Matthew is a partner within the Education Team at Veale Wasbrough Vizards. An education specialist lawyer recognised nationally for his Academies expertise, Matthew has advised academy trusts and school governors through numerous government education schemes since 2008, supporting them to embrace change. His particular speciality is working with multi-academy trusts, helping them grow and improve, and he has a number of high-profile clients throughout the country. He speaks frequently at local and national events and is a regular contributor to the Times Educational Supplement.

Scott had a long and varied main career with the civil service, with a range of jobs including operational management, HR strategy, skills and workforce management, along with programme, project and change management in a number of challenging scenarios.  Scott has a wide range of qualifications from MBA to NLP practitioner.  He is a Chartered Manager, Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and a Fellow of  the Royal Society for the Arts. Scott is Vice Chair of a large secondary academy and a co-opted member of an FE College Board.

After university, Neil completed a PGCE and taught for a couple of years before embarking on a 32 year IT career. This encompassed many roles over the years,  including a strong emphasis on data and change management.

Neil has for many years coached sport to children; initially this was at a local rugby club, but since retirement in school voluntarily; more recently he has also coached for Hockey Fever on a professional basis.

Neil became a governor at a large local secondary school in 2003 and then in 2006 Chair of the board for 12 years, during which time the school converted to an Academy. Last year Neil stood down as a Trustee there but remains a Corporate Member

Jo is an Owner, Deputy Managing Partner and Head of Property Services at BPE Solicitors LLP.

Jo has the day to day management of the largest division in the firm as well as being Training Principle in charge of the training programme of the Trainees with the firm in addition to her wider duties which are firm-wide.

Jo’s legal specialisms over and above the standard commercial property work is within the healthcare sector and in particular GP super surgery developments and the finance for such schemes.

Jo works for a number of the firms biggest clients and has been involved in several Gloucestershire based super surgery developments.

Dame Janet Trotter OBE DBE CVO

Janet began her working life as a teacher and then lectured in a range of higher education colleges.  She was founding Vice Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire.  Dame Janet has held a number of posts within the NHS, including Regional Chair (1996-2000) and Chair of the Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation Trust (2002-2010).

She was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire by The Queen in 2010, a role she relinquished in 2018.  She is now Chair of the Nelson Trust and a Governor of the Barnwood Trust.  Dame Janet received an OBE in 1991, a DBE ten years later and a CVO in 2018.

Appointed – 1st January 2023

I am privileged to be Chief Executive of the SAND Academies Trust.  This is an incredible organisation, providing exceptional education for young people in Gloucestershire. Working in the Charitable sector for over twelve years I have extensive experience of delivering tangible outcomes in challenging circumstances, ensuring our beneficiaries and teams are at the heart of everything we do.

Previously Chief Executive of a leading Charity in the Care sector, with a thorough understanding of strategic planning, developing fundraising  programmes and bringing in new sources of income, charity accounting and liaising with Public and Government funding sources.

Appointed – 22nd April 2019

Appointed for a further term – 21st April 2023

David has worked in the voluntary sector for over 35 years, both overseas and in the UK. This has involved Director level and Chief Executive appointments with a number of national disability charities.

David has recently retired as the Chief Executive at National Star, a national charity working with and for young people with complex disabilities. He had held this position since 2010, during which time the charity gained ‘Outstanding’ awards from both Ofsted and CQC for the services offered. He also oversaw an increase in the scale of the charity’s service delivery from £14million p.a. to £35million p.a.

David has held a number of non-executive roles during his career in the voluntary sector, including most recently as a Trustee of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG), the umbrella group for disability charities across the UK.

Appointed – 22nd April 2019

Appointed for a further term – 21st April 2023

Antonia has been a barrister for over 22 years, practising for a number of years in London at criminal bar and undertaking civil litigation and immigration tribunal work before joining the Criminal Cases Review Commission to review suspected miscarriages of justice.

Antonia founded Carter Noble Independent Safeguarding in 2013 is to make expert knowledge and experience more user-friendly and available to everyone. Carter Noble protects organisations and people with support, advice and training including and in particular, data privacy and GDPR.

Appointed – 8th August 2022

Appointed – 2nd November 2022

Coral graduated in Law in 2013 and has since gone on to a career as a qualified solicitor at Harrison Clark Rickerbys. She specialises in Education law, and helps to support schools through academy conversions, MAT expansions and academy transfers.

