Term of office - 20 May 2022 to 19 May 2026

Andrew is a career Insurance Broker starting his career in 1983 in the City of London.  In 2004 Andrew and a business partner acquired an established travel insurance business which they grew to £5M+ turnover in 3 years. 

In 2007 Andrew started his own business, Riverside Underwriting Limited which has grown to 20 staff transacting business from the UK and Malta where in-house designed and developed technology is the primary distribution method.

Andrew has been involved in employing young people throughout his career focusing on individuals with valuable personal attributes and providing training and encouragement to further their careers.

Andrew became a School Governor at Maundene Primary School in 2015 whilst it was still in the control of the Local Authority.  Voting to transfer Maundene to the Inspire Partnership after a period of school improvement. Andrew has been part of the Inspire journey in Medway that now includes Elaine Primary School and Delce Academy and the creation of the Medway Hub where he has been Chair of Governors, a role he will relinquish in July 2022.

Originally from south-east London, Andrew now lives in Medway with his wife Rita and three children and enjoys a regular game of golf although he admits he needs much more practice!

Term of office from 20 May 2022 to 18 May 2026

Gustad is an independent management consultant with over fifteen years’ experience leading large-scale, complex organisational transformation. Specialising in public sector strategy development and operating model design, Gustad’s clients have included the Ministry of Defence, Home Office, Metropolitan Police, and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. 

Gustad is passionate about helping organisations create diverse and inclusive working environments. He has led the development of numerous corporate D&I strategies, initiatives, and governance. 

A Croydon resident since 2018, Gustad is dedicated to making a positive impact in the surrounding communities of South London, Kent, and Surrey.

Term of office from 1 Jan 2021 to 31 Dec 2024

Ray was born in Greenwich and raised in Thamesmead. He worked as a Student Union vice-president and for a local Member of Parliament during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ray qualified as a social worker in 2022 and currently works with children and families in East London. 

Term of office - 20 May 2022 to 19 May 2026

Nicholas has over 20 years experience in scaling and building technology and financial services businesses. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of CustomsClear, a Deloitte technology start-up. Prior to Deloitte, Nicholas was the COO of a joint venture between BCG Digital and Tata Steel Europe, leading on commercialising a new online marketplace for the buying and selling of steel across Europe. Between 2012 and 2017, as COO of The Start-Up Loans Company, he grew a public funded lender from a small start-up to supporting more than 50,000 entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground. He is also a company founder, having started and sold his own technology business in 2008.

Nicholas has an MBA from the Open University Business School as well as a Law degree from the Open University. Nicholas is a keen runner and a holder of a private pilots licence. 

Term of office - 20 May 2022 to 18 May 2026

Lucy Ellis has more than 25 years of educational service to children and communities. Graduating from Warwick University with a degree in primary education, and from UCL with a masters in mathematics education, she has spent her whole career teaching and working within inner city London, and more recently in coastal areas of Kent and Sussex. After spending 8 years as a classroom teacher, Lucy became deputy head for inclusion for five years before becoming headteacher for a further five years. Having become a mother to two girls in this time, Lucy has spent the last 7 years as an executive leader supporting many schools at once, first as a school improvement officer for Lewisham council, next in one of the largest multi-academy trusts as a deputy director for education, and most recently as school improvement partner at a growing MAT within south east London, currently a flexible role that complements her return to the classroom as an MBA student. 

Lucy is delighted to be part of IPAT as she is, and always has been, absolutely passionate about education, believing it is the key to choice in later life. Educating some of the most disadvantaged children, creating aspiration, providing opportunity and having unwaveringly high expectations have been her entire career so far.  

Rob is the CEO of the Inspire Partnership. He is the author of ‘A Manifesto for Excellence in Schools’ and regularly writes blogs about education and school improvement. As an NLE and previous senior partner with Challenge Partners, Rob has experience of school leadership in a range of contexts, including schools in special measures and schools serving a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Rob was also a member of the ASCL Council as a primary representative. In 2025, Rob was appointed by the DfE as a RISE Advisor for the London region. 

