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John Milton Academy Trust

These schools are part of the John Milton Academy Trust. Click on the school's logo to visit their website.

Bacton logoCedars Park logoThe John Milton logoMendlesham logoStowupland logoMulberry logo

Governance

John Milton Academy Trust (JMAT) is a charity and company limited by guarantee with Members that are akin to the shareholders of a company. They have ultimate control over the Trust, with the ability to appoint some of the Trustees and the right to amend the Trust's Articles of Association, a legal statement and rules defining how the company will be managed.

The Trust Board is accountable to external government agencies, including the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the Department for Education for the quality of the education they provide and as such responsible for the management and administration of the Trust and its schools.

Local Boards have been established to ensure the good governance of each of the schools and arrangements have been tailored to meet the needs of individual schools.

Recruitment to Local Boards
We are seeking to recruit members to our Local Boards who can bring experience and contribute to the support and challenge operating in our schools.  Local Board members will attend at least one meeting per term and take part in agreed school visits focusing on specific areas such as Pupil Premium, SEND and safeguarding.  Feedback from members will contribute to an evidence-base for self-evaluation and school improvement and the Trust will offer training and support to help Local Board members fulfil their roles successfully. 

If you are interested in becoming a Local Board member, please find further information at the foot of this webpage along with an application form.

Members

Philip Bamford

Start: 19-January-2024

Philip Bamford is currently the General Manager in charge of projects at Muntons plc, Stowmarket. Previously, he concluded a commendable seven-year tenure as the Executive Vice President in North America at Muntons Malted Ingredients in Chicago, where he showcased a commitment to operational excellence, fostering substantial growth in U.S.-U.K. business relations.

Philip’s career is distinguished by his focus on leading high-performing teams within complex, customer-centric environments. Recognised for his open communication, adaptability, and adept problem-solving skills, Philip has spearheaded significant ICT upgrades at Muntons PLC. His leadership experience extends to roles at Envero Ltd, Paradigm Ltd, Global Venture Services Ltd, and Albion Contracts.  

Beyond his professional commitments, Philip is a family man deeply rooted in the Suffolk community for over 35 years. 

Alan Ridealgh

Start: 14-November-2018

Originally qualifying and working as a biologist, Alan joined Muntons in 1980 as a grain buyer and held various roles including heading up the farming, agricultural merchanting, pet food, haulage and seed subsidiaries. Became Group Managing Director in 2007 and led an expansion around the world with turnover almost doubling to £100M with over 330 employees.

Alan stood down as MD in early 2017 to assume a new part-time largely ambassadorial role as Vice President External Affairs. He has become involved with the Museum of East Anglian Life through its Development Board, the Stowupland based John Milton Academy Trust as a Trustee and the Institute of Sustainability at the University of Suffolk as a board member as well as an Honorary Fellow in Sustainability and Manufacturing. Additionally, he is a non-executive director of a Norfolk based grain trading company. Together with son, John, has recently formed a start-up craft brewing company located in deepest Suffolk called Humber Doucy Brewing Company.

Alan is also a Trustee and Chair of the Trust Board.

Tim Passmore

Start: 19-January-2024

Tim is currently the Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk.

Tim lives with his family in north Suffolk. He was born in Felixstowe and was educated at Ipswich School before taking a degree in Agriculture at Wye College, University of London, majoring in management, marketing and economics and more recently he graduated from the Open University with an MBA.

Until he was elected as PCC in 2012, he was an intensive livestock producer and advised on pig production and genetic breeding programmes. As a self – employed agricultural and rural business consultant he delivered seminars and lecture tours to a wide variety of farming and agribusiness organisations.

Tim was formerly an elected member of Mid Suffolk District Council and prior to taking on the role of the PCC, he was Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council.

Tim is a Rugby Union referee at both adult and junior levels.

Tim was also a Trustee for the Trust from May 2020 until becoming a Member.

Resignations and Leavers 2022-23 and 2023-24

Name Start date Leaving date
Roderick Newton 27-July-2016 13-June-2023
Miles Carter 1-June-2022 5-January-2024
Ian Gallagher 27-July-2016 22-January-2024
Timothy Barker 14-September-2021 26-February-2024

Trustees

Mohammed
Abdel-Maguid

Mohamed is a professional engineer, entrepreneur and a research and enterprise focused Academic, with 25 years of experience in both business and academia. He has held a number of senior positions, both in the UK and internationally and served as an advisor for a number of companies and government organisations. These included, the Ministry of Health in Egypt, where he advised on the development of telemedicine initiatives, the Ministry of Transport in Egypt advising on the use of Smart Technologies to improve road safety and, during his term at CIISS, advised the Tanzania Revenue Authority on tax fraud detection using intelligent data analysis techniques.

