Personnel Table

Name	Biography
Charles Adakwa Assistant Project Manager	Charles has worked as a project manager within several leading Awarding Bodies i.e. City & Guilds, CSkills Awards and more recently Edexcel. With certification in Prince2, he joins AET with a number of years’ experience supporting and managing educational related projects.
Richard Bassett Regional Director of Education	Richard has had a substantial amount of senior leadership experience over the past fifteen years. Before joining AET as Managing Director of Academies and Schools in 2009, he worked for over five years as a Senior Education Adviser at the DfE, within the Academies Programme, and was involved with over sixty academy projects across the country; working successfully with a variety of Sponsors, Local Authority representatives, Principals and Senior Leadership Teams. Previously, Richard was appointed as the Principal of Greig City Academy as part of a very successful intervention team initiated by the DCSF, that led the Academy to a successful Ofsted judgement during very difficult circumstances. Richard has also been an Executive Principal and strategically led a partnership between two sister AET Academies in Witham. He has worked as both a School Improvement Partner (SIP) and National Challenge Advisor (NCA) for over 15 different Academies and Local Authority Schools. He is currently a member of the prestigious SSAT Academy Principals Steering Group, which steers the work of the academies team at SSAT and who engage in discussion and debate about policy, practice and the academies movement in general.
Karen Batchelor Executive Assistant to David Triggs	Karen has a wealth of experience as a PA in executive administration both in merchant banking and education at a senior level. Having previously acted as PA to the chair of a merchant bank, who also held a number of other directorships and trusteeships, Karen brings a wealth of experience in managing an extremely busy environment to a high standard for the CEO of the AET. Having been part of the team which opened four academies in Essex, Karen monitors and co-ordinates the administration of all projects on behalf of the CEO.
Jodie Beisser Recruiter	Jodie joined the AET in October 2011 as part of the Recruitment Team. Jodie has worked within recruitment / HR for the past eight years and during her last role gained her CPP (Certificate in Personnel Practice). She is hoping to develop her knowledge further by undertaking the full CIPD (The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualification in the future. In her current role she provides support and advice to the Academies on their recruitment needs to ensure that the right people are recruited within the timeframes required.
Alison Blow Assistant Project Manager	Alison joined the AET in June 2011 as Assistant Project Manager. She has achieved a vast amount of experience in previous administrative roles within finance, sales and project management. Her role within the Project Management team is to co-ordinate the Finance and Governance workstreams. Alison assists the Finance Director to ensure a smooth transition from school to academy status by assisting with providing information, and liaising with staff members at the academies, schools and the DfE. She is responsible for reporting the progress to the Project Team. Alison also assists Ian Foster to ensure a Governing Board is established for new academies. This involves recruiting new governors, scheduling interview sessions, assisting academy staff with parent and staff elections, liaising with Local Authorities. It also involves coordinating the initial training sessions required for a governing board to operate.
Frank Butler Board Member	Frank Butler worked in a number of senior managerial positions within the UK Water Industry, before retiring in 2003. He became a governor of the John Bramston School and Sixth Form College in 2006 and took over as Chair of the Governing Body in 2007 before the school became an Academy in September 2008. He was appointed as Chair of the Governing Body of the Maltings Academy by his fellow governors and has continued in this voluntary role since then
Lucy Button Project Co-Ordinator	Lucy graduated from university with a degree in sport and exercise Science. Throughout this time Lucy gained experience within the financial services sector. Lucy has also undertaken volunteer work, assisting children in sports activities and teaching drama.
Sarah Campbell Finance Assistant	Sarah joined the AET Finance team in September 2011. Her role involves claiming project funding for new Academies. Sarah is extending her knowledge and skills by studying at Chelmsford College for an AAT Accountancy Qualification. Sarah spent 15 years working as a scientist for an environmental research laboratory before joining the AET. She is also treasurer of a local nursery school.
Stephen Chamberlain Regional Director of Education	Stephen is Executive Principal of the Clacton Coastal Academy and, more recently, the Executive Principal of the new academy in Felixstowe, which opened in September 2011. Clacton Coastal Academy was one of the top fifteen most improved academies nationally in 2010 and in the top three in the Eastern Region. Ofsted commented: ‘The Executive Principal has wasted no time in delivering immediate improvements by sharing his vision for the academy and raising the expectations of students and staff about what young people in Clacton can achieve.’ Ofsted: October 2010 Stephen is currently leading a project to establish a studio school in Clacton for September 2012 and is overseeing one of two extended field trials nationally with the DfE and the Studio Schools Trust. In 2010, Stephen led a project to open a Skills, Enterprise and Apprenticeship Centre in Clacton with a range of business, education and skills sector partners. There are currently over 150 apprenticeships operating from within the centre. He is currently Chair of the Executive Board. Prior to joining AET, Stephen was a Headteacher of a large comprehensive school in West Essex and Chair of an Education Improvement Partnership of 45 primary and secondary schools. As Chair, he was responsible for leading the development of a Children’s Centre Network in West Essex, the establishment of sixth form provision in 11-16 schools and the opening of the Essex Jiangsu Centre to promote Chinese language and culture across Essex. During this time he was also a tutor on the NCSL Associate Headteacher Programme and currently delivers a number of sessions on PGCE and GTP programmes for the Coastal SCITT Programme. Stephen is an experienced Ofsted Inspector and trained Lead Inspector and has extensive experience of the inspection framework and the processes of school improvement. He has worked as an Accredited Consultant for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust for over ten years working in the areas of re-designation, schools in challenging circumstances and the arts nationally. Stephen is also an experienced Associate Adviser working for Essex Local Authority on leadership, information and communications technology and music technology, working with a wide range of schools in Essex. Outside of education, Stephen trained as a cellist as well as a choral and orchestral conductor at Brunel University and a major London conservatoire and has conducted a wide range of orchestras and musical productions in the UK and abroad.
Amanda Dean Assistant Project Manager	Amanda joined the AET in March 2010 as Assistant Project Manager. As part of the Project Management Team, Amanda has helped to successfully open fifteen new Academies. Amanda has gained experience across many areas of the AET, including HR, Finance, PR, Facilities, ICT and legal. She hopes to build on her experience in these areas and expand her role within Project Management in the future.