Mrs Anita Ward - Chair of Trustees & Member of the Education & Standards Committee

Area of responsibility: Safeguarding, Attendance & Wellbeing

Mrs Ward is delighted to have joined the Board of Directors at Leigh Trust. Her association with Leigh Trust began through her involvement with Marlborough School where she was chair of the Interim Executive Board, and subsequently a school governor. Mrs Ward believes passionately that every child should be given the best start possible in life and a good education is a right not a privilege.  A solid education is the building block to ensure that as a child grows into adulthood, he or she achieve their best potential. Having served as a City Councillor for 20 years, one of Mrs Wards roles, including being the Chair of the Education and Vulnerable Children Overview and Scrutiny Committee was to oversee, scrutinise and challenge the Council’s performance on issues which included School Improvement, Special Educational Needs, Education Welfare & Inclusion and Children’s Social Services; she also served as the City’s Lord Mayor. Mrs Ward currently work for a third sector organisation involved in achieving better live outcomes for people and their local communities by tackling health & social inequalities.

Mrs J Matthiae - Vice Chair, Trustee & Member on the Education & Standards Committee

Area of responsibility: SEND

Mrs Matthiae is a retired Head Teacher and was previously, Mrs Matthiae was a member on the IEB at Marlborough Junior School. When Marlborough Infant and Marlborough Junior Schools joined the Trust in January 2019, Mrs Matthiae remained on the LGB and recently stepped down so that her role as Director could be fulfilled. Mrs Matthiae was attracted to this role because she said the Trust's ethos, vision and rigor it generates raises standards and achievements for the pupils within the schools and that the Directors show passion, commitment and team spirit. Mrs Matthiae has worked for over 40 years in the primary sector, previously a DHT then HT , she can bring vasts amount of skills, expertise and knowledge to the Board. The skills set that Mrs Matthiae can bring to the Board are Strategy and Leadership, Data Analysis, Attainment, Progress and Leadership, Financial Planning and Governance.

Mrs S Raybould - Trustee

Area of responsibility: EYFS

Mrs Raybould started as a Parent Governor at Leigh Primary School over 15 years ago, continuing as a co-opted governor and was Chair of Leigh Governors for four years. This is in part due to the fond memories her son has of the school at what was such an important stage in his life and has provided him with a strong ethos for education, travel and social skills. The foundation the school provided him has helped him to obtain a first class degree in International Business Management. 

Growing up in Washwood Heath, educated locally and having strong ties in the local community, Mrs Raybould was drawn to the role during her son’s time there because of the school ethos, the schools approach to educating every child, removing barriers to learning. Also the personal development not just for herself but for the staff, volunteers and other schools in the area, the school having good links with the community. This role enables her to give something back to the community and school, whilst supporting the school to provide the same ethos and standards to the children in an ever evolving education arena. 

Being part of the Governing body ensures that the provisions made by the school meet individual needs; values difference whilst promoting a culture of dignity and respect within the school and the community. Mrs Raybould is presently a community specialist nurse working with children, young people and adults who have inherited blood conditions (Sickle Cell and Thalassemia) for the past nineteen years. 

Her nursing career started in 1984 with qualifications as a general nurse (adults), sick children nurse and health visitor. Working in hospital and community settings with a qualification in clinical teaching. Mrs Raybould has degrees in community health nursing and nursing studies, recently qualifying as a nurse prescriber. Mrs Raybould has a vast amount of experience working with children and young people with a wide range of needs and uses her experience and knowledge to support the well-being of children with varying needs and the safeguarding ethos of the Trust. As a senior nurse she brings skills in management; safer selection and recruitment; research; networking; child care; health and well-being; finance insight (as similar to health education has also had budget restrictions and challenges). Experience working with multi agencies on Safeguarding and Domestic violence committees.

Mr M Aikhlaq - Trustee

Area of responsibility: Community Links 

Mr Aikhlaq was initially a Governor on Leigh Primary Schools Governing Body for 14 years, of which he was Chair of Governors for 8 years prior to him becoming the Chair of Leigh Multi Academy Trust in January 2014. He has a shared vision with the Trusts leadership in ensuring that children in the local area are provided with the best educational opportunities possible. He has actively supported schools in Special Measures by either being on their Governing Body or being a member of the Interim Executive Board. During his career he has been a Production Manager at Jaguar Land Rover for over 24 years and has also been the Trade Union representative. This role led him to be a staff representative. He has responsibility for managing a large group of staff from a range of backgrounds as well as being involved in financial aspects of the company. Mr Aikhlaq was previously in office as Local Councillor for Bordesley Green Ward which represented over 20,000 residents. In the May 2018 Local Council elections, he was successfully elected as Councillor for Ward End and he was also elected as Chair for Children’s Social Care responsible for scrutinising children’s trust, safeguarding, SEND, early years and corporate parenting. Previously, Mr Aikhlaq was appointed to the Board of Governors for the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and was elected as Chair of Corporate Resource and Governance overview scrutiny committee in 2016. In addition to this he has spent many years on various committees. He is a prominent figure in the local community and supports residents with all paperwork related to bereavements and other personal issues. In recognition for his services to education over a substantial period of time he was awarded a MBE in 2017.

