Governance

Alison Powell

Alison was brought up on a farm in upper Weardale and went to school in Wolsingham. She has lived in various places but settled in Darlington in 2003.

Alison has worked in the Civil Service for over 30 years.  Her career started with the Ministry Defence working for the RAF and then Navy.  Alison transferred to the Department for Education in 1994.  Her experience covers a wide range of education policy including teacher pensions, school governance, capital funding for voluntary aided schools, school land and the academy legal framework. Alison is currently responsible for school admissions policy.

Alison is married with 2 children and is a member of the congregation at Holy Trinity Church in Darlington.

Yvonne Coates

Chair of Directors

Yvonne brings to the Trust extensive knowledge of child protection, family support & early help and children in public care. She is a qualified Social Worker who has been in practice for the last 24 years working entirely in the field of child protection. She was until 2019 the Head of Family Support & Child Protection with a Local Authority with responsibility for decision making on child protection, children in need and Looked After Children. She and her Social Work teams supported schools in meeting their safeguarding responsibilities.

Yvonne has developed dynamic partnerships with universities on innovative projects using research to inform future practice. She holds a post graduate diploma in Public Management and a Psychology Degree and remains a registered social worker. During her career she has managed large multi-disciplinary teams and has been an active member of a senior leadership team supporting not only social work issues but also SEN pathways.

Yvonne has utilised her professional social work experience in supporting a Local Authority with a pilot project for the National Assessment and Accreditation Scheme for Qualified Social Workers and Managers funded by the Department of Education. As well as working on the updating and writing of policies for a local authority to ensure effective practice.

Maria Matthews

Vice Chair of Directors

In 2011, I retired as Head teacher of St. Bede’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester. I have been involved with education for over 40 years: in the classroom as a teacher of English; Pastoral Lead; Assistant Head teacher; Deputy Head teacher and finally, Head teacher. I am passionate about ensuring that all students are supported and encouraged to become the best that they can be, no matter what their backgrounds or circumstances.

I am a Director of the Emmaus Youth Village, Allensford: a role which I believe is a privilege. It is an honour to work with a team who witness Christian values and who provide the perfect environment for young people, the needy and vulnerable; supporting them as to grow spiritually.

After retiring as Head teacher, I became Secondary Lead for Carmel Teacher Training Partnership (CTTP). I was part of the central team based in Carmel College but I worked with many Lead teachers in schools across the north. This was a very exciting time: once again, it was a privilege to work with excellent practitioners and the next generation of teachers, guiding them on an exciting and fulfilling journey: to become the best they can be, in the most rewarding profession in the world.

As well as teaching, I have particular skills, knowledge and interest in the curriculum, HR, staffing, achievement and generally every area of school life.

Christopher Wiper

• Former Senior Partner of Close Thornton LLP solicitors.
• Chair of Governors at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College since 1995.
• Appointed National Leader of Governance in 2016.
• Life governor of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and honorary fellow of Cancer Research UK

Fr John Butters

Born Darlington and attended school at St William’s and St Mary’s (now Carmel). After ordination to the priesthood and four years study in Rome and two years in parishes I taught for 15 years at Ushaw College. For the last 26 years parish priest in Billingham I have been involved as pastoral priest in our five schools and also as Governor in each of them and more recently as Director of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust. During that time I have been on many panels to appoint Headteachers/deputies/ chaplains; HR issues; curriculum standards.

Malcolm Frank

I am passionate about Catholic Education and continue to have a strong involvement in its development. I was a pupil and Head Boy at St Mary’s and then privileged to join the staff in 1970 playing a large part in the formation of Carmel, being Head of Lower School until 1988. Following Deputy Headships in Leeds and Durham, I became Headteacher of Our Lady and St Bede, Stockton, from where I took early retirement. I am a part-time Link Tutor, training future teachers with Leeds Trinity University and until recently, a Recruitment Adviser for the Diocese, for the appointment of Heads and Deputy Heads. I was Chair of Governors at Holy Family and St Teresa’s, and also spent three years as Chair at St Cuthbert’s Berwick on Tweed at the request of the Diocese. I sit on Admissions Appeals and Independent Exclusion Panels. Completely differently, I was invited to train in Canon Law and appointed by the Vatican initially as Defender of the Bond of marriage and now as an Assistant Judge in the Diocesan Tribunal. I am a member of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland. I currently also act as Educational Consultant for The Royal and Pontifical English College of St Alban (English Seminary) in Valladolid, Spain. Within St Augustine’s Parish I am Safeguarding Representative, a Eucharistic Minister and Reader. I am married with four children and seven grandchildren.

Dr Immanuel Sebastine

Immanuel is a Chartered Chemical Engineer, working as a Business Development Manager at Centre for Process Innovation, a High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre – a scientific & technology R&D organisation in Darlington. He is specialised in process scale up, techno economics biotechnology & tissue engineering. He is a STEM Ambassador, actively working with the local schools and colleges to promote the importance of science and engineering. Previously he worked as a senior lecturer at Teesside University; he has the knowledge and understanding of the higher education system, their requirements and expectations from potential students.

Allan Mitchell

Emily Bradshaw

Emily Bradshaw is an experienced employment lawyer, having worked for over 12 years advising individual and trade union clients in both the private and public sectors.

Emily graduated with a 2:1 in LLB (Hons) Law with French from Manchester Metropolitan University and studied her LPC at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, passing with a Commendation. Emily is also fluent in French.       Working in employment law since her qualification as a solicitor in 2006, Emily has a track record of successful employment tribunal and civil court litigation.  She has considerable knowledge and expertise in unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistle-blowing, national minimum wage, TUPE and redundancy consultation claims.

Emily is passionate about improving the rights of working people, the importance of trade unions and being the best role model she can be for her two wonderful daughters. 

Alison Aisbitt

Alison studied law at Liverpool and then attended the Bar, joining Greys Inn. She has worked for Sunderland City Council as the Legal Advice Development Manager for Social and Welfare Law, for 28 years.

Alison has been a Governor for over 20 years, and held both chair and vice chair roles She became a National Leader of Governance in May 2014, part of this role, involves her being deployed into other schools to offer support to governing bodies, to improve governance to bring about improvement.