They have ultimate responsibility for the Trust achieving its charitable objectives. They sign off the Articles of Association and have power to appoint and remove the Trustees. They have ultimate control over the direction of the Academy Trust decisions.
Eileen Patching OBE
Eileen is passionate and committed to the provision of and continuous improvement in good quality education and takes an active role in primary education in Basildon. She is a founding governor member on the Basildon Excellence Panel and is now a Trustee of the new Basildon Excellence Partnership. Eileen has been a school governor of Merrylands Primary School for over 15 years and Chair of Governors for the past eight years. As a senior civil servant she leads a division of 120 staff in a range of policy and technical professional roles, risk management and customer service roles. Eileen has extensive experience of governance in challenging and assuring performance/interventions/development/handling of issues or cases involving millions of pounds. Her work involves analysis of complex data and financial information in order to make informed
Lesley Evans (appointed 28th April 2022)
I am 75 years old and was married to my husband Don for 40 years. Now a widow, my two children and four grandchildren are a source of both joy and amusement.
All of my life I have been fascinated by knowledge, information and data. For most of my life I’d wanted to be a teacher, an ambition I achieved after returning to university as a mature student. I spent all of my teaching career in the East End of London and its suburbs. The skills that I had learned in commerce were extremely useful as a teacher and later in senior management, while those I developed in education are useful to me in retirement.
My personal faith is important to me and as one of the founding members of the Building Committee,I made a commitment to my church in West Ham, Newham to see through a new building project, which after 11 years has just been completed.
I now live in the small community of Bangor in North Wales where the sea and mountains allow plenty of walking opportunities and coffee stops. My ordinance survey maps also come in very useful when indulging in another passion which is archaeology - I managed to get myself on a local dig, which I thoroughly enjoyed even though the weather was atrocious and I spent a week on my knees in mud, hail and snow! When the unpredictable weather up here closes in, you will find me happily researching my own family tree and those of others.
However, once the fact that you have been in education is known, invitations to join all sorts of committees begin to arrive. I have learned to commit myself only to those things for which I really have a passion. One of those is devoting time to supporting my church and another is helping to run our local Cathedral Foodbank. I’m part of a team connected to a mediaeval church in Snowdonia, who are working hard to keep the little church which has been closed for over 100 years open to the public, especially walkers who need a pitstop. I’m also treasurer for the Jamaica Wales Alliance which I came to after being one of their community researchers.
Now, in this new step forward, I’m really looking forward to working with the other members of this team. I’m a bit out of touch with things educational, especially as Wales has a different curriculum, but I feel sure I’m going to be well supported to become a useful member.
Dr Katrina Bentley (appointed 28th April 2022)
Originally an agricultural research scientist, Katrina moved into accountancy in her mid thirties spending several years in the private sector before moving into the local Education Authority providing financial assistance and training to staff in local schools. She then moved into the Grant Maintained sector and took up the post of Bursar at a large secondary school, in Essex. The school took on Academy status in 2011 and formed a Multi Academy Trust in 2018. Alongside this professional experience, Katrina served on the Governing Body at her local secondary school, also an Academy, for 25 years. This gave her the intriguing experience of seeing the ‘work of a school’ from both sides and has given her a complete understanding of the role that can be played by an effective Governing Body in driving up standards.
She has now retired from both roles, but still retain a great interest in ensuring that all children are enabled for their future life through a quality education provided in the primary sector. Crucial to this is the effective, but efficient use of the resources made available to schools.
She presently carries out the Treasury function for a local branch of Parkinson’s UK.
Lorna Rourke (appointed 2nd May 2024)
I am CEO of Elveden Schools Trust which is currently made up of two Church of England Schools in Suffolk, with a view to welcoming more schools over the next 5 years. We have a strong Christian foundation in our articles, structure and terms of reference. Having been a senior leader in Church of England schools for over 14 years and being a Head Teacher for 11 years, I have a secure understanding of what makes a Church of England School distinctive. I believe that by upholding these values and acting with the integrity that they bring, ensures that all decisions and actions are taken with these in mind. I successfully completed my NPQEL in December 2023 and continue to work with local CEOs as part of the CEON network where I am developing my knowledge and experience of all things related to Multi Academy Trusts. I am honoured to be part of Berlesduna Trust and am excited to work collaboratively with the board.
Outside of work, I spend as much time as possible with my husband and 3 children (young adults!) who are at college and university. When I am not ferrying them around in mum’s taxi, we like to travel when the school holidays allow and spend time with friends and family. My daughter is a keen dancer and I spend many a weekend at competitions and chaperoning the troupe which keeps me busy and out of mischief.
Chelmsford Diocese (appointed 13th March 2025)
‘Representative of Chelmsford Diocese' – awaiting details