Mrs A Siddiqa - Trustee & Member on the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

Area of responsibility: Pupil Premium

Miss Siddiqa is a Finance Manager for Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust. As a public sector employee, Miss Siddiqa is passionate about the positive changes we can make for the betterment of society. Education is a key aspect in the development of an individual. As a former pupil of Leigh Primary School she valued her teaching and development in the earlier parts of her life which ultimately, shaped Miss Siddiqa into the individual that she is. As a Leigh Trust Director, it is paramount to be able to challenge and offer insight and alternative ways of thinking in ensuring the Trust continues to meet and achieve targets which are beneficial for all. Miss Siddiqa believes her skills, expertise and background can support the Board in meeting its objectives. This role will allow Miss Siddiqa to make a valuable contribution to the Trust and the community. Miss Siddiqa believes it is important to give back to the community and welcome the opportunity to be able to support Leigh Trust to create the best working environment for the staff and provide the finest education to children. The skill set that Miss Siddiqa can bring to the Board are Analytical skills, Management Accounting, Budgeting and Forecasting.

Miss T Ruddle - Trustee & Member of the Education & Standards Committee

Area of responsibility: Curriculum

Miss Ruddle was delighted to have been asked to join Leigh Trust as a Trustee.  She has been in primary education for over 35 years.  During this time, she been a Head Teacher of 4 schools, worked for a national multi academy chain and led School Improvement in Birmingham on behalf of Birmingham Education Partnership. Miss Ruddle is totally passionate about schools and the children who attend them.  She believes that every child deserves the very best education that can be provided and has worked tirelessly towards this for her whole career.  Miss Ruddle had the privilege of working with Leigh Trust over the last six years and during this time, she has been impressed with all that they are providing for the many children in their care. Her knowledge and skills of primary education will, she hopes offer both support and challenge to leaders as the Trust develops and grows further.

Mrs Naziah Rasheed - Trustee & Member on the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

Area of responsibility: Pupil Welfare

Mrs Rasheed has held numerous positions in Accounting and Finance roles over a period of 17 years from Telecommunications to British Manufacturing industries, helping businesses to grow to their potential.

In addition to her finance career, Mrs Rasheed is deeply committed to community activism. As a passionate advocate for social change, she has initiated and led numerous projects focused on empowering underserved communities. Through grassroots campaigns, Mrs Rasheed has organized fundraising events, collaborated with local non-profits, and spearheaded initiatives that have positively impacted education, affordable housing, and environmental sustainability."

Driven by her belief in the power of finance and community engagement, Mrs Rasheed is dedicated to bridging the gap between financial prosperity and social well-being. Mrs Rasheed's ultimate goal is to continue leveraging her finance expertise and community activism to drive systemic change, promote financial inclusivity, and create a more equitable society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Mr Robert Cummins - Trustee & Member on the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

Area of responsibility: Sports Premium

Mrs J Greenwood - CEO / Trustee & Accounting Officer

Mrs Greenwood began her teaching career in Lower Gornal, Dudley in 1990. Over the next 6 years she worked in Bilston, Wolverhampton and then onto Erdington in Birmingham. Mrs Greenwood originally specialised in PE and Special Needs and in 2001 became Deputy Head Teacher at Leigh Primary School in Inner City Birmingham.  In 2006 she was appointed Head Teacher at Leigh Primary School and over the next 5 years focused on turning a satisfactory school to a ‘Good’ school in all areas, with ‘Outstanding’ for Capacity for Sustained Improvement and Leadership and Management.  In 2011, Mrs Greenwood became a National Leader of Education and started her journey of providing school to school support, to schools in difficulty. In 2012, jointly with the Deputy Head Teacher of Leigh Primary School, they led a Special Measures school to ‘Good’ in all areas over a 12-month period, whilst still leading Leigh.

In 2014, Leigh Multi Academy Trust was formed and as CEO, Mrs Greenwood has continued to take on a number of Interim Headships at schools either in Special Measures or Requires Improvement. The impact of this work can be clearly seen as schools that she has either led or supported have moved from Ofsted categories. Leigh Trust currently comprises of 5 large inner city primary schools. Two of these schools were previously in Special Measures but are both now ‘Good’ schools. Over the last 5 years Julie has had the opportunity to carry out the headship in 4 of the 5 schools in Leigh Trust. Her passion has been to recruit and retain high quality senior leaders. With these skilled teams Leigh Trust has been able to create bespoke school improvement packages which have led to outstanding and rapid school improvement. Mrs Greenwood is also a Member for a local Multi Academy Trust and and is a proactive member of Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) working with other Multi Academy Trusts across Birmingham.