Term of office - 6 Dec 2022 to 5 Dec 2026

Saj has over 10 years’ experience in the education sector. She has a MA in Educational Leadership from UCL Institute of Education and a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature. Currently, Saj is working as a Senior Policy Advisor for teacher development programmes across England. She is also a Risk Manager where she identifies potential threats and mitigates risks, ensuring the effectiveness of all programmes. As part of her wider corporate role, Saj leads on the learning and development of staff and provides tailored support to learners. She is also a Mentor to undergraduate students at UCL. Saj has worked with trusts across England and brokered sponsored support for underperforming trusts. She has experience in school intervention, school improvement and school evaluation. Previously, Saj worked in the Independent sector as Head of Department for English and was also a member of the senior leadership team where she led on change and school improvement, whilst there she also established a broad and balanced curriculum for the school.
As part of Saj’s recreational activities she enjoys trekking, mountain climbing and sightseeing. She is passionate about helping others and is a strong advocate for equal opportunities for all.

Term of office - 1st September 2024 to 31st August 2028

Term of office - 1st September 2024 to 31st August 2028

Sinéad has over 20 years’ experience working as a Strategic HR professional. She is now an independent consultant and leadership coach, partnering with businesses across different sectors, to support leadership teams on both their people strategy agenda as well as the development of their leaders and their people leadership skills.

Previously, Sinéad worked at Allegis Group for five years, a staffing and services business, as their Executive Director, People.  She put in place and executed a people agenda to support the business strategy, using her broad experience on different HR subject areas.  Her passions are specifically on the topics of employee engagement; high performing teams; behaviours and culture; and leadership development.  During her time at Allegis Group she also established and chaired their Inclusion & Diversity Committee, as well as promoting activity in the community. To that end, Sinéad and her fellow executive leaders became patrons of The Prince’s Trust and undertook mentoring and support with teenagers from a school in North London. Before Allegis Group, Sinead spent over 11 years working at pwc, a professional services firm, where she ran talent acquisition teams as well as worked as an HR Business Partner supporting leaders of their Management Consulting business on their people strategy and agenda.

Appointed 01/06/2023

Passionate about supporting local schools and communities to ensure all children maximise their full potential, Nick has been involved in local governance for a number of years. Having supported a large junior school as Vice Chair, he is now the Chair of Governors at a local primary school in Medway.
He also brings a strong financial and corporate background to the role, having worked for a number of the UKs largest banks over the past 22 years in their Commercial Banking divisions. Nicks current role as a National Performance Director, sees him set and implement division wide strategies to ensure the business delivers on the banks priorities to support businesses.

George Perfect, Member

George has always been passionate about education and its power to transform life chances. He has been involved in school governance for over half a decade. He joined a Medway based multi academy trust as a local governor of a secondary grammar school in 2018, before becoming Vice Chair of Governors a year later. In 2020, he was appointed Chair of Governors of a large junior school within the MAT, and as a Member of the Trust from September 2023. He joined the Inspire Partnership as a Member in February 2023.

In his day job, George is Account Director at one of the UK’s leading public affairs agencies, where he leads client accounts for some of the UK’s leading businesses. Specific projects have included large regeneration projects, a new garden town and large developments. He is also a Councillor on Medway unitary authority, and was appointed as Opposition Spokesperson for Children, Young People and Education, in May 2023.

He holds a first-class degree from the University of Westminster in politics and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Rob is the CEO of the Inspire Partnership. He is the author of ‘A Manifesto for Excellence in Schools’ and regularly writes blogs about education and school improvement. As an NLE and previous senior partner with Challenge Partners, Rob has experience of school leadership in a range of contexts, including schools in special measures and schools serving a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Rob has also been a member of the ASCL Council as a primary representative. Rob is currently working with the DfE as a RISE Advisor for the London area.

