T4 TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- Head Teacher - Ian Mikardo
Aaron was educated at St Joseph's Secondary School in Derry City, Ireland. His experience there gave him a meaningful, positive grounding in the value of others, a sense of always working towards being a better person and contributing whatever talent he had to the benefit of the community and society. His hope is to live up to that aspiration. In Derry, Aaron learned that the value of education isn't about 'being the best' but being 'your best'. He feels lucky to have experienced some wonderfully committed teachers working in difficult circumstances, setting him on the path of emulating their example.
In 2003, after studying at St. Mary's College in Strawberry Hill, Aaron had the opportunity to work at IMHS and did so for three years, as the Numeracy & Literacy coordinator. He then left to train as a Physiotherapist. Aaron has always been captivated by the ethos, spirit and practices of IMHS school and so he jumped at the chance to return in 2012. He accepted the position as Teacher of Maths and has had roles as leader of the 'My Passport' Dept.; Deputy Head Teacher; and now leader of the school.
Aaron's aspirations for the school mirror the aspirations of his own teachers in his formative years and those of IMHS, hitherto lead by Claire Lillis since 2002. Aaron believes in the importance of recognising the value and talents of the students and staff in our community and helping them grow through their challenges, in pursuit of a meaningful and purposeful future. He is committed to supporting our students who come with a past, to leave with a future.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
- Member of the Ian Mikardo Local Governing Body
Chris Weavers works for the national teachers' union (NASUWT), where he leads the union's political engagement as well as relationships with a wide range of external organisations, both domestically and internationally. He previously worked for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, advising and supporting the local authority's majority group on policy and political matters. Outside work, Chris is very active in the governance of public bodies, addressing issues including education, crime and housing. He is also a trustee of a number of local and national charities.
Chris has been a member of the Ian Mikardo Local Governing Body (LGB) for many years prior to its conversion to an academy in 2018, and he now chairs the LGB
Claire is a visionary, experienced leader of education in mainstream, custodial and special schools. She began her career as a history teacher in mainstream education, where she also gained eight years of experience specialising in Pastoral Education. Between 1998 - 2002 she worked in Custodial Education. This experience inspired her to work in an environment dedicated to prevention, using education as a means of steering young people away from destructive paths.
Claire was head teacher of Ian Mikardo school, which, under her guidance, has been utterly transformed into the remarkable school it is today. Claire passionately believes that there is a different, more inclusive way to educate our children.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the Executive Team
- Interim CEO
Dr Jonty Clark is CEO The Beckmead Trust, a group of Special Schools for pupils with a range of special needs including Social, Emotional and mental health Difficulties and Autism with Challenging Behaviour. The Trust currently has responsibility for eleven special schools with four more schools due to join by the end of 2023.
Since qualifying as a teacher Jonty has dedicated his time to working in Special Educational Needs. He has been a Senior Leader in special schools since 1998 and has an excellent reputation for working with schools requiring improvement in both operational and strategic roles. Higher education highlights include awards of Masters and Doctoral degrees in education from the University of Sheffield. Jonty has worked with a number of advisory bodies including the Centre for Social Justice and has contributed to policy research, reviews, and education publications.
His particular areas of current contextual interest are: Celebrating difference and diversity. Equality. Social justice. Social pedagogy. Impairment and SEN. Pupil voice. Restorative approaches. Transactional analysis.
Jonty was awarded the OBE for Services to Children in the Queens 2017 New Years Honours List.
Frank's career in education spans forty-four years. He has a considerable reputation as a leading educational innovator, which was recognised in 2013 when he was appointed Commander of the British Empire for his services to education. He was National Schools Commissioner between 2013-2016, overseeing all Academies and FreeSchools. Frank established the Regional School Commissioners structure as part of the mechanism to co-ordinate and oversee the development of the academies programme.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
He is currently Chairman of Shoreline Enterprises , Vice Chairman of Leigh Academies Trust, Chairman of George Salter Academy and a Director of Challenger Trust.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
Julie has a wealth of experience supporting the welfare of children and families as a social worker and director of safeguarding. She was head of care in a Custodial facility, the Medway Secure Centre. It was here that she met Claire Lillis, an encounter which led to her consulting at Ian Mikardo school. Here, she set up a welfare department, recognising that working closely with parents and supporting them was crucial to the welfare of the boys at the school.
