Trust Board
The Trust board is responsible for the operation of the trust.
It sets vision and strategy and is directly accountable for finance and standards and Trust-wide policy. The role of the Trust Board is reflected in the ’21 questions that every Multi-academy Trust should ask itself’ and ‘The Characteristics of Successful MATs’.
The MAT board will approve the Scheme of Delegation. The level of delegation will be proportionate to strength of the school in our ‘earned autonomy’ model.
The Trust Board manages the business of the academy trust and is the employer of staff who work in the trust.
Trustees
Helen Brown
Helen has enjoyed a career of 30 years in Human Resources, including working in a large QUANGO regulatory body, local authority, nhs, charity status organisation and private industry. She is a former local business owner and now Group HR Manager for a family group of Companies predominantly in health and social care. She has worked in education for both a private school and local authority.
As a result she brings a significant amount of management and leadership experience, managing staff, finances and resources. Helen has been a school Governor since 2002, taking on a variety or roles and responsibilities during that time. She has been instrumental in the strategic governance, and since a governor at Albany Academy has seen the school convert to Academy status and Multi Academy status.
Andy Wiles
Andy has worked as a manager and of several large firms. He has travelled widely in his career, working overseas in China for large parts of his time with Electrium. Andy has been a governor at Albany Academy for several years, chairing our finance committee for 6 years. He has an excellent staff management, HR, finance and strategic planning skills and experience. Since moving to Dublin to work for Facebook, Andy has become a member of the trust board, where he contributes a wealth of business experience.
Andy Purcell
Andy is Executive Headteacher of St George’s Primary school, Chorley. Andy is an experienced primary school headteacher, Executive Headteacher of two schools and National Leader of Education. Andy has led St George’s for several years, the school was judged outstanding in all areas in 2012. Since then Andy has established Yarrow Valley Teaching School Alliance and built a strong community of local schools. He is vastly experienced in education and especially primary phase.
Paul Dyson-Knight
A former pupil at St Alban’s, Paul spent sixteen years as a secondary science teacher and senior leader in two large split-site schools in East Lancashire. Paul joined the Lancashire School Improvement Service in 2001, successfully supporting the full range of secondary schools over a twenty year period in this role; working alongside teachers, school leaders and governors to achieve rapid improvement in schools causing concern through to those moving from good to outstanding, including maintained schools and academies (and including Albany Academy). A member of cross-phase advisory teams specialising in Able Pupils and Assessment Support, Paul spent the last twelve years at LCC as the senior adviser responsible for over 80 secondary schools, and most recently also as the Head of Lancashire Governor Services. Paul retired from LCC in autumn 2021 and currently works as a school adviser for Athena Education Ltd.
Dominic Conway
Dominic is Director of Development and Growth Bolton at Home, Managing Director of R-haus Living Ltd- Bolton at Home’s Market Rent subsidiary and Managing Director Stonecross Homes Ltd- a new build development company. Dominic has been working in the sphere of Housing and Regeneration for the last 30 years, joining Bolton Council in 1989 from Chorley Council and has had a wide range of roles across housing management, housing partnerships and Development and Regeneration. Dominic joined Bolton at Home in 2011 and is responsible for leading the care and repair and neighbourhood services along with responsibility for delivering Bolton at Home’s ambitious growth programme increasing Bolton at Home’s property portfolio and diversifying Bolton at Home’s tenure offer.
Matthew Barr
Matthew has been working in the FE sector for over 20 years in a variety of roles. He has wealth of experience across a range of different subjects and functions having managed curriculum areas covering many subjects and qualifications as well as cross college departments such as Student Services, Careers and Additional Learning Support. In his current role as Assistant Principal for Vocational and Technical Education, he has strategic responsibility for the vocational curriculum including an oversight of the quality of teaching and learning, the student experience and outcomes, the pastoral and wider curriculum as well as implementation of new courses such as T Levels.