She also has experience in managing the issues and concerns which academy trusts face on a daily basis, from behaviour issues to parental complaints and exclusions, and the particular challenges which special schools face.

Coral also has experience and understanding of key trust documents, such as the Funding Agreement and Articles of Association.

Appointed – 7th December 2022

Sarah is a Partner with St James’s Place Wealth Management, having gained her Diploma in Financial Planning in 2018. She has over 30 years’ experience in the Transport and Haulage Industries and has built up a wealth of knowledge, not just as a Business owner but as a trusted Financial Advisor to deliver exceptional outcomes for people.

Having worked within a family haulage and construction business for over 20 years, as well as gaining more than 10 years’ experience with truck manufacturers Volvo, DAF and Iveco, Sarah understands how important building relationships are. She is known for ‘doing the right thing’ by her clients, going beyond the transaction of the business and doing whatever it takes to maintain and exceed clients’ expectations. Sarah has always loved helping people, whether that is family, friends, colleagues, clients, associates and has always been reliable, loyal, a confidante, the one that people trust to get things done.

She is also accredited through St James’s Place Wealth Management to deliver financial education, something she is passionate about and believes everyone should have access to financial advice.

Appointed – 7th December 2022

Lewis is a highly experienced ITIL 4 and Microsoft Certified, IT, digital governance and compliance professional. With over 11 years of experience working at operational and strategic leadership levels, he has worked with a number of both public sector and non-profit organisations to develop, deliver and drive a clear, concise and successful strategy and vision for digital, data and technology and understands how critical technology and cyber-security are to the success of our trust. Lewis currently works as the Head of IT for midsized non-profit organisation and also offers consultancy services freelance through his limited company.

Lewis has held a number of different governance roles during his career to date. Starting as a governor at Bettridge School between 2015 and 2017, he then went on to be the vice-chair of governors at Belmont School between 2019 and 2020, during which time he led the school through it’s due-diligence process as it worked towards joining SAND Academies Trust. Upon joining the trust in 2020, Lewis returned to Belmont as the Chair of the Local Advisory Board until becoming a trustee of the SAND Academies Trust in late 2022.

When he’s not working in IT, Lewis enjoys property development and is currently working through his first project. Music is also a huge part of his life, as an accomplished musician he plays the guitar and piano, and can be occasionally found playing live within the local community.

Appointed – 7th December 2022

Alan trained as a music teacher and was then Head of Department at two different schools before being appointed Deputy Head and subsequently Headteacher at first Dunston Comprehensive in Gateshead for 5 years and then Chosen Hill School in Churchdown for 14 years.

On retirement, Alan worked as an area leader for a government initiative called Fast Track whose emphasis was on developing the skills and confidence in young teachers to assume leadership positions early in their careers.

During his tenure at Chosen Hill there was a steady improvement in both GCSE and A level results, a successful application to achieve Technology College status, two outstanding OFSTED reports and a thriving and vibrant cultural and sporting life.

Alan was also Chair of the Gloucestershire Association of Secondary Headteachers for 5 years. He is particularly interested in developing models of leadership and the use of IT to improve learning opportunities for all students and encouraging the Arts in schools.

For the last 20 years Alan has sung with the prestigious City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He is also an ardent fan of Sunderland AFC.

Appointed – 16th January 2023

Debbie has worked in the education sector for over 30 years, always working in the primary sector. Since 2007 she has been the Headteacher of a Stroud primary school which serves a diverse population including many with additional needs.

Working in partnership with external agencies with children’s needs and development is at the core of her purpose and drive. Debbie is the strategic lead for all Stroud primary schools which allows her a voice into the development of education for all young people in Gloucestershire.

Life outside of schools and children is dominated by her spoilt dog!

Appointed – 16th January 2023

After studying Law and Criminology at Cardiff University, Carly qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2009, having completed her training with Hazlewoods LLP. She specialised in business advisory services to the Health and Social Care industry, which includes a range of clients from elderly care providers to Early Years childcare services.

Carly became self employed when she started her family, to allow for a more flexible approach to work whilst raising young children. However, she returned to the Healthcare team at Hazlewoods in 2020 where she has a particular focus on nursery school clients, helping them with all their accounting and tax compliance needs.

Kate started clerking in 2012 and has vast governance experience in maintained schools, academies and special schools. She started with SAND Academies Trust at inception in 2019 and has helped shape and develop the governance structure with the Trust.

