Please see our: Central Support Team Structure April 2025
Chief Executive Officer and Senior Executive Headteacher:
Gail Brown has extensive experience in primary education and as a school leader, having taught every age group. She has successfully led a number of schools, taking one from Good to Outstanding and a school in Special Measures to Good in all areas. Gail spent many years working within a local authority context and as part of the National Strategies Yorkshire and Humber Regional Adviser team, supporting, challenging and improving practice and provision.
Director of Education:
Dave Barber has significant experience in primary education, and in senior management positions since 2003. He now serves on a number of sector bodies, using his extensive experience of providing school to school support to bring about positive change.
Finance Director:
Andrew Robinson is a CIMA qualified accountant with a BA in Accounting & Management Control. He has a great deal of experience of working with fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses in senior finance roles. Following his last role as finance & risk director for a financial services company in York, he joined Ebor in April 2017. Andrew is also the trust’s Chief Finance Officer.
Director of People and Culture:
David Wheeler is an HR professional with experience across the private and public sectors. As Head of HR for the Ministry of Justice, he led the delivery of HR services to over 90,000 staff. During his career, David has led substantial business change projects, fostered effective trade union relationships and worked in specialist areas of HR including HR Systems, Pay & Reward and Job Evaluation. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.
Director of Operations:
Richard Swain is a chartered engineer with over 30 years’ experience of engineering, project and operational management within industry. He spent eight years as chair of The Education Alliance (TEAL) multi-academy trust, overseeing significant growth and development. Richard has also been in school governance for almost 20 years.
SEND Lead:
Deborah Meiklejohn has worked in primary education for many years and has taught every age group. She has held the SENCO position in school, including early years settings, in both Gloucestershire and Yorkshire. She works closely with the Local Authority SEND teams and supports our schools in meeting the needs of our children and families. She has strategic responsibility for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision across the trust.
Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Behaviour Lead:
Rebecca McGuinn is extremely experienced in safeguarding in education, working in both schools in special measures and local authority safeguarding teams. She has wide-ranging expertise in many different areas of pupil wellbeing and is aware of the challenges education professionals face with complex and challenging behaviour. Rebecca sits on several local authority safeguarding partnership boards, is part of the national safeguarding directors’ association and provides advice, guidance, training and strategic support to school leaders who work in safeguarding and pastoral roles.
Head of Governance and Compliance:
Wendy Harrington joined us in 2022 from a multi-academy trust in Leeds where she was part of the executive team. As well as Governance and Compliance she is our authority on GDPR and is also the trust’s Data Protection Officer. Wendy spent 18 years in banking and as qualified chartered banker she managed multidisciplinary teams specialising in legal, corporate and personal lending. Following a career break to look after her two children, Wendy came into education initially as a school governor.
Chief Executive and Executive Headteacher (Yorkshire Coast hub): Richard Ludlow is a National Leader of Education and has been head of three primary schools, latterly Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy which was graded ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted at its last inspection. Richard has led the development of the Ebor Academy Trust since it was formed in December 2013. He is a Fellow of the National College for Teaching and Learning and has a track record of successfully leading, managing and improving primary schools. He has also established two international education partnerships, in Madrid and Singapore. Email: r.ludlow@ebor.academy
Executive Headteacher (Ebor Central hub): Gail Brown is a National Leader of Education and has over 20 years’ experience in primary education, having taught every age group. She has successfully led two schools, taking one from Good to Outstanding and, more recently, a school in Special Measures to Good in all areas. Gail has spent six years working within local authority context and as part of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Adviser team, supporting, challenging and improving practice and provision. Email: g.brown@ebor.academy
Executive Headteacher (Ebor South hub): Dave Barber21 years’ experience in the primary sector, 11 of those in senior management positions. Dave, an LLE, has worked effectively across the full primary age range in six schools in a wide range of contexts. He has extensive experience of providing school to school support that has proved instrumental in bringing about positive change. Dave has recently been chair of his local learning alliance and a member of the North Yorkshire Education Partnership Board. He believes passionately in providing opportunities for young people to flourish and develop independent and collaborative learning skills. Email: d.barber@ebor.academy
Executive Headteacher (Ebor East Riding and The Humber hub): Jeanette Sutherland has been in teaching for over 30 years, having been the headteacher of Ofsted-rated Good Church of England primary schools for the last 16. She has coaching and ‘train the trainer’ expertise as a result of National College programmes and has supported new heads through the Professional Partner scheme. In addition to her career in schools, she has been an advisory teacher, a tutor on the Hull University PGCE course, coached on middle leadership programmes, and devised and led a leadership development programme for local schools. Email: j.sutherland@ebor.academy
Andrew is a CIMA qualified accountant with a BA in Accounting & Management Control. He has over 15 years’ experience of working with fast growing entrepreneurial businesses in finance director or senior finance roles. Following his last role as finance & risk director for a financial services company in York, he joined the Ebor Academy Trust in April 2017.