Arlene has extensive experience in the education sector, both in Further Education and now as Head of HR for the Trust
since May 2022.

Arlene is passionate about education and the positive impact it can have on people's lives. As Head of HR, Arlene leads her team in providing professional HR service to the entire Trust. This includes; identifying HR priorities, recommending people management solutions and managing core HR areas like staff wellbeing, employee relations and recruitment.

Rupinder is Trust Education Leader - Inclusion for the Partnership. She has worked in schools for over 22 years as a class teacher, phase leader, senior leader and headteacher in a variety of school contexts. She enjoys the school improvement journey and has a successful track record of turning schools around. She enjoys creating wonderful spaces for children to learn and for staff to work in, and always has culture and climate at the forefront of her mind. She is also currently acting Interim Headteacher at Elaine Primary School. 

Melissa Carpenter is Deputy CEO at Inspire Partnership Academy Trust, where she oversees the strategic leadership of the educational and operational strategy across 10 primary schools in South East London and Medway. A founding leader of the Trust, she has helped grow Inspire into a thriving organisation, consistently delivering improved standards, stronger systems, and sustainable leadership capacity.

With a background in headship and school improvement, Melissa has successfully supported schools to move from Requires Improvement to Good, and authored Inspire’s global curriculum—praised by Ofsted for its focus on inclusion and social justice. Under her leadership, Trust-wide outcomes now exceed national averages, with disadvantaged pupils achieving in line with all pupils nationally.

As Deputy CEO, Melissa also contributes to wider organisational leadership, including governance and strategic planning. Passionate about equity, collaboration, and staff development, she continues to champion excellence and opportunity for every child and community the Trust serves.

Alan is the Head of Estates and Resources. Ensuring our schools are safe places and supporting the educational aims of our teachers and leaders he is responsible for delivering the Estates strategy and aligning our spaces and resources to the vision of the Trust to provide inspiring learning environments. Working in education for over 20 years including senior leadership roles managing compliance, contracts, commercial operations and procurement across complex and multi-site operations, Alan is passionate about delivering cost efficiencies without compromising quality and effectiveness to ensure we are able to invest the maximum value into our teaching and learning.

Stephen has been working in education for 25 years. He has experience across a number of roles including; class teacher, senior leadership, local authority schools ICT strategic lead and a curriculum advisor for the London Grid for Learning. Stephen is focused on delivering the Inspire Partnership Academy Trust’s digital transformation strategy that will ensure technology is being used to its full potential in all areas of school life. 

Joe Sarchet-Winters is IPAT’s new Group Lead for Marketing and Communications. He brings 20 years of experience in communications, including as Head of Communications for the Institute of Physics, the multi-academy trust Ark and, most recently, the international charity Lie Detectors.

Aimi is the Trust School Improvement Lead. Previously, she was the Headteacher of two of the schools in this hub and is passionate about leading learning for children and adults alike. Aimi believes firmly in the collaborative power of a Trust and has led working parties across the Partnership schools impacting on teaching and learning in areas of expertise such as reading and phonics.

Julie has worked in the education sector for 20 years, as a class teacher, deputy head and headteacher. Julie studied for her degree in Greenwich and worked in the city before commencing her education career.

Julie has worked in a number of leadership roles across Medway, including, our very own, Elaine Primary in the Medway Hub, where she acquired her NPQH at UCL. Following this, Julie moved into a leadership role as headteacher at Chattenden Primary.

Rupinder is a Trust Education Leader - Inclusion for the Partnership. She has worked in schools for over 22 years as a class teacher, phase leader, senior leader and headteacher in a variety of school contexts. She enjoys the school improvement journey and has a successful track record of turning schools around. She enjoys creating wonderful spaces for children to learn and for staff to work in, and always has culture and climate at the forefront of her mind. She is also currently acting as Interim Headteacher at Elaine Primary School. 