Kate also currently clerks for the Gloucestershire Association of Special School Headteachers (GASSH) – a role which complements the work she does at SAND.

In the academic year 2020/2021, Kate trained with the Chartered Governance Institute and successfully completed the Level 4 certificate in Academy Governance in 2021.

I am privileged to be Chief Executive of the SAND Academies Trust.  This is an incredible organisation, providing exceptional education for young people in Gloucestershire.  Working in the Charitable sector for over twelve years I have extensive experience of delivering tangible outcomes in challenging circumstances, ensuring our beneficiaries and teams are at the heart of everything we do.

Previously Chief Executive of a leading Charity in the Care sector, with a thorough understanding of strategic planning, developing fundraising  programmes and bringing in new sources of income, charity accounting and liaising with Public and Government funding sources.

I am currently the School Improvement Director for SAND Academies Trust. I have 30 years’ experience of teaching and learning in special schools and through this have gained a wide understanding of educational practice. I have also led on school improvement in different specialist settings, and qualified as an Ofsted trained inspector.

Prior to my role as SI Director, I was HT of a special school, committed to ensuring the best learning and life outcomes for all pupils, and supported and worked with staff to effectively develop their teaching practice and pedagogy.

Lynn joined in 2014, after a successful career in the private sector, working for the world’s largest Logistics provider.

After graduating with a MSc Operations Management (Distinction) degree from Glasgow University in 1998, Lynn relocated to London where she moved from a theoretical appreciation of operations management to the fast-paced world of Fast Moving Consumer Goods, where her skills in operations management were developed. Examples of Lynn’s roles within the commercial sector include; Regional Operations Manager for Ikea and M&S Home Delivery and being part of the Senior Leadership Team responsible for long term planning and day to day running of a distribution centre. Project delivery, People and resolution management, P&L ownership, along with a passion for people were the key areas of focus for Lynn over a period of 12 years.

Lynn took a break from her career in 2007 to look after her young family and was appointed to an administration role at the Milestone School in 2014. Lynn has been promoted within the Trust and, by applying the principles which Lynn had learned in her previous roles in the private sector, she has been able to support the growth of the MAT, delivering not only against critical tasks to develop and standardise processes, but to also focus on personal development. Lynn also gained a Level 4 Diploma for School Business Managers.

In 2022, Lynn was promoted to the position of Operations Director.

Appointed – 20th October 2020

Kerry has 21 years of experience within education, 10 years in the academy sector.  She has extensive experience in school, academy and multi academy trust business services and educational leadership.  Kerry played a key role in improving educational standards by transforming the monitoring, evaluation, review and collection and use of data to drive forward school improvement. Kerry is a strategist with highly developed skills in coaching, negotiation, change and project management.

Kerry held the role of COO (and interim CEO) of a newly formed MAT where she was responsible for creating and implementing the funding model and all other business aspects of the growing Trust including managing numerous academy conversions. She has worked with and advised local governing bodies on the process of conversion, what should be considered whilst undertaking due diligence and led the TUPE process.

Kerry was the lead SBM Advocate for the National College of School Leadership, was a member of an education practitioners group advising the DfE in the implementation of policy and has delivered key note speeches both nationally and internationally.

Appointed – 3rd October 2022

Awaiting further details

Bev has worked in eduction since 1992, starting as a Teaching Assistant and then qualifying to teach in 1996. Her degree was in Special Education and she then completed a PGCE. Bev has worked as a SENCO/Inclusion Manager in several schools and has also worked for four Local Authorities supporting their SEND teams. In between these roles, Bev has worked as a tutor for children in care and for adults with additional needs.

Bev currently works as an SEND consultant for a LA in the north of England as well as providing educational testing for both adults and children in and around Gloucester. She has postgraduate qualifications in Autism, Educational Testing and Educational Leadership as well as being TEFL qualified and a member of the British Psychological Society.

Bev has lifelong experience of additional needs as she has family members with learning disabilities, ADHD and specific learning difficulties. Supporting children, young people and adults with additional needs is something which she is passionate about but also feels strongly that wider families including siblings and parents/carers need to be valued, supported and understood.

