Meet the Board

Name

Biography

Mr Max Bailey

• Retired Solicitor. Former Managing Partner of large Bury firm of Solicitors where I guided them to Investor in People recognition and a Legal Aid Franchise.
• Past President of The Bury & District Law Society.
• Former Invigilator of Examinations at The University of Manchester.
• Gift Aid Secretary at The Bridge Church Bolton 

Dr Jonathan Hustler

• Trained for the Methodist ministry at Wesley House Cambridge from 1987-90, and spent a year prior to his first station at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His widespread experience of ministry has been gained through serving in a variety of places and roles across the country over the past 26 years.
• Throughout his ministry, Jonathan has maintained a rigorous approach to scholarship, reading for his PhD while a circuit minister. From 2011-14 he served as Vice-Principal of Wesley House Cambridge, 2014-17 he served as the Ministerial Co-ordinator for the Oversight of Ordained Ministries in the Methodist Connexional Team, and from 2017 he served as the Assistant Secretary of the Conference.
• Became the Secretary of the Conference in 2020. The Secretary of the Methodist Conference works closely with the President and Vice-President, and plays a principal part in the care, oversight and leadership of the Methodist Church. He is responsible for enabling the strategic development and implementation of the Church's vision of unity, mission, evangelism and worship and for encouraging good governance.

Councillor Dr David Kershaw CBE, JP, MA

• Retired secondary Headteacher (Coundon Court, Coventry (21 years) Executive Head of two schools in Leicester City (four years)) and is currently serving as a Governor of two primary schools and two secondary schools in the Midlands.  
• Also the Chief Executive of the Central Academies Trust.
• Coventry City Councillor and was Cabinet Lead for Education from 2012 - 2016 (four years) and is a Methodist Local Preacher (from 1968).

Rev Paul Martin

• Chair of the Bolton and Rochdale District which has 11 Methodist/Methodist Anglican Primary Schools.
• Previously served as Chair of Governors in two Methodist Primary Schools and a Community Primary School.
• Passionate about the need for children to get a good start in life through education and keen to encourage the missional and evangelistic opportunities which exist through our schools. 

Rev Roger Walton

• Supernumerary presbyter living in the Manchester and Stockport Methodist District.   
• Served the Methodist Church in Stourbridge, Liverpool and St Albans circuits and was Connexional Secretary for Adult Learning from 1987 until 1999, when he moved to be Director of the Wesley Study Centre, Durham. 
• Chair of the Yorkshire West District between 2011 and 2019 
• During 2016-17, served as the President of the Methodist Conference. 
• His books include Learning for Ministry (Church House Publishing, 2005), The Reflective Disciple (Epworth Press, 2009) and Disciples Together (2014 SCM Press). 
• In the last couple of years, he has been working on a Methodist Way of Life.
• He is a widower, has grown up children, Laura and Andrew, and since January 2012 has been a granddad.  Yet he still plays a mean game of table-tennis!

Name

Biography

Miss Cathryn Bale

• Regional Lead Practitioner In Mathematics for a multi academy trust across primary and secondary schools in the North of England.
• Previous roles within education includes Transition leader, Progress system leader for KS3, Head of Year and Teacher of Maths.
• Experience working with primary schools and nurseries in both the UK and Australia.
• Passionate about improving the lives of young people both in present day and to maximise their futures. 

• Solicitor currently employed at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a charity and professional membership body with over 15,000 members worldwide promoting and educating people in all forms of alternative dispute resolution.
• Previously a partner at PWW Solicitors advising mainly faith-based charities on a range of educational (including academy conversions), property, governance and commercial matters.
• Trustee of two grant making charities and was previously a trustee of Seafarers UK, one of the largest maritime grant making charities in the UK.
• Also sits as an elected director of the British Fencing Association Limited, having previously competed for Great Britain and England at World and Commonwealth Championships.”

Mrs Elaine Cleland

• Wide ranging experience in senior management and leadership both in business and education.
• Focus has always been on the engagement and development of the people, empowering them to perform more effectively to enable an organisation to realise its full executive and commercial potential.   