Currently, a Professor of Smart Systems Pro Vice-Chancellor (STEM) and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Social Sciences at Canterbury Christ Church University. Mohamed's previous role was at the University of Suffolk in 2012 as the Founding Professor of the School of Science, Technology and Engineering and Professor of Smart Systems and went on to be Dean of Engineering, Arts and Science.

Mohamed holds a B.Eng. in Electronics and Telecommunications (Distinction), MSc. in Telecommunications Engineering (Distinction) and a PhD in Electronic Engineering (Image and Video Processing).

 

Shaun Common - Interim CEO

Shaun is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gippeswyk Community Educational Trust.

He has been a senior leader in 3 large secondary schools. He was the Principal at Copleston High School for 10 years, having previously been the Headteacher of another Suffolk High School.

Shaun has been appointed by the Trust as Interim CEO.

 

Alex Hauwert

Alex is a Parent Trustee and has experience in banking and accountancy.  Alex has gained his AAT and ACCA qualifications and works for a specialist financial services company.

Alex also gets involved in the local community and often helps out with the village events.

Susan Hayter

 

Susan has had an accomplished career with the NHS including at Senior Manager level with a diverse range of knowledge, skills and experience gained in a wide range of clinical and managerial positions.  Sue has a proven track record of achievement at senior management and Board level, and is firmly committed to the NHS and to the promotion of high quality, clinical safety and person centered multidisciplinary/ agency working.

Since retirement from full time employment with the NHS, Sue has worked as a Professional Adviser for Primary Care Trusts, Acute Hospitals and Mental Health NHS organisations in Suffolk and Norfolk. Sue has also been commissioned by Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG, West Suffolk CCG and West Norfolk CCG as part of their respective quality assurance programmes.

With a background in nursing, I retired from full time work as the Chief Nurse in Suffolk in 2010, since then I have been on NHS Boards as a Non-Executive Director. 

Sue has lived in the village for over 40 years, with both her children and grandchildren attending Freeman CPS and Stowupland HS.  Sue is a Church Warden for Stowupland Holy Trinity, and welcomes the school’s links with Holy Trinity Church.  Sue is also a Local Governor at Freeman CPS, part of Children’s Endeavour Trust.

Neil Jolly

Neil is a Parent Trustee who was born and brought up in Ipswich, Suffolk. His career has been within IT with a European energy provider and Central Government, before moving into the telecommunications sector working for a major network provider, currently employed by BT Group as a Senior Network Engineer & Test Professional working on installations around the world.

Neil lives in the market town of Stowmarket with his wife and daughter, his daughter is of primary school age and is currently a pupil at Cedars Park Primary School.

Also acting as a treasurer for his daughter’s local football team.

Darryl Newport

Chair of Sustainability Committee

Darryl is Director of the Suffolk Sustainability Institute at the University of Suffolk.  He is adjunct Professor of Sustainable Materials Engineering at the University of East London. After finishing his degree, Darryl moved directly into research and became passionate about the environment and developed a keen interest into materials science. Over the years he has developed a wider research interest, working in a range of interdisciplinary areas including those relating to Infrastructure, resources management and the Built Environment with a focus on renewables and low carbon energy solutions and product. The overarching aim of his research is to develop practical decarbonised solutions which can be delivered rapidly to enable effective mitigation of climate change.

David Nunn

Vice Chair of the Trust Board

Chair of Audit and Risk Committee

David has been farming in Mid Suffolk for over 50 years and, while he no longer runs the farm, David is still heavily involved day to day.

As a director of the Suffolk Agricultural Association, David has had his turn at running the Suffolk Show and he assists with some of the educational events and activities the Association puts on throughout the year.

David was also a governor at Easton and Otley College for a number of years.

Alan Ridealgh - Chair

Chair of the Trust Board

Chair of Remuneration Committee

Originally qualifying and working as a biologist, Alan joined Muntons in 1980 as a grain buyer and held various roles including heading up the farming, agricultural merchanting, pet food, haulage and seed subsidiaries. Became Group Managing Director in 2007 and led an expansion around the world with turnover almost doubling to £100M with over 330 employees.

Alan stood down as MD in early 2017 to assume a new part-time largely ambassadorial role as Vice President External Affairs. He has become involved with the Museum of East Anglian Life through its Development Board, the Stowupland based John Milton Academy Trust as a Trustee and the Institute of Sustainability at the University of Suffolk as a board member as well as an Honorary Fellow in Sustainability and Manufacturing. Additionally, he is a non-executive director of a Norfolk based grain trading company. Together with son, John, has recently formed a start-up craft brewing company located in deepest Suffolk called Humber Doucy Brewing Company.

Phil Thirkettle

Chair of Learning and Performance Committee

Phil was brought up on the family farm in Suffolk and has lived all his life in East Anglia.  Phil’s career has been within the Further Education sector as a Vice Principal.