Appointed – 4th July 2019

Lyn Dance has extensive experience of special education over 37 years.  Lyn has been a class teacher, head of department, deputy head and, latterly, the head teacher at The Milestone School for 16 years.  Lyn is Ofsted trained and a School Improvement Partner and new Head teacher mentor for several schools locally and in other Local Authorities.  She has proven experience of supporting schools to improve and has led The Milestone School through 3 consecutive Ofsteds with a grading of outstanding and a successful application to form The Coney Hill and Milestone Teaching School.

Lyn’s leadership style encourages innovative working and developing leaders for the future. Lyn is outward looking in her quest for continuous school improvement and is part of several collaborative working groups with both special and mainstream schools including GSP, G15, GASSH and SWALSSs.

Born and educated in Edinburgh, David attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and spent 8 years as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Military Police.
He has a Law Degree from Bristol University.
Following a serious leg injury David left the Army and built a career in the Security Industry.
He has over 30 Years Senior Management experience within the G4S Group

Retiring in December 2014 David’s final role was as Senior Vice President within G4STechnology, responsible for all technical sales at P & L level in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

David has extensive experience in Strategic planning & implementation, Financial management and budgeting, Organisational development, service & process improvement, Change management and Business restructuring,

David is currently a Parish Councillor for Up Hatherley and Chair of Governors at Lakeside Primary School in Cheltenham.

After a musical training at Trinity College of Music, London, Bob trained as a Primary school teacher and was soon bitten by the bug. Following teaching posts in East Sussex, Hampshire and Wiltshire he was a Headteacher and Executive Headteacher for 27 years in a number of schools. In various posts he held responsibility for two Children’s Centres and a special unit for pupils within a mainstream school.

Bob has wide experience as a Primary Strategy Consultant Leader and a Consultant Head, supporting schools on a wide range of leadership and management issues. For three years he was a member of Gloucester Diocesan Board of Education. He was also seconded for two years to the National College as Regional Leader, working with schools, Local Authorities and Trusts across the South.

Bob currently works as a School Improvement Adviser, principally for the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust.

Chris is a recently retired chartered surveyor with over 40 years experience encompassing the whole development process on a range of projects. He has also have experience in asset management and making strategic property decisions .Chris was Commercial Property Director of Robert Hitchens Homes for 30 years, directing a wide variety of major projects.

Chris has been instrumental in the design and delivery of the Chamwell Centre at the Milestone School.

Ben is an Audit Manager who has worked in the accountancy sector for the past 9 years.

He qualified initially as an Accounting Technician with the AAT and soon after gained Chartered status with the ICAEW.

His sizeable and varied audit portfolio includes a number of academies schools and MATs, many of which he has audited and advised since their inception.

Outside of work, Ben enjoys travelling when possible with his fiancée, and keeps busy on the weekends as a keen, albeit amateur, cricketer and golfer.

Appointed – 29th March 2022

Awaiting information.

Jane has worked in Safeguarding and Child Protection for 17 years and was the manager for Safeguarding in Education for Gloucestershire as well as the senior LADO. Prior to this, Jane worked in Special Educational Needs for the Local Authority and has a long history with special schools in the county.

Jane is currently the Director of Jane Bee Safeguarding Ltd, delivering training on all kinds of safeguarding subjects including Safer Recruitment and DSL training. She chairs the South West Safeguarding in Education Group.

Jane is an accredited Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) lead reviewer for Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (previously Serious Case Reviews), undertaking these across the country. Jane is also an experienced safeguarding auditor, carrying out various audits for schools, charities, health trusts and religious groups.

Wendy has recently joined the Trust bringing with her a wealth of experience as a business consultant across a range of industry and business fields from property development, project management, motor industry, manufacturing, sales training and management and latterly owner of a successful estate agency.  Her strong work ethic, enthusiasm and positivity has been her most valuable tool in her business life, and was clearly demonstrated when in her last corporate role, she took a failing estate agency region to top position within one of the largest estate agency groups in the UK.

In 2009 Wendy decided to put her strong business attributes to good use by purchasing the liquidated assets of a failed business and turned it around within 12 months and is now proud of its achievement to have secured industry awards and operate in profit year on year with a high market share and excellent reputation for professionalism.  The business is now family owned with both her sons involved.

In the past Wendy has been a volunteer at Milestone School with Young Enterprise and is delighted that she can once again offer some support and time to this sector of education which is very close to her heart.

When time allows and the weather is fairer, Wendy can be found on the golf course or at the local park with her adorable grand-daughter.