Our Team
Ruth Sturdy
CEO
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Ruth is a qualified teacher and has a B.Sc ( econ) from the University of Wales and an MA with a focus on education. Her career has always had a focus on SEND,she was a SENCO in three schools in her journey towards school/setting and now multi- school leadership. Her experience of leadership across a range of settings including mainstream and specialist provisions as well as at a wider local authority level means that she has a wealth and breadth of knowledge and skills to bring to the role of CEO of SEAX.
Kim McWilliam
Director of Education
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Director of Academy Improvement- Kim is a qualified teacher with a BA(Hons) from Goldsmith College in London in Design and Technology. Kim has always had a focus on working with young people with SEND both in her education career as well as through voluntary work. She has experience of leadership in school settings as well as working in school improvement roles at a local authority level with a particular focus on improving the outcomes of young people with SEND.
Tamsin Owens
Co-Director of Business
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Tamsin is co-Director of Business for the Trust. She helped to set up Grove House School as a new free school when it opened in 2015 and became the Finance Manager for the School in 2017. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant, starting her career with Deloitte as an auditor and then joining their consultancy arm specialising in budgeting and forecasting systems and processes. She enjoys working closely with the Business staff at each school and using her accounting and budgeting skills to good effect.
Kate Stannard
Director of HR
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Kate Stannard Director of HR Kate joined the staff of Thriftwood School in 2010, having worked in the private sector for some 30 years previously. She moved to work directly for the SEAX Trust in September 2016, taking responsibility for cross-Trust HR provision. She is a Member of the CIPD and is CIPD Level 5 accredited.
Catherine Burnside
Director of Governance & Compliance
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Director of Governance & Compliance, Catherine joined the SEAX Trust in August 2018 having previously worked as a clerk for maintained schools. She had also worked as a teacher in both secondary and primary settings before moving across to school governance. Catherine has a passion for education and is committed to ensuring effective governance across the Trust. Catherine’s role also encompasses Company Secretary for SEAX.
Darren Mussenden
IT Manager
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Darren joined the SEAX Trust in September 2016 as the IT Manager and brings over 20 years’ experience supporting and managing IT solutions, deployed within an educational environment. Darren enjoys travelling and his favourite country is Italy.
Wendy Antoniou
Co-Director of Business
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Business Support Manager, Wendy Antoniou, is a Chartered Accountant and qualified teacher who joined SEAX Trust in 2020 , initially working in Grove House School before moving directly to work for the Trust Central Team in April 2022. She brings both corporate and education sector experience to the role.
Julia Tozer
Business Support Manager
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Julia Tozer joined SEAX Trust as the Business Support Manager in March 2023. She was formerly the CFO for a standalone academy and has worked in education finance and business management for 16 years.
Mikaela Weller
Administrative Assistant
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Mike Bevan
Estate Manager
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