As Director of Safeguarding in the trust, Julie believes that addressing social and emotional needs are key to academic progress.
Justina Ilochi is the CEO of Gender and Child Advancement (GCA), a company that provides high quality education solutions in the UK and internationally. She is also a leader at Genistar, a financial education company that teaches families to be debt free and financially independent.
Justina has significant experience leading mainstream and independent school inspections on behalf of Ofsted in primary and special schools. She is also school progress adviser and consultant for Inner London Borough schools. She is involved in innovative school improvement work particularly to do with the quality of teaching and the management of special education needs.
Justina has 40 years of experience as a secondary school mathematics teacher, SENCO and member of senior leadership in large inner-city London mainstream schools. She is a researcher with a specific interest in special education needs and inclusion, and has co-produced a pastoral care curriculum (PCC).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- Deputy Head - Head of Welfare & Inclusion Designated Safeguarding Lead
Lisa Tharpe has had a fruitful career in both Education and Social Care, with an educational background in both Informal Education and Social Work, initially graduating at the YMCA George Williams College in East London in; Informal Education, Youth Work and Community Learning and then going on to studying a degree in Social Work at The Open University and specialising in SEND and Children with Complex Needs.
Additionally, Lisa has over 20 years' hands-on experience working across London with a diverse range of children and young people with extremely varied and highly challenging needs. This falls in line with her inherent passion to help transform the lives of young people in a positive way.
Lisa has a passion for supporting young people with SEMH and SEND needs and has extensive knowledge in policy writing, setting up processes and new initiatives and motivating and empowering young people to reach positive outcomes for themselves and has worked as a youth worker and social worker progressing to several positions of responsibility including, Senior Social Worker, Day Service Manager, Manager Youth Services - SEND, Consultant Social Worker CWD, before joining T4 Trust in January 2020.
Since joining T4 Trust she has accepted the position of Head of Welfare, DSL, Assistant Head, Deputy Head; and now Operational Safeguarding Lead for T4 Trust.
The knowledge she has gained through training and her practice as a registered social worker has given her the skills and attributes to identify risk or concerns and act swiftly to safeguard children. These skills have also helped her to make positive changes to work culture and give staff a fresh new outlook to their role and position whilst supporting them to fully understanding the importance of reflecting on their own practice for growth, monitoring and recording information effectively in order to help support and safeguard children and young people, themselves, and others.
Lucy qualified as an accountant at Deloitte. During her six years there, she mostly worked with the Education and Skills Funding Agency which is responsible for overseeing Academy Trusts. This engagement introduced her to the unique work of special schools, including Ian Mikardo.
Lucy firmly believes that we have a duty to support the hardest to reach in society, and thinks inclusive education is invaluable for vulnerable young people. She joined the Trust in April 2018 as COO, and is responsible for Finance, HR, IT and Premises.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
Sara was a head hunter in London for twenty years, specializing in consumer and finance Board Director appointments. She worked for Whitehead Mann and the Miles Partnership. Sara is now a JP in Kent, working with Magistrates in the Community presenting to schools. She was also a mentor for Kids Company, and is currently a Director of the Attwood Education Foundation.
Working within the Youth Justice system highlights the crucial role education plays in crime prevention; Sara firmly believes that our society and young people will be better supported if we place higher value on education.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
Stephen leads the schools and academies team at KPMG. He is a qualified accountant and expert in finance and financial management. He has worked with a wide range of Academy trusts, supporting them across a range of areas in their development, including strategy, financial management, due diligence, turnaround support and re-structuring.
He is also the Chairman of the Challenger Trust, which is a member of the Challenger Multi-academy Trust. He is passionate about improving social mobility through learning outside the classroom.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Trustee
Tom was, for many years, CEO of Intermediate Capital Group PLC, a director of IPC Media, Gala Coral, the Private Equity Foundation, Wightlink and other companies. He is now Chairman of T4, the Attwood Academies Trust, Attwood Education Foundation, and until recently, Chair of DfE Academies and Free Schools Board, and Hg Capital.
He continues to sit on the Boards of Hg Capital and A-Plan and as a non-executive at the DfE. His experience in private equity and in growing ICG into a substantial public company is proving most helpful in monitoring and growing multi academy trusts.