturer at Staffordshire University where she teaches and supervises MA and doctoral students in Education. She is also a governor at Church Gresley Nursery and Infants School. Prior to this, Sharon worked for 14 years in post-16 further education, teaching A-level, BTEC National and HE in FE provision.
Julia Jessel
I am retired from full-time employment but have been a Staffordshire County Councillor (SCC) for Needwood Division for the past 3 years. I have two adult sons, both of whom had the benefit of an excellent education at John Taylor High School, Barton under Needwood. With my links to the John Taylor (MAT) through being a local councillor and a former parent, I have always kept an interest in the progress of the schools and have been extremely proud of their achievements.
My working career has been in both public and private sectors, the last 15 years at senior manager and board levels. Over the years I have gained experience in strategic planning, project and change management as well as financial planning.
I have been a councillor at District, Borough and County levels in Staffordshire for nearly forty years and for most of that time, held positions of responsibility. My current position at SCC is that of Chairman of Planning and Countryside Rights of Way Panel, both of which are quasi-judicial committees. Over these years I have acquired new knowledge and experience and continue to do so. In recent times I have been Chairman of Central Rivers Initiative, which is a partnership Board of quarrying companies, public sector bodies, landowners and Wildlife Trusts. The joint work of this organisation led to the successful bid for £2.4 million investment for the Transforming the Trent Valley Project. I am currently a trustee of the Yoxall Town Land Trust and in the past, I have been a trustee of the William Key Trust, both of which operate locally. My earlier experience includes being a Justice of the Peace, General Commissioner of Tax, Member of Keele University Court and Council and Chairman of “Women Learning for Life” at Staffordshire University.
Gareth Moss
Gareth was appointed as a NLG in 2013.
Gareth is the Finance Director at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and is a Non Executive Director at Worcestershire Children First. Gareth has been previously a director with an international services company and led their Employment, Skills & Enterprise business and before then their Local Government work.
Prior to this Gareth, was finance director in local government and in 2010 awarded Local Government Finance Director of the Year. In his spare time he is an active sportsman, particularly distance running.
Trust Directors
The Directors corporately set the strategic direction of the Trust and holds it executives to account. They ratify all appointments and elections to School Local Governing Bodies.
Richard Anderson
Computing and STEM Educational consultant, trainer and teacher working across both primary and secondary phases.. Has previously worked as a secondary science (biology) teacher, local authority computing / ed-tech consultant, and as media lead for a regional National Lottery Community Fund youth mental health initiative. Richard has extensive experience of local school governance, including 5 years as Chair of Governors at Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School.
Mike Donoghue (Chief Executive Officer)
Appointed Headteacher at John Taylor High School in January 2010. Designated a National Leader of Education in March 2013. Oversaw the first change to ‘converter’ academy status of an ‘outstanding’ school in Staffordshire in November 2010. Worked towards John Taylor’s designation as a National Teaching School, again one of the first in Staffordshire.
Elected member of the Regional School Commissioner’s Headteacher Board for the West Midlands from September 2014 re-elected in September 2017. Mike was elected to the Secondary Headteacher Reference Group in 2017 and is Chair of the Staffordshire & Stoke Teaching School Council sub-Regional Board. He sits on the WM RSC’s CEO roundtable for the North Sub-Region.
Gary Evans
Gary has spent the last 7 years managing Commercial and Operational activity for non-automotive clients within a Global BPO Automotive Consultancy. Prior to this Gary spent 10 years working for Construction and Agricultural companies in product, marketing and sales management roles.
Having lived locally for the majority of Adult life Gary has 4 children at various stages in one of the JTMAT schools.
Paul Freeman
Paul is a retired Chartered Accountant having worked for an international accounting firm in both the UK and Canada and then in various senior finance roles in the hospitality and leisure sector. He is also a governor at Paulet High School & Sixth Form College.
Colin Hopkins – Chair (Member see above)
Tim Hopkins (Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Achievement and Progress Committee)
Tim Hopkins is the Teaching and Learning Development Manager for a local childcare company consisting of 2 outstanding full day nursery provisions, 7 Good out of School care provisions and 3 Holiday Care Schemes for the last 6 years in which time the company’s portfolio has gained and retained the above Ofsted judgements. Tim is a qualified teacher (QTS) with Early Years and English Specialism with a wealth of experience working in both maintained and independent schools across all key stages from Early Years to Key Stage 3.
Tim has experience as a freelance Early Years Consultant specialising in compliance, management of Ofsted Inspections and curriculum building, is a Level 4 Safeguarding trainer and SENCO for his current employer and is studying for a Masters in Early Childhood Studies with particular interest in sleep patterns of infants, pedagogy and new technologies and leadership and management in education.
Tim is a Governor of Thomas Russell Infants School. Tim is the Treasurer for the Staffordshire regional NDNA network and an active member of NEYTCO (National Early Years Trainers and Consultants).
Amanda Lee
Amanda is Chair of the JTMAT Audit and Compliance Committee and former Governor of John Taylor High School (2012-2020), where she chaired the Learning and Standards Committee . Currently employed as a Senior Lecturer in Business & Management at the University of Derby, within the discipline areas of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Organisational Behaviour (OB). Amanda has been a member of the Derby Business School Research Ethics Committee since 2018. Previously employed as a Senior Lecturer in HRM at Coventry University (2008-2017).
Amanda is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (FCIPD) and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Amanda holds a voluntary academic leadership role as Co-Chair of the British Academy of Management (BAM) Research Methodology Special Interest Group.
Prior to a career in academia, Amanda worked for many years as an HRM professional in the NHS, construction and retail sectors.
Claire Sanders
Claire has 18 years’ experience as a HR Professional within the NHS, most recently as a Programme Director leading a significant HR Transformation programme for University Hospitals of Derby and Burton.
Having worked previously as the Head of Workforce. She has a wealth of experience in all aspects of Human Resource Management.
Claire has a masters in Human Resource Management, a Post Graduate Certificate in Strategy Workforce Planning and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Claire has been a school Governor for 12 years and is Vice Chair of the LGB at John Taylor High School a role that she thoroughly enjoys. Claire is also a parent governor at Repton Primary School. She is married and the proud mother of two boys.
Selena Tye
Selena is a focused Interim Resource Professional with 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector who is an Associate Director of a national resource consultancy.
She has developed excellent communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrating the ability to work effectively as an individual, in relationship management roles and as a team member, and held Account Management roles within global financial services firms in the last 20 years.
Through these roles she has developed an extensive practical knowledge of working at senior and board levels advising on regulatory matters and supporting them with interim resource and consultancy.
Her experience has required her to be objective and clear thinking, maintaining a focus on the strategic objective as well as an eye for detail.
Selena has been a committed Governor and Chair of the Forest Family LGB for the last 10 years, overseeing the federation of two schools, moving in to the JTMAT and recruitment of deputy head and head teacher. Selena a married mother of three and grandmother who lives in the Burton-upon-Trent area. Her two youngest children attend John Taylor Free School.