Members & Trustees
There are two schools within the Waverley Education Foundation trust; Waverley School and Waverley Studio College which are both located within Bordesley Green, Birmingham. Waverley School is an all through school for ages 4 to 19. Waverley Studio College is a school for ages 14 - 19.
The Board of Members provides the overarching strategic direction for the trust and academies and the Board of Trustees has responsibility for finance and HR matters.
Meet our Members
Professor Colin Diamond CBE – Chair of Waverley Education Foundation
Colin Diamond CBE
Chair of Waverley Education Foundation
COLIN DIAMOND has worked in the field of educational leadership for many years in England. He has been a Head of Faculty, Associate Headteacher, Local Education Authority Adviser, Assistant Director and Director of Education/Children’s Services.
He led improvements in two local authorities taking them from government intervention to strong performance. He has also worked for the Department for Education in England as Head of Education Advisers for the Academies and Free Schools Programme. He was Deputy Education Commissioner in Birmingham and he was also an OfSTED inspector. He was an associate lecturer at three universities before taking the chair of education leadership at Birmingham.
Debbie James – Member
Debbie James
Member
Gilroy Brown – Member
Gilroy Brown
Member
GILROY BROWN served for 37 years in the education service which included 10 years as Headteacher of an inner city, multicultural school and 11 years as a School Advisor working as part of the Local Authority's Primary Leadership and Management Team. He has successfully delivered bespoke Leadership and Management training for school Leaders in various school networks. He also provided support and training for aspiring school leaders and newly appointed Headteachers – including the Local Induction Programme for new Heads via the National College for Leadership.
Gilroy led two local research projects on raising African Caribbean achievement in schools (RACA) which led to the publication of case studies and recommendations for best practice. He has also delivered a comprehensive training programme for Local Authority Advisors to develop the appropriate knowledge and skills for supporting schools in raising the attainment of African Caribbean pupils. His expertise in this area resulted in him being selected to work as part of a national team of Consultants commissioned by the DFES to lead on the Aiming High programmes. In this role he supported a challenged school leaders in both primary and secondary schools to develop innovative practices that would raise the attainment of BME pupils and form part of a national strategy for tackling under achievement.
Gilroy has worked extensively with parents and voluntary organisations. This included being the co- founder of the KWESI mentoring programme which co-ordinated the work of 30 mentors across 30 schools (25 primary and 5 secondary) and contributed to the reduction of exclusions. He has also helped to establish partnerships between local parents and schools which as formed the basis for teachers and parents to work as co-educators.
Over the years he has also coordinated informal coaching/ support networks for aspirant BME school leaders which led to many of the participants becoming successful Headteachers.
Meet our Trustees
Sue Barratt CBE – Chair of Trustees
Sue Barratt CBE
Trustee
SUE BARRATT is an experienced school leader of over 20 years and has led an outstanding primary school. She has been a member of many local authority committees and supported the School improvement Group.
Sue is currently the Executive Head Teacher of Al-Furqan Primary School and is Director of Bournville Teaching School and the elected chair of the Association of Central Teaching Schools. She also has vast experience of school governance serving on governing bodies in other schools and as an IEB member.
Sue is also a National Leader of Education and has supported a number of schools on their improvement journeys. She helped to establish The Professional Alliance licensed to deliver NPQ programmes and supported the delivery of NPQH and other leadership programmes across the region.
In 2007 Sue was awarded a CBE for Services to Education.
James Sutton – Trustee
James Sutton
Trustee
JAMES SUTTON joined the board of trustees in 2019. He is a social worker in a children’s safeguarding team in Solihull. Before training as a social worker, he worked as a teacher in a secondary school in Derbyshire for several years. He holds an MA Education and has conducted research into the effects of target-setting on pupil motivation and into the experiences of LGBT+ pupils in UK schools.
James is an ambassador for the educational charity Teach First. He worked for the organisation as a Leadership Development Officer, during which time he coached Newly Qualified Teachers working in schools in low-income areas. He continues to volunteer with the charity and has mentored several sixth-form pupils from poorer backgrounds to access university.
James grew up in a low-income area of Coventry before going on to study at the University of Oxford. He has worked with Oriel College and the University of Oxford for a number of years to improve opportunities for state school pupils at Oxford.
Nnamdi Obishai – Trustee
Nnamdi Obishai
Trustee
Coming soon....
Elizabeth-Jane Formby, MBE - Trustee
Elizabeth-Jane Formby, MBE
Trustee
In taking early retirement last week I have been reflecting that my entire career has been about enabling organisations, teams and individuals cope with the challenge of constant change and to find ways in which they can deliver the best versions of themselves or their organisations. It is with pride that I look back at a long career where we have made significant differences to all the stakeholders working with us. I would now like to take that experience into retirement and repackage it in a way that enables me to continue to help others.
For the last twelve years I have worked at the Department for Education in a variety of strategic and change leadership roles, completing my career as the Head of Capability and Communications for the Digital, Data and Technology Services across the Department – dealing with significant and ongoing change. Before this role I was Head of Strategic Change, bringing together two key Divisions across the Department and working to create one organisation where we could enhance and develop our own technology capabilities rather than rely on external services.
In the days before I moved into the operational roles, I worked in policy within the Department with three key and significant roles. I led the policy and operation delivery around Secure Children’s Homes – looking after the twelve homes who houses our most challenged and difficult young people. Our role was to keep them safe, to keep the public safe and to provide an excellent education with the hope of providing a new future for them. I loved that role. Whilst also in the policy world I held the roles of Intervention Team Leader for failing Open Academies and Children’s Services in Local Authorities, helping to find ways in which these organisations could address the failings in a positive and impactful way.
In the earlier days of my life I worked for a charity supporting the interface between education and business and prior to that I worked for the Work Foundation, a business striving to improve the way in which business manage.
Beyond the corridors of work, I have had a lifetime of volunteering. I now run a charity which supports the education and welfare of a 1,000 young people who attend our school called Brainhouse in Nairobi, Kenya. Before, I took on founding this challenge, I led Girl Guiding across the Commonwealth and worked on bringing positive risk taking to schools both in the UK and Internationally.
I have been awarded an MBE for services to Young People, the National Civil Service Award for services to young people and the Master Guild of Educators Award for services to education and young people.
I would be delighted to bring all this experience to the table to help support Waverley be the very best it can be. I have always had a great relationship with the school and it’s community and want to extend that beyond the relationship I currently have.
Emma Richardson – Trustee
Emma Richardson
Trustee
Over the last 20 years I have worked in the energy industry holding a number of senior financial roles in treasury, pensions, investment, planning and reporting and seeing significant change in both the energy markets and in the organisations in that sector.
The finance roles are about providing the financial insight into all investment, strategic and planning decisions to support and drive the business and it is also about bringing people along with you so recruiting, developing and managing teams particularly in times of change is crucial in driving a successful business.
Having worked across a number of business areas and across different countries and cultures has been an enlightening experience and has helped me to understand the importance of setting common goals and clear communication.
I have already been a trustee for a charity in the medical sector for a number of years and although I have not worked in a school environment before I am hoping to bring my commercial skills and experiences to support my role as Trustee at Waverley.