Our People

John has worked in Lancashire schools for 32 years, joining the trust as CEO in April 2021. He was Headteacher and then Executive Headteacher at Bowland High, near Clitheroe from 2012 until 2021. The school was judged to be outstanding in all areas following the most recent Ofsted inspection at the end of 2016. Subsequently, John helped form a multi-academy trust, Achievement through Collaboration, serving as Deputy CEO,

From 2018, he worked at the request of the Local Authority, to support schools in challenging circumstances; Most recently, supporting Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School at a time when that school was forced to relocate on a temporary basis to Burnley from Oswaldtwistle.

Alan joined the trust as CFO in January 2024. He trained as an accountant with Ulster Bank in Dublin before moving into the education sector when he joined the Learning and Skills Council over 20 years ago. He was Deputy Director of Finance at Blackpool and The Fylde College, before moving into the academy sector as CFO at Abraham Guest Academy, Cidari Multi Academy Trust, and Birchwood Community Academy Trust. He has worked as a School Resource Management Advisor (SRMA) and as a CFO Mentor.

Sarah is the Financial Controller for the trust.  She is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience, working within a wide range of businesses. Sarah joined the trust in April 2025 and this is her first role working within the education sector.  Sarah has been a local councillor and was a school governor for eight years, where she gained an understanding of the need to influence the strategic direction of the school.

Cassie has worked at South Craven School for the last 23 years, initially starting on reception as a temporary member of staff following university and travelling. Cassie moved into a permanent role in Finance soon after and has been Finance Officer since 2007. During her time at South Craven she has successfully completed the ASCL Certificate in School Business Management and assisted with the conversion of South Craven School to a Trust during 2011. Cassie is excited to be taking on her new role as School Business Partner within the Trust Central Team.

Helen brings over 28 years of experience across Business, Finance and Estate Management, with the last 16 years dedicated to the education sector. She has been an integral part of the Trust’s journey since 2009, beginning her career at Blacko Primary School as Bursar. In 2017, Helen was appointed Trust Business Manager, playing a key role in the formation and development of the Multi-Academy Trust. Since 2018, she has served in a number of strategic central roles, including Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development.

In April 2025, Helen took on the role of Head of Estates and Facilities, where she leads the strategic development and management of the Trust’s estate. Her passion for estates and premises management is rooted in her early career in the construction industry, which began when she was 22 and provided her with a strong foundation of practical and technical knowledge.

Helen holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies and completed the Level 7 Diploma in School Financial and Operational Leadership in 2020, further enhancing her leadership and operational expertise.

A committed member of the school community, both of Helen’s children attended Trust schools—Blacko Primary and Park High School—and she served as a Governor at Blacko for over 12 years.

Peter started at South Craven 19 years ago whilst completing his final year studying for a BSc in Computer Science at Bradford University. Prior to this he spent 12 months on placement at Castle Hall School with a fellow computing student, discovering on day 1 that the IT Manager was leaving that week, and they were the new IT Team! Peter recognises that, with hindsight, being thrown in the deep end was the best start to his career and enabled him to progress to Network Manager 4 years later. Peter loves working alongside colleagues in other teams to ensure they have the right ICT tools for the job, streamlining processes to ultimately save everyone time and effort. He is currently finalising a 3-year network project to enable South Craven to achieve Cyber Essentials accreditation and looks forward to working with ICT colleagues to align and integrate solutions together across the Trust.

Alex has been working in educational ICT in the Northwest for over 20 years and has experience in both primary and secondary settings. In his most recent post as Trust ICT Manager, Alex led and implemented the roll-out of Microsoft 365 across all schools. Working alongside the quality of education team, this new technology has ensured quality first teaching and improved provision for students. Alex played a pivotal role in the centralisation of ICT within the Trust, providing strategic oversight and leadership.

Paul joined the Trust in August 2020. Following a career change in the early 90s, he started working in an IT support role in a local school. Since then, he has continued to work in the education sector and in that time has held several different IT related positions across a number of different schools, both primary and secondary.

Lucy joined the Trust in 2022 as an ICT apprentice. After successfully completing her apprenticeship with a distinction, she progressed to a full-time role within the ICT team. Based primarily at Park High School, Lucy provides responsive and effective support to both staff and students, ensuring day-to-day IT operations run smoothly and efficiently

Katie has 19 years’ experience in education, remaining committed to improving outcomes for children across East Lancashire and beyond since joining the teaching profession in 2004. Based on site at Park High, Katie has extensive experience in all aspects of School Leadership ranging from pastoral care and safeguarding to quality of education and staff development. As part of the Central Team, Katie’s role centres around the development of links and partnerships; working in collaboration with other schools, Trusts and Training Hubs to enhance quality of provision across Pennine Trust as it continues to grow and support staff and student development across the Northwest. Katie is a Lead Associate for Star Institute for both the ECF and NPQ programmes, overseeing both the implementation, delivery and quality assurance of the programmes across Lancashire. In addition, Katie sits on the Quality and Management Board of the Star Institute’s outstanding initial teacher training programme (SCITT) supporting the development and quality assurance of training programmes for new professionals as they lay the foundations for a successful career in the profession.

