Trust Members and Trustees
Kernow Learning was founded in September 2019 as a result of the merger of ACE and TLAT Multi Academy Trusts.
The partnership began through an alliance founded under the Kernow Collaborative Trust in 2012 and continues through the work of the Kernow Teaching School Alliance.
Members (6): Amarjit Basi, Kay Crosse (Chair), Matt Hurry, Sam Kendall, Askel Veur (The Umbrella Trust of the Diocese of Truro) and Leo Devine.
Trustees (10): Kay Crosse (Chair), Daniella Glynn, Phil Mason (Vice-Chair), David Parker, Tanya Ovenden-Hope, Mark Smith, Holly Sykes, Sue Tym, Jennie Walker (CEO).
Amajit Basi
Member
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Amarjit is a proven leader, with a demonstrable track record in leading major strategic change, values-led organisational development, embedded quality improvement with a deep focus on learning, teaching and assessment.
Evidence of impact is major milestones achieved in strategy, quality and cultural change in a number of diverse settings, and the esteem he is held with respected peers.
Currently working as an Education Consultant, Amajit's previous roles include CEO and Principal of Cornwall College, Principal and Chief Executive of New College Nottingham, Founding member of the 157 Group of Colleges, Formerly Principaland Chief Executive of Walsall College and he had a leading role in creating Gazelle, a movement of UK colleges committed to transforming FE through a focus of Entrepreneurship.
Matt Hurry
Member
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Matt has a range of commercial experience is area such as finance, operations, commercial, customer relations, PR, HR, marketing, Board Management, investor relations, funding, & not least people.
Matt is currently a self-employed consultant in the food industry delivering operational and commercial benefits through understanding the detail of the people and processes.
Matt is a Governor of Trenance School and a Trustee and Founder Member of TLAT. I recognise the need for a strategic non-operational view from the Trustees, and certainly from the Members. I believe I have consistently demonstrated the ability to make the right decision at the right
Sam Kendall
Member
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Sam is Education Manager at Cornwall’s Eden Project, leading the organisation’s educational charitable work with schools, young people and their teachers since 2010. She’s been a member of Eden’s Education Team since the project opened in 2001, establishing Eden as a must-go school visit destination for schools across the UK and maintaining a focus on high quality teaching and learning across Eden’s learning programmes. She designs and delivers projects and programmes linked to Eden’s mission to connect people with the living world and each other, towards a more sustainable future for all.
Sam brings her rigorous approach to linking highly engaging nature-based and environmental learning to the requirements of the curriculum and the needs of children and young people and their teachers. Following a first degree in Natural Science at Jesus College, Cambridge, she qualified as a primary school teacher, with science specialism, in 1997 and taught in schools in Bristol, Cornwall, Karachi and rural South Africa. She has a particular interest in the links between children’s emotional wellbeing and the outdoors and is writing a Masters dissertation on the topic.
Askel Veur (The Umbrella Trust of the Diocese of Truro),
Member
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Askel Veur (meaning ‘Great Wing’ in Cornish) is The Diocese of Truro’s Academies Umbrella Company.
The Diocesan Education Department works not only with the 44 Church schools but also a large number of community schools, their representatives take up roles on the boards of multi-academy trusts that include both church and non-church schools. The focus of this work will always be on improving outcomes for children.
The Diocese of Truro is committed to being a significant partner in raising standards in schools for children in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. They play an active part in the new school-led education system set out in the recent White Paper: Educational Excellence Everywhere. This involves providing expertise, training, support, challenge and grants in all the seven identified areas of excellence.
Kay Crosse
Chair of Trustees
Date of appointment - 01.10.16
Kay Crosse is a qualified teacher and has a Masters degree in early years education.
During her career Kay has had a range of educational roles including:
- Preparing early years education professionals to care for and educate very young children.
- Ofsted inspector inspecting in colleges of further education, local authority children’s services, children’s centres, adult and family learning and commercial training providers responsible for the training of early years modern apprenticeships.
- External Examiner for the National Nursery Examination Board.
- Mentor and critical reader for Registered Nursery Inspectors.
- Director of the Association of Nursery Training Colleges.
- Early years consultancy work in Bahrain, Hawaii and Japan.
- Consultancy work for Oxford Brookes, Reading and Bath Spa Universities
Kay’s last post of employment was as Principal of Norland College where Kay had responsibilities for its strategic direction and vision. Following this post Kay then set up her own consultancy business continuing to advise on early years matters both in the U.K. and abroad. She has published two books as well as contributing to several early years journals.
Mr Leo Devine
Member
Leo Devine was a journalist, presenter, and programme maker at the BBC for 34 years. During that time, he was Head of four of the English television regions, Head of Journalism Development for BBC Nations and Regions, and Head of Editorial Standards for BBC News. Since semi-retiring in 2019, Leo has worked as a media consultant and journalism trainer. At the beginning of the pandemic, Leo returned temporarily to the BBC to assist the corporation during the present crisis. Most recently, he has been named as Journalist in Residence at Plymouth MARJON University. Leo lives with his wife Angela in Cornwall. They have two grown up sons.
Daniella Glynn
Trustee
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Daniella is a Human Resources Consultant at Brown Jacobson Solicitors who specialises in consultancy, advice and support to schools and academies on all HR management issues across Somerset, Devon & Cornwall.
Previously Daniella was Head of HR at the University of Chester Academies Trust and prior to this was the Head of HR for a national organisation offering numerous services to young people, including 15 independent schools across the UK.
Phil Mason
Vice Chair of Trustees
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Phil has been a Governor and Director in Primary Education since 2007. As Chair of governors he helped lead St Columb Minor Primary School in its transition to academy status and then helped lead the creation and development of the ACE Multi Academy Trust in Cornwall and was Chair of Director from 2013 - 2019.
