Our Members

Members have oversight of the governance arrangements of the trust and have the power to amend the articles and appoint trustees and remove trustees. They use these powers to ensure effective governance of the trust. Our Members are:

Carol Dudson - Chair

Carol’s career to date has revolved around roles involving Employee Engagement and Organisational Development, and has worked as a consultant in the field since April 2013 with People Matter Associates. Before this, Carol worked as an Investors in People Specialist Assessor between 1996 and 2013; and as an Assessor and Internal Verifier between 1993 and 1996. She also has a breadth of experience in a broad range of public, private and charity/voluntary sector organisations.  Carol’s qualifications include: INLPTA Diploma in the Art and Science of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP); IIP Assessor since 1993 and Internal Verifier for IIP Standards; ISO9000 Internal Auditor; Qualified Leadership & Management Assessor; Approved Assessor for Health & Well-being; First Assessor in WM to complete Gold Assessment; Qualified Primary Teacher; training/development in Work-Life Balance and Health & Well-being; Master’s in Business Administration; and Effective Manager Programme. Throughout her career right up until the present day, Carol works hard to link the various benefits of engaging with the principles of Investors in People and other organisational development strategies to realise organisational goals/challenges. She has also played a pivotal role, serving as a Director of the Trust since its inception in 2015.

Jill Fury

Jill has considerable experience in all aspects of Education and Learning. She taught English in the secondary sector, with subsequent roles as Head of Year, Head of Department and Assistant Headteacher. Jill joined Stoke-on-Trent Local Authority in 2001 as English Adviser and Lead for the National Literacy Strategy across all sectors, with additional roles as School Improvement Partner and Ofsted Inspector. She became an independent Education Consultant, working across Primary, Secondary and Further Education in 2012 before becoming Education Director of the Trust in 2015 until retirement in 2017.

Rob Knight

Rob is currently a Trustee of St Bart’s MAT which has 19 schools across four local authorities and chairs its Audit and Risk committee. He is also the Chair of the LGC of a Federation of an infant and junior school and also of a primary school. He is self-employed part-time as a coach for school leaders. Rob has previously been a director of The Societas Trust and was chair of one of its school’s Governing Boards.  He was also the head teacher of a secondary school for 13 years and in senior leadership roles for a further 11 years.

Ray Palin

Ray worked as a real estate lawyer in the legal profession for over 40 years. Ray continues to work with a law firm on matters relating to compliance but has since 2010 worked with an academy conversion specialist based in the North West as a project lead, assisting schools to set up Academy Trusts, working closely with the schools in understanding the procedures. Ray is on the Board of Members for a number of Trusts as a guardian and adviser to the Board of Directors.  Ray was part of the school governance for many years before recently retiring.

Neil Williams

Neil Williams is also a Governor at Carmountside Primary Academy, having joined as a co-opted Governor in 2014 in order to make a community contribution to a school in a deprived area. Up until Christmas last year, when he took retirement, Neil worked for the Cabinet Office as a Chief Digital & Technology Officer within the UK Government, leading cross-government technology programmes that will enable £2 billions of taxpayer savings over the next twenty years. Prior to this, in the role of a senior leader in technology in the education sector since 1999. Neil has won multiple national awards for innovation in educational technology and is a Fellow and Charted IT Professional of the British Computer Society. Neil is an experienced leader, having led multiple business strategies over many years delivering multi-million-pound change programmes. Neil’s experience includes working in governance structures in several large organisations, where he has been responsible for governance of finance, change, risk, IT security, GDPR, educational Improvement, health and safety, disaster recovery, and business continuity.

 

Our Directors

Directors (“Trustees”) have responsibility for directing the trust’s affairs, and for ensuring that it is solvent, well-run, and delivering the trust’s charitable outcomes. The DfE requires trustees to fulfil the three core functions of all governing boards, as set out in the Governance handbook - setting direction of the trust; holding the CEO to account for the Trust’s educational performance; and overseeing the financial performance of the Trust. Our Directors are:

Christopher Austin - Co-Vice Chair

Chris joined Societas as a Director in 2018. His specialisms include marketing and communications, business management and health and safety. He has governance experience in both maintained and academy settings, and is a Trustee for a local charity. Professionally, Chris worked for Stoke-on-Trent City Council until 2016, and was responsible for the city’s major events programme, as well as a number of key leisure and events venues. After leaving local government, he became a Director of Edenfield Solutions Limited, a company providing training and consultancy solutions to clients in various sectors throughout the UK. Chris is also a guest lecturer, having delivered to undergraduate and post-graduate students on behalf of Staffordshire University, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Chris is a graduate of both Staffordshire and Manchester Metropolitan Universities, having completed an undergraduate degree (first class) in Business Management in 2010, and an M.Sc. (with distinction) in International Events Management in 2013. He is currently studying for an MBA in Strategic Leadership. Chris has also been trained by both the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), and is a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner and Coach.

