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The Governance Team

The Trust believes in the importance of governance and has a robust governance structure that supports the Executive Team at every level to turn potential into performance.

Members

David Davison, Member

A retired Senior NCO in the RAF and currently Youth Pastor at a local church. Has strong links in the community with exceptional experience of community relations. Works with the borough localities team and with local primary schools and youth groups. Works across Swindon area delivering relationship education programmes to young people and provides strong leadership to the governing body

Toni Gillespie, Member

A retired senior RAF Officer with a strong personnel background; now working as a Regional HR Manager for a global manufacturing company. Possesses a range of skills acquired over a diverse career path but with a strong people focus.

Philip Harland, Member

A local businessman with extensive experience of project management and service delivery. Nearly 20 years experience of school governance, most as board chair, including academy conversion and multi-academy collaboration.

Louise Bouteiller

A local businessperson specialising in event planning and logistics. Also has experience in quality assurance and customer relations. Has been involved in school governance for fifteen years, first as a parent governor at Lydiard Park Academy and then as a Trustee at the Park Academies Trust.

Canon David Cain, DCM

A Chartered Accountant with over 35 years of experience as a School Governor (mostly in the role of Chair). Frequent leader of school assemblies. A Licensed Lay Minister and Canon at Bristol Cathedral and member of the Cathedral Chapter. A long business career working at the highest levels of the UK Government. Public appointments have included Board Member of a large NHS Teaching Hospital Trust for six years, Director of the MOD for six years, Head of Property at HM Treasury for two years.

Trustees and Directors

 

Mike Taylor, Chair of Trustees

Mike leads the UK Space Agency's strategy and planning function and is based at the Agency's HQ in Swindon. He has broad experience of policy and operational roles across the Civil Service including in the Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office. In the Home Office he established WeProtect, a global coalition of governments, NGOs and technology firms, to prevent crimes against children online.  At the Space Agency he has been responsible for writing the National Space Strategy and supporting the first space launches from the UK.

Mark Edwards, Vice Chair of Trustees & Careers Link Trustee

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Mark is now Head of Packaging for a large corporation, with extensive knowledge of procurement and technical development globally. He has over 18 years’ experience of school governance at both primary and secondary level. A former councillor within Swindon, he has many links with the community including scouts and several other charitable organisations.

Catherine Dampney, Equality Link Trustee 

Catherine has over 20 years' experience in data and technology in both the Financial sector and NHS.  Over her career she has been involved in the development of regional and national data and digital transformation programmes for the NHS as a CIO and Director of IT.  Catherine is also a founding member of the National Digital Health CIO Network, and current Member of the National CIO Advisory Panel and sits on the Health Data Research workstream of The Elizabeth Blackwell Institute at the University of Bristol.  Catherine started her career as a Primary School Teacher with an interest in using technology in the classroom and her current role focuses on reducing health inequalities.

Nick Capstick, Safeguarding Link Trustee & Chair of Education, Performance and Standards Committee

A renowned education leader, Nick has been a driving force in the UK's educational landscape. Serving as CEO of The White Horse Federation, a trust that comprised of 31 schools including 6 secondary schools most of which were categorised by Ofsted as ‘good’ schools  from 2012 to 2023. 3 schools were SEMH/SEND schools which were taken from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’, the federation also ran the Swindon Primary PRU and behaviour outreach service for 66 schools and opened 3 special referral units in their Oxford schools.  

Nick has been a National Leader of Education since 2012,  recognised for his contributions, he received the OBE in the 2015 Queen's Honours List. His leadership extended to roles such as Interim CEO of the ATOM Trust (2017-2019) and trustee positions in influential organisations like Avanti Schools Trust and UK Youth Charity. From 2015 to 2018, Nick played a pivotal role on the Board of the Department for Education's Executive Investment Board, SSIF Fund. His commitment to professional development was evident in leading the "Executive Educators Course" at Ambitions Institute during the same period.

Simon James, Finance Link Trustee & Chair of Finance, Risk and Audit Committee

Simon is a retired Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He has worked in actuarial roles in life insurance, pensions and helped design and launch an internet bank. Simon moved into professional education in 2007 joining BPP Actuarial Education, initially as a tutor. He taught and developed materials for various actuarial subjects including risk management, business finance, investments and communications. Until his retirement in 2025, he was Director of Actuarial Apprenticeships at BPP, leading all aspects of the Level 4 and Level 7 Actuarial professional apprenticeship programmes (rated "Good" by Ofsted). Simon is Treasurer & Trustee for his local village hall and also Treasurer & Trustee for a national disability charity. 

Julia Watts, Foundation Trustee & Foundation Link Trustee

Julia supports Church of England schools and academies and their parish communities to enable them to provide a distinctively Christian education; including encouraging church, school and family relationships through the Church and Schools Partnership Award and through the SIAMS framework. She is also an RE Adviser for all primary, secondary and FE schools, colleges and academies through South Gloucestershire and Swindon SACREs.

 

Chris Wiseman, H & S and Estates Link Trustee

Chris is an experienced C- Suite leader working for the last 24 years in education across the private sector (SME, Private Equity and FTSE 100) and public sector (school, Local Authority, Government and Charities). His previous role was as COO and Deputy CEO of a national MAT where he oversaw the transformation of back office services and led growth of academies to 38 including a large merger with a 10 school trust.  A career that has spanned finance, major education infrastructure programs, IT outsourcing and operational and executive leadership in a large national Multi Academy Trust. Skilled and experienced in Strategic and Transformational Change Management, Major Programmes and Projects and Operational delivery.

Trustee meeting attendance 2024-2025 (130KB)

Attendance by Trustees at Full Trust Board meetings for the 2024-2025 Academic year

Trustee Declarations of Pecuniary Interest (109KB)

Declarations of Pecuniary Interest 2025-26

TPAT Structure September 2025 (111KB)

Trust Governance Structure effective September 2025