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The CEO and Directors work alongside our school and strategic leads to ensure the smooth operation of the Trust and our schools.
Please visit our Contact Us page should you wish to contact the central team or Our Schools page for school leader contact details.
| Donna Tandy Chief Executive Officer | It is my privilege to be the Trust lead and CEO for Palladian. I have worked in education since graduating from Edge Hill University across the country from the South East to the East Coast of Yorkshire, to the North West and now the South West. I have been lucky to have had a number of roles in schools and Trusts, working with pupils from Early Years to post 16.
I have worked in the Multi Academy Trust sector since 2013 as a Headteacher, Executive Headteacher, Deputy CEO and Academy Improvement Partner and now CEO.
I have also worked as an Ofsted inspector and as a Trustee for an Alternative Provision Trust.
I am a strong believer that when we work together, both within a Trust and across the sector that we can make a real difference to our pupils and colleagues. This sense of collective efficacy goes beyond simply looking out for each other and takes us into the realms of shared responsibility for all our pupils. I am proud to have forged strong collaborative relationships with other Trusts and organisations where we all learn and share from each other to make our organisations better for all.
I am a member of the BANES Strategic Safeguarding Team and a volunteer for a local charity supporting vulnerable members of the community.
I also believe that we all need a good work life balance so we can be our best selves at work. I am a member of a local ukulele group, an avid crocheter and enjoy spending time with my family, including my granddaughter and walking with my husband and our mischievous whippet. |
| Lisa Pollard Director of Education | I am Director of Education for Palladian. This exciting role brings together my extensive experience and expertise in systems leadership and school improvement across both primary and secondary phases of education. Before being Director of Education I developed and led the Boolean Maths Hub and a held national role focussing on leadership pathways and system leadership. The Hub Lead role grew from my position as Senior Leader of Mathematics across a mature trust, after successfully leading a Mathematics and Computing faculty.
I have worked with and supported schools and academies across all phases of education in the South West, including extensive experience with Ofsted inspections. I am a PD Lead and an SLE. I lead the facilitation of the new NPQH, NPQSL, and NPQLT, as delivery partner for Best Practice Network. I am a member of the Wiltshire Learning Alliance Board, the Axiom Maths Academic Advisory Committee and the Teaching Maths for Social Justice Network (TMSJN) Advisory Group. I have a BSc (hons) in Mathematics and having completed the NPQSL, the NPQEL and my MA Education, I am currently undertaking a Doctorate in Education. I hold Fellowship status with the Chartered College of Teaching and work to ensure that there is a reciprocal impact relationship between academic research and professional practice.
Being the mother of two wonderful teenagers, I find strength and focus through engaging in kickboxing, in my spare time. |
| Jo Marsh Director of Operations & Compliance | Working in service of young people is a key driver for my career and life choices. Enjoying leadership roles within the education and policing service over the past 25 years, I am a keen advocate for the public sector and the power of working in partnership with local communities and commercial entities.
I have had the unique gift of seeing our Trust develop from a germ of an idea for local school partnerships, to the thriving learning organisation that has the vision to provide excellent and equitable opportunities so everyone can flourish.
My experience and background across public and private sector operations, governance and finance has delivered estates masterplans and campus upgrades, technical and organisational restructures, developing and learning from and with the most fabulous colleagues and team members.
During times of both financial and political ‘feast and famine’ the key learning I pull through into my daily work, is the ‘why’ we are here and always reconnecting back to young people at the heart of every decision. As adults, sometimes we get in the way of the right decisions!
As an outward facing organisation, I have the opportunity to connect with other organisations and enjoy chairing BANES' Schools Forum and I volunteer as a Trustee and local governor across two local Trusts.
I am part of a fantastic community youth club in our local village and I have a generous and loving extended family. I am a consumer of film, books, theatre and fun and enjoy time with my family, friends as well as the sofa! |
| Julia Finch Director of Finance | I have worked in the education sector now for some 20 years after starting my career in banking and then working in the commercial sector in financial and business leadership roles. I have also had the privilege to have lived overseas in Germany, Hong Kong and Brunei experiencing different cultures and lifestyles.