Pete has over 20 years’ accountancy experience and brings a wealth of business and finance knowledge to Ebor Academy Trust. Over the past ten years, Pete has worked in the education sector in school business support and, more recently, as finance manager at a secondary school. He joined Ebor in December 2015.
Alison’s career in Human Resources began with Surrey County Council and has since spanned both the public and private sectors. In 1995 Alison returned to her native Yorkshire where she has worked in local authorities, financial services and the further education sector. She has been a HR Director since 2009.
Julie has over ten years’ experience as a schools business manager (SBM) and is currently HR Manager for Ebor. Julie took up the post of SBM at a large primary school in York in 2008, coordinating premises, HR and finance. Julie has been an integral part of the groth of the trust, joining Ebor in 2013. She became HR manager in 2015.
Diane has over 23 years’ experience working in all areas of payroll, including taxation, national insurance, pensions, sickness, parental leave and all year end processes. She left City of York Council in May 2017, after 21 years, where she was employed as the payroll and pensions team leader, managing a team to deliver an in-house payroll service.
Dani has 20 years’ experience working in the education sector, both in administration and as an adult education tutor. Originally appointed as an admin assistant within Robert Wilkinson Primary School, the starting point for the Ebor Academy Trust, Dani was appointed PA to Richard Ludlow, CEO/Executive Headteacher, in 2014.
Tracy has a wealth of experience in school administrative support. She was office manager in a Services’ primary school in Germany, before relocating back to Edinburgh where she was a senior administrator in a primary school. Tracy joined Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy’s office team in April 2014 and transferred over to the central services team in 2015.
Louise has worked for Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy for over 11 years. For the past four years she has been administrator of Ebor’s Primary School Direct initial teacher training course, working closely with the director and liaising with York St John University. Louise is also involved with Ebor’s rapidly expanding school to school support service.
Tim is a former local newspaper photographer, reporter and editor. As well as handling marketing and public relations for Ebor and its schools, Tim is project lead for the Creative Arts Academy York, the city’s newest primary school, and project manages many of Ebor’s school conversions. Tim is also a director of ThreeFour Consultancy and is a school governor.
Maddison has 5 years of experience working in the banking industry and most recently worked for National Security Vetting within the Civil Service. Maddison came to Ebor as she decided she wanted to try something new, she is really enjoying being part of the Ebor team and working within the education sector.
Darren has over 33 years experience in the Military spending the last 11 of those years as the main focal point for all Health & Safety matters. With a significant amount of Heath & Safety experience being degree qualified and with membership of IOSH he joined Ebor Academy Trust in November 2017.
Geoffrey has over 10 years’ experience working with children and young people, combining his passion for everything ‘techy’ within this role. After joining the academy in 2014, Geoffrey’s role has evolved from working with teachers, to help them provide excellent teaching and learning opportunities using technology, to specialising in E-safety and data protection protocols within the academy. He works with all of our existing and up-coming academy schools to ensure ICT is embedded safely throughout the curriculum.
Andy has over 30 years’ senior level managerial experience in project, operations and facilities management within sectors such as energy, the NHS and education. He is now engaged in developing facilities, site management, maintenance and connected operational requirements across the estates in the trust.
Neil comes from a farming family. He has grown up with a love of numbers and has a BA in mathematics and statistics. Having worked on the accounts of a small business for over 10 years, Neil moved to Ebor in January 2018.
He is currently working towards his AAT level 3.
Lara has over 20 years’ accountancy experience in various business environments including the educational sector. She worked at Great Yarmouth College in Norfolk and after relocating to Yorkshire she was employed by Askham Bryan College. Lara joined the Ebor Academy Trust in April 2018.
Oliver has been working in the accounting sector for over three years and has recently completed his AAT studies. He sought a new challenge after beginning his career in the building sector and joined Ebor Academy Trust in November 2017.