As well as being Vice Chair of Kernow Learning, Phil was a Director of Newquay Education Trust until it merged this year with another trust. He has significant experience and skills in leadership, management, finance and property. Phil is the Strategic Director for Economic Growth and Development for Cornwall Council having formerly held the role of Service Director and Chief Planner for the Planning and Sustainable Development Service for the local authority.
Phil is currently helping to lead the Council’s response to Climate Change and the need for Cornwall to reach a net zero carbon position.
Phil has children at Tretherras and Cornwall College. He is passionate that education is the foundation for the welfare and well-being of every child and that every child in every school matters; he believes his role is to ensure that there are continual improvement in all aspects of education.
Tanya Ovenden-Hope
Trustee
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Tanya is Professor of Education at Plymouth Marjon University (the University of St Mark and St John). A senior academic leader with innovative scholarly engagement in educational improvement and effectiveness at a national and international level. She has 29 years of cross-sector educational experience and was awarded Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014 and Enterprise Educator of the Year in 2014.
She is a published author of academic texts and research and holds an associate role with the Department for Education, an Adjunct Professor in Education at Cape Breton University, a Member for three Multi Academy Trusts, a co-opted executive committee member of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and Special Interest Group (SIG) Convenor for the British Educational Research Association (BERA).
Tanya is committed to education for transforming lives and has held roles as Head of Sociology (Wheatley Park School, Oxford), Programme Team Lead for Education and Higher Education (Truro College), Additional Inspector for Ofsted, Head of the School of Secondary and Further Education Studies (Plymouth University), Director of Education (Cornwall College). Tanya’s current research is in school improvement, with a focus on socio-economically deprived coastal regions in England and educational isolation.
Mr David Parker
Trustee
Date of appointment - 06.10.20
David is a retired former CEO of a local academy trust and before that a secondary school headteacher for fifteen years.
He trained as a teacher of geography and outdoor education and worked in schools in Oxfordshire, Bristol and Devon including advisory work for the local authority and senior examiner roles at A level and GCSE.
Appointed as Headteacher at The Roseland, near Truro, for four years and then Principal of Penrice Academy in St Austell for eleven years. Penrice was recognised by Ofsted as an outstanding provider in successive inspections and designated as a National Teaching School and a Leadership Development School. David then worked with local partner primary schools in St Austell to establish a collaborative academy trust of eight schools.
David was recognised as a National Leader of Education and worked with Cornish schools to improve educational outcomes. Also trained as an Ofsted inspector.
He was a governor for twelve years at Cornwall College and is currently a governor at two local primary schools.
David has always been committed to state education, to raising standards and to ensuring every child both succeeds and enjoys school.
Mark Smith
Trustee
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Mark is a Professional Director with experience in UK public sector environment, UK education landscape and with strong commercial acumen.
Mark is Executive Director of Business Engagement at Aston University, formerly he was Director of Enterprise and Employability at Birmingham University and from 2012 - 2015 was Executive Director of Unlocking Cornish Potential and the University of Plymouth.
He has also worked as a Director of the Cornwall Enterprise Institute Plymouth University, a Director of Business Development CPR Regeneration Limited, Chief Operating Officer AIDC UK Limited, Head of Business Development Renaissance South Yorkshire and Deputy Director (Strategy) Small Business Service in London
Holly Sykes
Trustee
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Holly oversees and delivers the Internal Audit Service for Cornwall Council. In addition she is the lead for the Internal Audit Service for Corserv, which includes Cornwall Housing Limited, Cornwall Airport Limited, and Cormac, as well as for a number of Multi Academy Trusts.
Holly previously headed up part of the audit service for the Ministry of Defence, with over 15 years experience in central Government from Internal Audit, transformation to working behind the scenes of Typhoon and Tornado fast jet projects.
Previous experience includes auditing Housing Associations, local authorities, the NHS and education sectors as well as delivering external audit in the private sector.
She specialises in Audit, Risk Management, transformation and leadership development.
As a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors South West Committee she facilitates and leads conferences having also been an examiner for the Institute on the risk management qualifications.
In her spare time she is a Trustee and Treasurer for Newquay Surf Life Saving Club, based at Fistral beach.
Sue Tym
Trustee
Date of appointment - 01.10.10
In addition to her role as a Trustee of Kernow Learning, Sue is also Vice-Chair of Governors for Trenance Learning Academy. She was previously a member and Director of The Learning Academy Trust (TLAT).
Previously Sue was the Chair of Trenance Learning Academy’s Governing Body Achievement & Standards Committee and has been a Governor at Trenance for over 13 years. Her professional background is as a manager of a specialist tour operator servicing a global market. Sue has a particular interest in special educational needs and disabilities, and has established and developed a voluntary group in the community to promote understanding and support in this area.
Sue was actively involved in writing the LAB Induction Policy and Procedure for TLAT and was instrumental in the development of the Self Evaluation Form (SEF). The SEF has been written from the National Standard Framework and adapted for Academies from the Governors Kite mark and comprises a rigorous self-evaluation process.
Jennie Walker
CEO
Date of appointment - 01.09.19
Jennie Walker is an experienced CEO having originally taken the role in ACE Trust in 2015.
She has been a headteacher in three different schools in three different local authorities, first appointed in 1994. She was instrumental in leading her 3rd school to academy status in 2011, forming one of the first convertor academies and umbrella trusts in the country with a like-minded group of heads.
Jennie is an Ofsted Inspector, a Local Leader of Education and a KTSA School Improvement Lead. Jennie has an International Professional Qualification for Leadership and has a passion for Global Education, her school having been a national Ashden Award winner for Sustainable Education in 2010.