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Central team

Leadership

Anne Dellar, Chief Executive Officer

Anne Davey

Anne has led ODST since its inception in 2012, growing the trust from one school to becoming one of the largest and most successful MATs in the region. She is a passionate believer in putting children at the heart of education, and supporting empowerment of school leaders. 

Anne was previously Diocesan Director of Education for the Oxford Diocese, and has held roles in school improvement as well as being Head of Bristol Cathedral School from 2004 to 2007.

A Theology graduate from Murray-Edwards College, Cambridge, Anne's first career was in retail management, before training as a teacher at Moray House in Edinburgh.

Ian Frost, Deputy Chief Executive

Ian has been a senior leader in schools for 20 years and a headteacher for a decade, with experience of securing improvement in a range of contexts. He has worked in schools facing challenging contexts, with high proportions of disadvantaged and SEND children.

He has had significant experience of working in a Trust supporting primary and secondary phases and has a particular interest in improving pedagogy, curriculum and behaviour. As an ILM Level 7 Coach, Ian also works closely with headteachers to support their own professional development.

School Improvement & Governance

Lisa Austin, Principal Schools Adviser

Lisa has a passion for rapid school improvement and for embedding effective leadership and management through the development of people.

She is an experienced leader who has worked in a number of primary school settings of differing size and context. Lisa has 14 years of Headship experience, 7 of which were as Executive Headteacher of two schools. Lisa has a keen interest in developing new models of leadership. 

Prior to her role leading school improvement across the trust, Lisa has held leadership roles in three ODST schools. She also coaches senior leaders in ODST and other schools as part of the NPQ programme.

Lisa has significant experience of supporting schools identified as requiring extra support, and as a headteacher she has provided school to school support and has been commissioned by Local Authorities to conduct school improvement reviews.

Bob Pattenden, Schools Adviser

Bob was a successful primary school head for nearly 27 years in five schools, ranging from a small rural village school in Wiltshire through to a large primary in Oxfordshire which included responsibility for two Children’s Centres. He has also held two Executive Headteacher posts, was seconded to the National College as a Regional Leader, and was a member of the Gloucester Diocesan Board of Education.

Bob has a keen interest in developing the future school leaders and as a music graduate is a strong advocate for the arts in primary schools.

Lisa Horton, Schools Adviser

Lisa has worked in Oxfordshire in Education for over 30 years as a teacher, Headteacher, Executive Headteacher and School Improvement Advisor. She has experience in a wide range of schools and Early Years settings. She is a trained Early Years Ofsted Inspector and has supported schools with all aspects of School Improvement, but especially with supporting vulnerable learners. She is passionate about making a difference for children and families and working alongside school staff to ensure all our schools are providing the best education possible for all children.

Frances Brown, Schools Adviser

Frances has many years' experience as headteacher in an ODST school, before moving into school improvement to support other schools, as well as supporting aspiring leaders as a facilitator and coach for the Trust's NPQ courses.

Frances Bartlett, Schools Adviser & Governance lead

Prior to joining the ODST school improvement team, Frances has been headteacher in two schools, a diocesan schools’ adviser and Deputy Director with ODBE, and most recently an interim headteacher in Oxfordshire. She has also worked as an Ofsted Inspector in the past. Frances has experience working with a number of multi academy trusts as an adviser, trustee and member and has supported school leaders, governors and communities across all areas of school improvement.

Grace Challans, Inclusion & Safeguarding Adviser

Grace started her career as a Teaching Assistant in London working with students with hearing impairments and Autism, and since then has worked in a range of educational settings with a focus on SEN. Within ODST, she worked at the John Henry Newman Academy and Wheatley Primary School before becoming part of the central team working to develop provision for our most vulnerable pupils.

Kate Walsh, Events & School Improvement Administrator

Kate has a BA in Primary Teacher Education. After graduating she taught in an infants’ school before moving to an early years setting. Before moving to ODST she spent eight years as a Nursery Manager, as well as supporting other nurseries within the company with auditing, training and development.

Nicky Halton, Governance Adviser

Prior to joining the ODST central team, Nicky was Clerk to the Governors at Deddington Primary School and chair of the management committee for two Early Years settings, during which time she was part of two Ofsted inspections. She remains a trustee for both and a clerk, while supporting ODST schools in her role as Governance Adviser.

HR

Mark Jones, Head of HR 

Mark is a chartered member of the CIPD and began his professional career in retail management. After a period of voluntary work in Bosnia, he returned to the UK and gained experience in HR across several sectors including higher education, logistics and SMEs before joining ODST at a time when there were only 5 member schools. 