Helen oversees all aspects of Governance, complaints, GDPR and policies. Helen has responsibility for ensuring governance across the Trust is effective and compliant with statutory responsibilities. Helen has over 10 years’ experience in Governance and over 20 years’ experience in education and training.  Prior to joining the Trust, Helen worked for a large multi academy Trust which she had been part of since before its formation.  She has a track record of developing effective systems and leading/managing change in Governance.  Helen is also a Governor at a local primary school.  Helen’s main aim is to make the best use of Governor’s and Trustee’s time as volunteers to allow them to support the trust’s vision and priorities in our schools.

Karen is the Head of HR and Payroll for Apex Collaborative Trust. She was instrumental in the formulation of the Trust from 2016.  Karen has worked in education for sixteen years, beginning her career within the admin management function at Park High School. When Karen joined the central trust team, as well as working full time, she completed a HR degree with the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.  Karen is committed integrating HR systems and processes which  support leadership and management within the schools whilst ensuring a Trust wide culture that promotes wellbeing. In her spare time, Karen enjoys visiting historical sites the length and breadth of the UK and is passionate about how fitness, exercise and diet can support mental health and wellbeing.  As a long-time resident of Colne, Karen herself attended Lord Street and Park High, as did her two sons.

I initially started work at South Craven School as an Administrative Assistant back in 2002; however, I was quickly able to secure the Headteacher’s PA/Clerk to the Governing Body position to eventually become the Director of HR/Governance Professional/Staff Welfare Officer and member of the senior leadership team in 2011 when we became a single academy trust. This involves leading the whole school support staff team and working directly with the Headteacher. 

Saima is the Administrator for the Trust.  She has over 20 years’ experience, working within administration roles.  Saima worked for the NHS for 20 years then joined the trust in September 2023 at Laneshaw Bridge Primary school in the school office where her children attended school.   This was her first role working within the education sector and she quickly moved onto the Trust as the Central Team Administrator to help with in year admissions, Policy Management and other administration duties. 

Saima hopes to further develop herself and gain experience in HR and Payroll to further support staff within the Central Team.

Kate has worked in education for fourteen years, having joined Blacko Primary as an NQT in 2008 following the completion of a BA Honours Degree in Geography including QTS.  Kate is passionate about supporting all pupils to achieve and has expertise in special educational needs. A secondment at the request of the local authority to a school in special measures provided Kate with experience of demonstrating impact in a challenging context. Kate was appointed headteacher of Blacko in 2018. She has been instrumental in leading on the development and design of the primary curriculum across the Trust whilst continuing to ensure the pupils at Blacko benefit from a broad, rich, and experiential education. Outside of school, her own two children and a small holding consisting of horses, chickens and sheep further demonstrates her capacity to multitask!

Cathy has an abundance of experience gathered over 22 years in both curriculum and pastoral leadership. She has worked in a number of secondary schools in the Northwest – within Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen.  Her previous roles include Teacher of Science, Second in Science, Head of Year and Acting Head of Science, at her first two schools. She then took on the role of Head of Science together with the responsibility of Teaching and Learning Co-ordinator at a secondary school in Pendle. In 2012 Cathy secured a position at Park High School in Colne as Assistant Headteacher. Cathy then went on to be Deputy Headteacher before then becoming Headteacher in January 2020 after the school became part of the Pennine Trust Multi Academy Trust (MAT). Cathy gained her BSC (Hons) Degree at Sheffield University and went on to achieve her Post Graduate PGCE (Biology) at Lancaster University, St Martin’s College.

It is clear to see that Cathy’s ambition and drive in inspiring and giving opportunity to all her students, staff and colleagues, is extremely important to her. She is a well-respected and determined individual, who is passionate about developing adults, so that the children of the Northwest can be the best that they can be.

Gaynor spent much of her time growing up playing in orchestra’s. Having studied music at Leeds University she went on to teacher training college before taking up a post in 1995 Laneshaw Bridge Primary School. Her career as a teacher at Laneshaw Bridge has taken her to America and India on various exchanges visiting schools and delivering CPD. Gaynor’s passion is early years and early childhood development, but her career has given her experience throughout Primary.

Gaynor has seen Laneshaw Bridge go from strength to strength which has included moving to a new school building. Her ambition is for Laneshaw Bridge to provide educational provision from Nursery through to KS2 embedding the excellence of the school from the first steps a child takes.

Hayley is Headteacher of Lord Street, our two-form entry Primary school. She has over 15 years’ experience working in a variety of educational settings, including alternative provision, SEMH and mainstream schools.  Hayley has a real passion for shaping the lives of children and helping them overcome barriers to learning.

Hayley draws on her wealth of experience of working in multi-agency partnerships to impact positively on the lives of pupils in her care.  She brings to the executive team a wealth of expertise in behaviour, culture, personal development and PSHE.

Hayley holds a first-class Bachelor of Honours degree in Education and Professional Studies and has successfully completed National Professional Qualification for Headship.

Martyn Hill has been the Headteacher at South Craven School for the last seven years.

He started my career as a teacher of German and French at Temple High School in Leeds after completing a BA degree in German and PGCE qualification at the University of Leeds.

Martyn moved to South Craven to be Head of German in 1999 and has been at the school ever since. He was Head of Year for five years before becoming an Assistant Headteacher leading on pastoral care and behaviour, Deputy Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead before being appointed as Headteacher in April 2018.

It’s been a privilege for Martyn to lead such a fantastic school and he feels very lucky to have a job in such a vibrant comprehensive school where we all work as a team to give our students the best chances of success in their lives. Martyn is looking forward to leading South Craven into the merger with Apex Collaborative Trust and all the opportunities this will bring.