Swabra joined Inspire Partnership in April 2022 as the Headteacher of Forest Academy. She has worked in the education sector for over 15 years, including Offender Learning and Further Education. Swabra holds a Master’s degree in leadership from UCL and is a founding member of the Chartered College of Teaching. She has worked as a senior leader in primary schools in a range of contexts. She is committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Swabra is dedicated to ensuring that a child’s socio-economic background does not predicate their educational success. She is passionate about raising children’s aspirations and providing them with the opportunities to become life-long agents of change.

Megan is the Co-Headteacher at Foxfield Primary School in Greenwich, previously holding a number of leadership roles both at Foxfield and within the Trust. Megan leads the curriculum group for the Trust and is committed to providing a high-quality Global Curriculum for all. Megan has a keen interest in school improvement and ensures that quality first teaching and learning leads to the best outcomes for all children. Megan is firmly committed to the collaborative approach across the Inspire partnership schools.

Tatum is the Co-Headteacher at Foxfield Primary School and prior to this she taught and held a range of leadership positions across different schools within the Royal Borough of Greenwich as well within the Inspire Partnership. Tatum is passionate about the Inspire Global Curriculum and leads the curriculum group across the Trust ensuring that the curriculum provides the highest quality learning experiences for our children. Tatum is involved in school improvement, developing teaching and learning across the Trust and teacher/leadership professional development.

I am the Headteacher of Maundene Primary and it is an absolute privilege to work in a school that has the children at the heart of everything we do.  I have been teaching for over 20 years in Medway and enjoy working in the area where I grew up. Being part of the Inspire Partnership allows me to give back to the community and my priority is to ensure we give the best educational experience to each and every child that walks through the doors of our schools. I am fully committed to Inspire and love that our Global Curriculum focuses on preparing our children for the future world in which they will be part of – including preparing them for careers and jobs that may not even be around yet!

Donna is Headteacher of West Thornton Primary School, primarily based at the Rosecourt Road site of the school. She has worked within education for over 25 years, both in London and the North East. She has a real passion for children’s literature and was able to put this to good use during her time as the Primary Literacy Advisor for North Tyneside. Donna implemented the Design and Technology curriculum and developed the writing learning journey for the Croydon Hub at Inspire Partnership. She has undertaken training on inclusive leadership and attachment and trauma training to develop effective school practices and systems. Her core values of kindness, excellence, empathy and tolerance sit perfectly within the values of the Inspire Partnership global curriculum. Donna believes that the partnership’s global curriculum provides learners with the skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to become responsible global citizens.

Imandeep is the headteacher of Woodside Primary School. He has worked in a range of teaching and leadership roles across Greenwich, Medway and now Croydon. Over his time in education, Imandeep has led in various areas, including RE, maths and lead the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion working party across our Medway schools. He has undertaken training on inclusive leadership and attachment / trauma training and using these knowledge and skills to develop school practices and systems. Imandeep is committed to developing teaching and leadership of teachers through his own values-driven leadership. 

As the Trust Inclusion Leader for the Inspire Partnership, I feel very privileged to be able to work with all of the schools within our Trust to ensure that all children have access to an excellent inclusive education.

After qualifying as a primary school teacher in 2011, I have taught at various schools within Medway where I was able to give something back to the communities in my local area. I am extremely passionate about ensuring schools are inclusive for all children by being a place where children feel safe and the education they receive prepares them for the 21^st century.

I am fully committed to the Inspire Partnership’s drive to ensure that we provide all children with a Global curriculum through engaging learning opportunities which will transform the future of our children.

Lizzie has over 25 years’ experience in primary education, working first as a teacher and later as assessment and data leader in schools in South London; she has also run a small business working with school leaders to develop MIS assessment systems. She now supports data leadership at Inspire Partnership and is
based a day a week at Woodside.
With a wealth of experience working across a number of primary schools supporting their use of MIS to track pupil data and outcomes, Lizzie works successfully with teachers and leaders to ensure they are collecting and analysing data effectively to ensure pupil progress.