Expertise: School Improvement and Governance

Over 50 years’ experience including headteacher at an outstanding secondary school in Bracknell Forest; former National Leader in Education; former Lead Inspector-Adviser on School Leadership in Hampshire; Kathy has been a registered Ofsted Inspector and held regional and national positions in education. 

Formerly also the Accounting Officer of an Academy Trust; for the last six years a member of the Church of England General & Diocesan Synods; and currently a member of Bishop’s Council.  She is currently a trustee in a number of other organisations. In 2021, Kathy was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her services to education; and the Order of St Frideswide in 2021 by the Diocese for services to both the church and education. 

Expertise: Finance, HR and Governance

Sir Clive is a former senior civil servant and HMI; former vice-chancellor and chief executive of Oxford Brookes University; vice president of an environmental charity, vice president of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and President Emeritus of Oxford Civic Society; and published author on education policy and charity governance. 

Previous governor experience within 2 schools; chair of the Teacher Training Agency (from 1997-2003); chair of the Nurse’s Pay Review Body (1997-2004); he conducted major reviews for the Department for Education on the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in 2001 and for the Home Office on Police Pay Negotiations in 2007; and he served as an editorial review board member of the Oxford Review of Education between 1996 and 2016. 

Expertise: Education, Governance and Finance

Anne has been ODST CEO since it was founded in 2012. She was previously Diocesan Director of Education for the Diocese of Oxford, from 2011-2018.

An experienced teacher and school leader, she was Deputy Diocesan Director of Education for Salisbury Diocese after being Head of Bristol Cathedral School (11-18) until 2007. A Cambridge Theology graduate who originally trained as a teacher in Edinburgh, she had a career in retail management prior to teaching. Anne has been a senior examiner for GCSE Religious Studies, as well as examining at A level and setting questions for the Cambridge Pre-U examinations. She has been a trustee of another national Multi-Academy trust and is currently a trustee of the Oxford Diocesan Council for the Deaf. 

Expertise: Education and Governance

Previously Head of Bishop Ramsey School and later Principal of Berkhamsted School, Priscilla was elected as the first female Chair of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), and now serves on a number of state and independent school governing bodies.

A Woodard trustee, she is a published author with a particular interest in church schools and religious education; she chaired the Church of England Report The Church School of the Future and the Dioceses Commission and was the first Chair of Governors of Wren Academy in the London Diocese. Priscilla is now Chair of Whitelands College, the Anglican college of the University of Roehampton. 

Nilofer is an experienced school leader, school improvement adviser and committee member, and was headteacher of an ODST junior school before joining the board of trustees in 2024.

Expertise: Education

Paul has been headteacher at the independent Bloxham School since 2013. He has previously taught at Lancaster Royal Grammar, Oundle and Carr Hill High, and was a Deputy Head and Director of Curriculum at Gordonstoun.  

In addition to his responsibilities at Bloxham School, Paul has served as an ISI inspector since 2013 and has been elected onto the governing board of Beachborough School.  He has also been Head of Woodard Schools Headmaster’s Association and represents the Midlands and West England on the Schools Universities Committee.  He has led curricular and pastoral change in a number of settings and acted as a consultant to a number of schools.

Expertise: Education

Jo was Principal RE Adviser and former Assistant Director of ODBE and until 2019 was a member of the national team training SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) inspectors and a member of the SIAMS Quality Assurance team for the CEEO (Church of England Education Office).  Prior to that, she spent eight years as Adviser for RE in Berkshire’s education team after a variety of posts of responsibility in a number of secondary schools in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Berkshire. 

Expertise: HR Management and Governance

Joanna works in recruitment in the third sector, focused on senior executive, board and chair appointments; and formerly was in senior leadership at Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) – a publisher within the charitable sector.  She has experience as a National Leader of Governance, and as Chair of Governors of Kidmore End Primary School; previously an elected member of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education and sits on the board of two other charities. 

Expertise: Finance

Chris is a financial analyst working for a bank in London and brings significant financial, reporting and risk management experience to the Board. He has been a school governor since 2013 and has also been Chair of the LGB at The Hendreds school, one of the first schools to join ODST.

He is also Honorary Treasurer of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the UK’s oldest building conservation charity. Particular areas of interest for him in his role as Trustee of ODST are tackling educational inequality and attacking poverty of opportunity and poverty of ambition. 

Expertise: Education, Governance, Finance

As Diocesan Secretary of Oxford diocese, Mark has responsibility for all the staff teams that support and enable work across all the Anglican parishes in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Bucks.  He works closely with the Bishop of Oxford and oversees the implementation of the diocesan vision.

Between 2007 and 2019 he was University Secretary at the University of Bath.  Mark previously worked for the national Church institutions, latterly as Head of Financial Policy with responsibility for the Church’s national budget and clergy payroll.

Expertise: Education, Governance, Property, Finance

Gordon is Deputy Director of Education at the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE), and works closely with ODST in this role as well as in his Trustee role.

At ODBE he currently oversees capital projects (including new schools), school organisation issues, land & legal matters, finance matters, school admissions and appeals.  Previously a chair of governors of a single school academy trust and other governor experience as a member of academy trusts and as a trustee.  Has worked with Oxfordshire schools since 1985. 

Sue has 15 years’ experience of secondary school teaching and 25 years’ experience of parish ministry. She brings experience of governance in the primary and secondary sector alongside involvement in the governance of the Church of England at national and Diocesan levels.

In retirement, Sue is taking up a number of voluntary posts including Chair of the Oxford Diocese Link with Kimberley and Kuruman, Co-Chair of Youth Challenge Oxfordshire and as a Governor of Cranford House School. She continues to support the work of the Oxford Diocese and her local parish church.

Academy trusts are set up as charitable companies, with Trust Members, who ensure effective governance of the trust by the board of trustees.

• Oxford Diocesan Board of Education
• Alison Jestico
• Kathy Winrow