Miss Tracey Collier

• A CII qualified Financial Consultant with several years private sector corporate banking experience in strategic research & development.
• Now a Senior Manager in the Civil Service working with public sector teams around the UK. Managing departmental wide capability building projects including the development of digitalised and immersive learning technologies.
• Also previous Chair of the Acorn Trust Finance and Audit Committee.

Mrs Barbara Easton

• Professional background is in school leadership, and Religious Education. 
• Head of Service for MAST (Methodist Academies and Schools Trust), a Trustee of MIST (Methodist Independent Schools Trust) and the Epworth Education Trust. 
• Also involved with the Methodist Church as a Local Preacher and youth club leader.

Mr Tony Harris

• Chartered Surveyor specialising in property dispute resolution.
• Consultant in practice in London and a Chairman of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
• Currently Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee at Farringtons (a MIST school) and becomes Chair of Governors in the summer of 2017.
• As well as being a Methodist he has wide experience of advising on Church and charity property matters.

Mr David Harrison

• Led a number of businesses for last 40 years and has a passion to see young people prepared for the 21^st century Work place
• Served as Operations Director of a systems leading Multi Academy trust
• Chair of 2 primary and 1 secondary academies in Lincolnshire and the Humber area.
• Previously served as Chair of Governors in a secondary school that progressed from Special measures to Outstanding.
• Keen to see young people provided with the best academic cultural and sporting opportunities as a right and not a privilege.

Mr James Inman

• Director of Education (North East/Executive Headteacher) Consilium Academies.
• Worked for Consilium Academies since Buile Hill Academy joined the trust in August 2016.

James has enjoyed a number of roles including:

• 1999 - French teacher at Wellington School where he was promoted to Key Stage 4 Coordinator.
• 2001 he became the Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator at Stamford High School, where he joined the SLT in 2005 in a new role as where he was responsible for Teaching and Learning where he was given the opportunity to work with Alistair Smith.
• Curriculum Deputy Headteacher at Buile Hill Visual Arts College in 2008 where he was successful in securing the position of Headteacher.
• Chaired the Secondary Schools Heads and Principals Association (SSHAPAS) and he has been an active member of the School’s Finance Forum Group representing Salford Headteachers within the LA in regards to finance for schools.
• Currently seconded for two days a week as Executive Head at Washington Academy in the North East working in his capacity as Consilium Director of Education for the North East.
• Holds his core beliefs of inclusivity and providing the very best educational opportunities central to all he does.  

Councillor Dr David Kershaw CBE, JP, MA

Chair of Epworth Education Trust

• Retired secondary Headteacher (Coundon Court, Coventry (21 years) Executive Head of two schools in Leicester City (four years)) and is currently serving as a Governor of two primary schools and two secondary schools in the Midlands.  
• Also the Chief Executive of the Central Academies Trust.
• Coventry City Councillor and was Cabinet Lead for Education from 2012 - 2016 (four years) and is a Methodist Local Preacher (from 1968).

Mr Kevin Meredith

• Chair of the Local Advisory Board at Bedford Hall School with governance experience for 8 years.
• Member of the Methodist Church. A current Methodist Church Treasurer for over 20 years and former Methodist Circuit Treasurer for 15 churches, responsible for financial accountability to Church and Circuit.
• Employed over 38 years for a large cable manufacturer, positions held included Head of Process Development and Product Development responsible for managing engineers, coordinating development of new processes/products and appraisals.
• Employed over 9 years in a Property Management Company, responsible for Property Maintenance, issuing and managing contracts and contractors.

Mrs Nicki Talyor

• Has 20 years’ experience of working in law, the NHS and more recently the last 6 years working as a senior leader in education. 
• Initially working in one secondary academy and progressing into overseeing the operational aspects of 11 secondaries within a large Multi Academy Trust, she works with an operational team to deliver the operational strategy of non-educational functions including administration, health and safety, pupil data, catering, parental communication, Ofsted compliance and site related issues within the schools.
• Passionate about education and is currently studying at Loughborough University for her MSc in Strategic Leadership.

Mr John Weaving

• A chartered accountant by profession
• John was a finance director in the banking, retail and, most recently, the education sector working with both commercial and charitable organisations before retiring in December 2019.
• John now undertakes a number of non-executive and trustee roles.
• John is married to Diane and has three children and two grandchildren.
• He lives in Leeds and attends the Cathedral Church of St Anne’s.