Angela Eaton, HR Officer

Angela worked in a school environment for 2 years before joining ODST, and holds a CIPD qualification in HR. Previously Angela worked for Thames Valley Police for over 5 years, and in Social Housing. She also trained pupils as an Approved Driving Instructor for 9 years.

Alison McBride, HR Business Partner

Alison supports schools in the Southern hub. She has many years' experience in HR within the public sector, including within Local Government and the NHS, and has ten years' experience supporting schools in the Education Service and Schools team at West Berkshire Council.

Katy Adams, HR Business Partner

Katy has over 20 years HR experience within the public and private sector. Prior to joining ODST, Katy worked within a local authority HR team for 16 years, a significant proportion of her work involving providing HR advice to schools.

Sian Bray, Payroll Officer


Sian has worked in accounts and finance in many different environments from PLC to small charities. Prior to joining ODST she spent 10 years working within Early Years settings.
 

Maria Anna Strapatsalou, HR Administrator

Marianna is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Before acquiring her CIPD qualification in HR, she worked for 5 years in Children's Social Care as a specialist administrator. Prior to moving to the UK from Greece, she worked at the Thessaloniki Opera House as a professional choir singer and taught English language to young children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Agricultural products quality control.

Finance

Andrew Jeffrey, Chief Financial Officer

Andrew is an FCA qualified accountant with school finance experience having previously worked for another Oxfordshire-based multi-academy trust. His experience also includes over 10 years working in private practice specialising in the education and charity sector and has worked with, and advised, a diverse range of educational organisations. Andrew has gained governance experience by supporting several Trusts and Charities in Trustee and governance roles.

Abbe Irving, Schools Finance Officer

Abbe is a CIMA qualified accountant and previously worked in the finance team of a local NHS Trust for 10 years, before joining ODST as a Management Accountant.

Kate Forde, Schools Finance Support Officer

Kate joined the ODST central team from working at Dr South’s Primary School and brings valuable knowledge of in-school finance work to the central finance team, now supporting other schools.

Chloe Badger, Finance Officer

Chloe has worked for ODST in finance for several years, seeing the organisation grow from four schools to 32. Previously she worked within the finance team for a construction company.

Stacey Carbon, Schools Finance Support Officer

Stacey is an AAT L4 qualified accountant. She has previously worked as a School Business Manager at a primary school, an Office Manager at a Foundation Stage School and a private Nursery, as well as experience in running her own Bookkeeping business.

Niki Porter, Schools Finance Officer

Niki is an ACCA qualified accountant, qualifying whilst working at Zurich Insurance Company for almost 20 years, covering a wide variety of roles, including the management accountant role for the charity arm of the business.  Niki was keen to move into education, a sector she feels passionate about, and worked in two smaller companies to gain relevant experience, before moving to work in another MAT in 2019 and ODST in 2022. 

Karen Stubbs, Schools Finance Officer

Karen joined ODST in September 2022 and has over 30 years financial experience. Prior to joining ODST, she has worked for the University of Oxford for 8 years as the Divisional Finance Manager for the Gardens, Libraries and Museums and previously within University Estates as their Management Accountant. Prior to working at the University of Oxford Karen has worked for various charities including Anchor Trust and Spurgeons. Karen holds the ACCA Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business,  BSc (Hons) in Applied Accountancy and the full AAT qualification.

Joanna Otieno, Finance Administrator

Joanna has worked in finance for nearly 15 years. Prior to joining ODST she worked for an organisation providing care and support for people with learning disabilities, autism & mental health, and for two day nurseries.

Operations

Sam Rhodes, Operations & Compliance Support

Sam is an experienced ODST school business manager working with the central team on operations, health and safety and compliance. Sam supports schools across the trust as well as developing central strategy in these areas.

Sam Jones, Procurement

Sam works on procurement for the Trust, ensuring value for money and quality for schools. She is also an experienced ODST school business manager working for a large city primary school.

Administration

Jennifer Payne, Communications Officer

Jennifer has worked in marketing, communications and events for ten years, much of it within the education sector. Prior to joining ODST she worked in educational publishing and qualifications, and has previously worked for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as well as in healthcare.

Helen Mitchell, Executive Assistant

Helen supports ODST's senior leadership team. She has extensive administration experience and, prior to working for ODST, worked for the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education.

Additional support from the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE):

Katie Paxton Admissions Adviser
Tom Fry Buildings Surveyor
Jane Maharry Premises Officer