Martin Williams

Chair of Finance and Business Committee

Martin is a seasoned Banker having left school to start as an office junior at Barclays Bank in 1985. Having studied for appropriate professional qualifications, he has developed his career to Director level with a focus on hard work, personal development and coaching of others to achieve their goals. 

Father of 4 boys, he served 8 years as a governor for Gusford Junior School, Ipswich and comes from a family with strong ties to the education system. He is also a member of New Anglia LEP’s Investment Appraisal Committee, often making grant and loan decisions for institutions looking for support to improve skills and/or job potential for young adults. 

His strong financial acumen and determination to ensure funds are maximised for the benefit of the students makes him an ideal chair of the Finance and Business committee.

 

Resignations and Leavers
Name Start date Leaving date
Jenny Cousins 11-May-2020 27-April-2023
Tim Passmore 11-May-2020 18-January-2024
Allen Mayhew 1-Sept-2016 10-June-2024

 

 

Membership & Attendance

The Trust Board establishes a structure of committees as appropriate to carry out some of its governance functions, making decisions where necessary and preparing a work schedule for each committee in line with the demands of the organisation and regulator deadlines. 

Selection to each committee is based on the relevant skills and experience that can be offered by an individual.

Documents detailing the attendance at each committee meeting are outlined below.

Register of Interests

It is a requirement, as set out in the Academies Financial Handbook that a Multi Academy Trust must publish a register of relevant and pecuniary interests of its Members, Trustees and Local Governance.

The information for JMAT Trustees and Local Board Members is detailed below.

Local Boards

Local Boards are a committee of the Trust and support school leaders to make accelerated progress. They also ensure that the resources of the school, and the support and challenge being provided by the Trust, are used effectively and have a positive impact.

If you are interested in becoming more involved in the work of a school, please complete an application form and we will contact you as, and when, places become available. Please note that membership of Local Boards is open to the local and wider community; you do not have to be a parent/carer at the school to apply and the Trust welcomes interest from community stakeholders.

Documents detailing the attendance at meetings are outlined below.

 

Bacton and Mendlesham Primaries Local Board

Name Type Term From Term To Role

Mr Adam Hubbard

Appointed 21 March 2023 20 March 2027 Co-Chair

Mrs Sharon Jones

Appointed 1 Sep 2020 (B)
7 Oct 2026 (M)
31 Aug 2024 GDPR

Mrs Sarah King

Head of School 1 Sep 2022 -  

Mrs Gillian Orves 

Appointed 29 Nov 2018 31 Aug 2024 Co-Chair
Safeguarding
Mrs Jo Pratt Appointed 1 July 2019 30 June 2024 Pupil Premium

Mrs Tessa Sait

Executive Headteacher 1 Jul 2020 -  

Mr Andrew Stringer

Appointed 1 Sep 2020 31 Aug 2024 Community
Mr Alastair Woodley Appointed 28 March 2020 27 March 2024  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resignations and Leavers:

Name Start Date Leaving Date
Revd Carl Melville 12 Oct 2021 31 July 2023
Mr Will Main 31 Jan 2023 21 Nov 2023
Mrs Anne Gardner 1 Sept 2020 31 Aug 2024

 

Cedars Park Primary Local Board

Name

Governor Type

Term From

Term To

Role
Mrs Toni Calvert Appointed 18 May 2021 17 May 2025 Chair
SEND
Pupil Premium
Mrs Karen Hinton Appointed 14 June 2023 13 June 2027  
Mrs Gillian Orves Appointed 1 Sep 2021 31 Aug 2024 Safeguarding
Miss Aisha Suhail Headteacher 1 Sep 2021 -  

Resignations and Leavers:

Name Start Date Leaving Date
Mrs Karen Grimes 1 Sept 2022 20 Oct 2023
Mrs Tessa Sait 2 May 2023 20 Nov 2023
Mrs Jo Hopkins 23 Jan 2023 2 May 2024

 

Stowupland High Rapid Improvement Board

Name Type Term Start Term End Role
         

Mr David Brewster

Headteacher 1 Sep 2021 -  

Mr Andrew Fell

Appointed 4 Sep 2023 3 Sept 2076 Chair
Safeguarding
Mr Phil Thirkettle Appointed 1 Sept 2024    
Mr Lee Walker Principal 12 Apr 2024 -  

Resignations and Leavers: 

Name Start Date Leaving Date
Mrs Karen Hinton 27-Sept-2023 31-Aug-2023
Mrs Karen Hudson 1-Sept-2016 31-Aug-2023
Mrs Karen Grimes 1-Sept-2022 31-Aug-2023
Mr Alan Ridealgh 23-June-2023 15-Oct-2023
Miss Aisha Suhail 25-Jan-2023 20-Nov-2023
Mr Ian Crissell 1-Sept-2016 12-Mar-2024
Mrs Lynne Bennett 3-May-2023 31-Aug-2024
Mrs Gill Larkin 17-Oct-2023 31-Aug-2024