Striving for excellence Part of the HOME ABOUT OUR SCHOOLS CAREERS LEARNING & TEACHING CONTACT USEFUL LINKS MEET THE DIRECTORS PETER O'BRIEN The commercial expertise I bring to the Board, comes from my time as Director of Finance and Operations at a large secondary school, Chief Executive of a National Charity, and over thirty-five years in Banking undertaking roles in Operational Strategy, Business Transformation, Sales and Communication. I also have over seventeen years’ experience of school governance in primary and secondary schools. I applied to be a Director because I want to use my expertise to help make a positive difference to the life chances of children. I am Chair of the Xavier Catholic Education Trust and sit on its Finance and HR Committees. SARAH CLARK I’m a communications specialist whose career has largely focused on delivering internal communications across organisations in the financial sector, and more recently in the NHS. I have three children who act as a daily reminder of how important it is to provide a great education and a supportive environment for young people. I strongly believe that by working together people can achieve more, and think the Xavier Catholic Education Trust is as fantastic example of this. I’m an active member of Our Lady’s Help of Christians parish in West Byfleet and place a lot of importance on the values of the Catholic church. I’m really excited to be part of this experienced team of directors, and hope to add a valuable perspective and positive benefits to the work of the Trust. MARIA DINEEN I have 30 years plus, business expertise gained from working in large corporate organisations both in the private and public sectors. I applied to be a Director as I wanted the opportunity to utilise my extensive business experience and skills, within the Xavier Catholic Education Trust. I feel that the work being pursued by the CEO and Directors in tackling the challenges of a multi-academy trust to improve every child’s learning opportunities, is where I can make a positive contribution. My strong inter-personal and change management skills will support the Board in achieving stretching goals. Change can be driven through strong influencing, coaching & leadership skills. I have dealt with many challenging situations in my working life and I have found that by consistently operating with a high level of integrity and ethics, namely doing what is right, together with effective communication, will make the difference. It’s about winning the hearts and minds of our Governors, teachers and all the support staff, in order to drive forward and optimise the learning experience of every child. I am a practising Catholic and active in the church community. I am a Marriage Preparation Facilitator, FOCCUS Facilitator and Centre Co-ordinator for NE Hants & West Surrey. MIKE HARRINGTON Prior to becoming a Director I was Deputy Chair of Governors at Salesian School, Chertsey. I bring to the role, extensive experience in HR and Operations management, gained through managing large groups of employees across two complex industries. I applied to be a Director of the Trust because I now wish to serve the Catholic Diocese of the community as a whole, rather than just as a single school. I want to do all I can to ensure the children of the Trust receive the best academic and pastoral education possible, as they progress through their school lives. ANI MAGILL - CEO I have been in education for 35 years, working in both primary and secondary schools. Before my appointment as CEO of the Trust, I was headteacher of St John the Baptist School for 23 years. During that time I held a number of roles including, as part of a Surrey intervention strategy, five headships of schools in difficulty that required rapid change. Collaborative relationships were established with several schools. Support and coaching was made available to headteachers, and formal mentoring for new headteachers. More than a dozen leaders from the SJB senior leadership team have gone on to become headteachers of schools in Surrey and beyond. Senior and middle leader secondments between schools have been actively encouraged to provide wider experience, and I have a close association with Surrey Teaching Schools Network which offers quality leadership courses for senior staff of schools throughout the country. I have been an associate headteacher for the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust, worked as part of the Leading Edge and Raising Achievement Transforming Learning partnership, been appointed a National Leader of Education, and been a member of the Secretary of State’s consultative group of headteachers. This experience culminated in a CBE for Services to Education, in the 2017 Birthday Honours List. However my continuing passion is to strive for excellence for all the children whom we serve. MIREK GLINIECKI I live in Camberley and work in management consultancy. I have been a Foundation Governor for eight years, and Chair of Governors at St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School in Frimley. I am also an Additional Skills Governor (ASG) for Surrey and have supported Governing Bodies in other schools in this role. I have worked in management consultancy for over 24 years and the expertise I bring to the Board of Directors is through my strategic business analysis experience, helping to understand, analyse and manage data, finances and risks, as well as extensive experience of leadership, performance management and organisational strategic planning. I applied to be a Director because I see this as a unique and exciting opportunity to work with all the Catholic schools in the Woking and Weybridge Deaneries; to build on the experience and achievement of good and outstanding schools in a cross-phase environment. I believe I can bring the right skills and experience to work as a Director to ensure that we deliver the very best Catholic education for our children. JOHN WELLS I have been a Governor of primary and secondary schools in north-west Surrey over a period of more than 25 years, including 8 years as Chair of Governors at St John the Baptist School. It has been most rewarding to be associated with the development of so many students during that time, and to have seen them gain in knowledge and maturity as they progress through our Catholic education system. The preservation and reinforcement of our ethos is important to me. The Xavier Catholic Education Trust will strengthen and prosper the provision of Catholic education within the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton. My commercial experience includes forty years as a Chartered Accountant in professional practice. I am currently Chair of the Xavier Finance Committee and a member of its Risk & Audit Committee. Dr John Lydon I have served in a number of roles in Catholic education leadership for over 40 years, including various positions at Salesian School Chertsey for over 30 years. I am currently an Associate Professor and the Director of the MA in Catholic School Leadership Programme, an Associate Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education. I am also an Associate Professor of the University of Notre Dame Indiana. I hold degrees in education and theology from the Universities of Durham, Liverpool and Surrey and my published doctorate focuses on teaching as a vocation for lay teachers in a contemporary context. In 2014 I was awarded the Salesian Medal by the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco for services to Salesian education. I was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in 2006 and promoted to Knight Commander in 2018. I am a Trustee of the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton. Xavier Catholic Education Trust