Carol Dudson – Chair

Carol’s career to date has revolved around roles involving Employee Engagement and Organisational Development, and has worked as a consultant in the field since April 2013 with People Matter Associates. Before this, Carol worked as an Investors in People Specialist Assessor between 1996 and 2013; and as an Assessor and Internal Verifier between 1993 and 1996. She also has a breadth of experience in a broad range of public, private and charity/voluntary sector organisations.  Carol’s qualifications include: INLPTA Diploma in the Art and Science of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP); IIP Assessor since 1993 and Internal Verifier for IIP Standards; ISO9000 Internal Auditor; Qualified Leadership & Management Assessor; Approved Assessor for Health & Well-being; First Assessor in WM to complete Gold Assessment; Qualified Primary Teacher; training/development in Work-Life Balance and Health & Well-being; Master’s in Business Administration; and Effective Manager Programme. Throughout her career right up until the present day, Carol works hard to link the various benefits of engaging with the principles of Investors in People and other organisational development strategies to realise organisational goals/challenges. She has also played a pivotal role, serving as a Director of the Trust since its inception in 2015.

Mary Hughes - Chair of Education

Mary has taught across all primary age ranges (2- 11) and has been involved in education for over 35 years. She has held a range of senior management roles, including deputy headship and headship. After leaving headship, she worked as a School Improvement Partner, Early Years Consultant and school advisor. She has carried out this work nationally and internationally. Mary spent 12 years with Ofsted as a team member and lead inspector. She also carried out similar work with the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). Mary worked for 2 years as the Education Director for the Societas Trust and then joined their Directors’ Board in 2019.

Jill Jenkins

Jill is currently retired. From 1987 – 2021, she was a member of Summerbank Primary School’s Governing Board, occupying the positions of both Chair and the Vice Chair, a Parent and a Co-opted Governor.  During this time, Jill was also involved with staff recruitment, curriculum development, finance, the introduction of SATs, the National Curriculum, and conversion to an Academy Trust. From 2003-2012, Jill worked at Cloughall Technology School, originally employed as a Pastoral Support worker, working alongside the Head of Year. As part of this role, she liaised frequently with EWOs, CAMHS, Bereavement Counsellors, community policing and external educational agencies. Later, she also became the school’s exams officer and chief exam invigilator.  Following a restructuring exercise, Jill returned as a member of the finance office. Jill has also been a member of the Girls’ Brigade for 33 years, both as a girl and an officer. During this time, she worked and supported girls aged 5-21, working on physical activities, educational projects, spiritual learning and community projects. All of the above have given Jill a deep understanding of the importance of education, both formal and informal.  She has seen education from all angles, and her variety of jobs within a school, and voluntary positions within the community, have given Jill a wealth of knowledge that benefits both the Trust and the communities it serves.

Jon Lovatt (CEO)

Jon has over 40 years’ experience working as a public servant in the Education Sector, starting his career on leaving school in 1983. Since 1991, supporting senior leaders and governors with strategic resource planning based in the public and then private sector. He achieved the Certificate and Diploma in Business Administration in 2000 and 2001 respectively, and the majority of an MBA programme in 2003. Jon helped to found The Societas Trust as a collaborative partnership in 2014, and was appointed CEO in February 2016 on the incorporation of the Trust. He is also a founding member of the Ivy Learning Trust based in Enfield; co-founder and director of The Valiant School - an Independent Primary School for children with extreme social and emotional needs in North Staffordshire; and Chair of Governors at two schools in a neighbouring Trust. Jon also undertook the Ambition School Leadership’s Executive Educators course – the forerunner of the NPQEL – in 2015. He is a member of Stoke-on-Trent LA’s Children’s Improvement Board and Academy Trust Partnership Board. Jon also works collaboratively with a number of other CEOs from the West Midlands and nationally. Jon, who is from Stoke-on-Trent, believes passionately in inclusion and the Trust's maxim - ‘Great Learning Opportunities for All’.

Roger Machin – Co-Vice Chair

Roger left school after completing his ‘A’ levels and then worked for one year in insurance before becoming a photographic equipment electronic engineer for the next forty-six years until his retirement in 2018. Roger has also held voluntary positions in the local cricket club secretary and league secretary for the past forty-six years. He has 28 years’ experience of school governance, including 12 years as Chair of his Local Governing Body. During his time as a governor, Roger has attended many governor's training sessions and refresher courses, including the N.C.T.L’s Chairs of Governors Leadership Programme.

Paula Pattison

Paula is a Director of The Societas Trust, Chair of Governors at Oaklands Nursery School, which is an associate member of the Trust, and a parent with first-hand experience having had children at both Oaklands Nursery and Ellison Primary Academy. She lives locally and, since 2016, has worked as a mini-bus driver at Newcastle-under-Lyme School, after retiring from thirty years’ service with Staffordshire Police serving the communities of Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. Paula has extensive demographic knowledge and considerable experience in Child Protection and Safeguarding, skills which relate well to her role as both chair of Oaklands and a director of the Trust.  She is committed to supporting the Nursery School, a fabulous community resource that has benefitted greatly from being an associate member of the Trust in recent years, and which both governing boards wish to preserve for future generations.