I joined the education sector after returning to work following the birth of my daughter and have never looked back since. I love working in the school environment as you cannot predict one day from the next. Being involved in providing strong business services to ensure the best outcomes for all students is important to me and following my first school position as Bursar in Buckinghamshire in 2004, I studied to become qualified as a School Business Manager. My passion for this role and the value it added then led me to become a trainer for the National College of Schools Leadership. It was a pleasure to see so many people develop their careers in schools, many of which I am still in touch with to this day.
It is clear the dedication that all staff have to their roles here at Palladian and it is a pleasure to be part of the Finance Excellence team. My core goal as Director of Finance is to ensure we are we getting the best value for money from all resources within the Trust, making sure we are effective and efficient in all we do leading us to giving the best opportunities to all students.
In my spare time I love travelling, eating tasty food (I am married to a Chef!) and attending live theatre performances and music events. I also like adrenaline sports, such as horse riding and skiing. |
| Michelle Royce Co-Director of People | I am an HR Leader with over 10 years of generalist HR experience - from working in a variety of commercial organisations, including Financial Services, Hospitality and Fintech before moving into Education in 2022. I graduated from the University of Bristol with a 1st in Law and I have a strong background in UK Employment Law. I then went on to complete my Level 7 CIPD.
I started my career at Palladian as an HR Partner for the Trust’s Secondary School. In June 2023 I moved into a Central HR Operations role before becoming the Co-Director of People in March 2024. In this role, I am responsible for the HR function across the Trust. I work closely with the other Co-Director of People, Directors, School Leaders and the Central HR Partners to deliver the Trust's HR strategy.
I enjoy spending time with friends and family and doing fun things with my two young daughters and husband. We especially like to visit Cornwall with our sausage dog, whenever we have the opportunity to go. |
| Heleana Bouyamourn Co-Director of People | I have 20 years experience within an HR generalist setting, across multiple sectors in finance and tech, covering the UK and Europe, education and adult training.
Whilst working in Swindon, I volunteered with a local charity on their Board of Trustees providing HR support, progressing onto their Chair within the five years I was with them. Each organisation brought a similar range of HR requirements, however working with the teams to positively add value is the motivational part of my role.
I joined Palladian in 2024 as Co-Director of People during a period of growth and change. We have a team of brilliant HR Partners that work alongside myself and the other Co-Director of People to advise, coach and support school leaders and line managers throughout the full employee lifecycle. The Trust has strong values and a culture that resonates throughout each area; I am excited to be a part of their future and to help them grow more as an employer of choice.
In my spare time, I like to travel, anywhere near the sea. I have a Patterdale Terrier named Queenie, who as the name suggests is a diva, but she is the sidekick to our road trips and loves a beach as much as I do. |
School & Strategic Leads
- Simon Futcher, Executive Headteacher of Fitzmaurice, Westwood with Iford Primary Schools & Churchfields, The Village School
- Jane Gascoigne, Co-Headteacher of Combe Down CofE Primary School, Trust Safeguarding Lead & Church Schools Lead
- Jo Bird, Co-Headteacher of Combe Down CofE Primary School
- Dave Goucher, Executive Headteacher of Oldfield Park Infant & Junior Schools
- Nathan Jenkins, Headteacher of Ralph Allen School
- Seb Witts, Deputy Headteacher of Ralph Allen School
- Kirsten Holland, Deputy Headteacher of Ralph Allen School
- Jo Coppens, Headteacher of St. Philip’s CofE Primary School
- Alison Watts, Executive Headteacher of Widcombe Infant & Widcombe CofE Junior Schools
- Becky Wilson, Executive Headteacher of St Martin's Garden Primary School & Thrive Lead
- Aaron Harley, Head of School, Widcombe CofE Junior School
- Darren McKay, Headteacher, Winsley CofE Primary School
- Jo Hill, Head of School, Fitzmaurice Primary School
- Jeff Seatter, Head of School, Oldfield Park Infant School
- Heather Saunders, Head of School, Westwood with Iford Primary School & Churchfields, The Village School
- Rachael Van Roy, Head of School, Oldfield Park Junior School
- Claire McMurtry, Teaching and Learning Partner, SEND
- Tracy Boulton, Teaching and Learning Partner, CPLD
- Andy Brown, IT Lead
- Melanie Lavis, Estates Lead
- Binky Clark, Governance Lead
- Yvonne Miles, Executive Assistant
