CEO and Central Team
Exceptional people. Proven expertise. One ambition for every child.
Our central team is one of Innovate2Educate Partnership's greatest strengths. It brings together an exceptional breadth of professional expertise, a strong record of achievement and a shared ambition to secure the very best education for every child. Working in close partnership with Trustees, headteachers, school leaders and Local Academy Committees, the team provides the strategic leadership, specialist knowledge and practical support that enable our schools to flourish.
Our central team combines proven educational leadership with expertise in school improvement, early years, SEND and inclusion, finance, governance, safeguarding, attendance and business operations. Together, colleagues provide both challenge and support, strengthen consistency across the Trust and create the capacity for innovation, collaboration and sustainable growth. Their collective experience allows school leaders to remain focused on what matters most: excellent teaching, strong outcomes and bright futures for every pupil.
Executive leadership
Kerry Rochester | Chief Executive Officer and Educational Leader
Kerry provides ambitious, values-led leadership for Innovate2Educate Partnership and has built a strong record of leading both educational and organisational improvement. Her distinguished career includes 18 years as a headteacher and executive headteacher, successfully leading two schools out of special measures, serving as a Director of Education and working for 18 years as an Ofsted inspector. A recipient of two national awards for leadership and curriculum development, Kerry brings exceptional educational credibility to the CEO role. Alongside her focus on standards, she leads the Trust's strategic development, financial sustainability, governance, organisational culture, workforce development and external partnerships. Her ability to unite educational ambition with effective organisational leadership ensures that I2E is well positioned to improve, innovate and grow while remaining firmly focused on the success of every child.
Sam Cosgrove | Director of Education Partner
Sam is a highly accomplished educational leader who brings significant strategic expertise and additional school improvement capacity to the Trust. As a former executive headteacher and academy trust CEO, she has an impressive record of strengthening vulnerable schools, developing leaders and improving outcomes. Her experience of successfully leading a trust through merger, contributing to improvement across a large group of schools and working as an Ofsted inspector makes her a highly valued source of insight, challenge and support.
Andrew Storer | Chief Finance Officer
Andrew provides expert financial leadership and ensures that the Trust's ambitions are underpinned by strong planning, assurance and long-term sustainability. A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, he brings extensive experience across professional accountancy, education finance and school business management. His sound judgement and detailed understanding of the sector enable Trustees and leaders to make confident, well-informed decisions that secure value for money and direct resources where they make the greatest difference.
Education and school improvement
Emily Calvert | School Improvement Partner
Emily is an innovative and inspiring school improvement leader who combines successful headship experience with exceptional creativity and strategic insight. She has co-authored a nationally recognised sustainability curriculum that received a National MAT Award and has twice been a finalist for Headteacher of the Year in Worcestershire. Emily's distinctive approach brings teaching, curriculum, the arts and STEM together, helping schools develop ambitious learning experiences that build curiosity, creativity and confidence.
Carl Gliddon | School Improvement Partner
Carl is a highly experienced school leader and inclusion specialist who brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience, including ten years as a headteacher, across Key Stages 2 to 5. His wide-ranging expertise encompasses SEND and inclusion, attendance, safeguarding, pastoral support, personal development and careers education. Carl's depth of knowledge and strong understanding of local communities enable him to help schools remove barriers, strengthen provision and improve the educational journey for children and young people.
Jo Berry | School Improvement Advisor - Early Years
Jo is an exceptionally experienced early years leader with a proven record of securing outstanding provision. Her leadership contributed to Outstanding early years judgements in three consecutive inspections, demonstrating sustained excellence rather than a one-off success. Across the Trust, Jo works with leaders and practitioners to develop ambitious, nurturing and high-quality provision, strengthen teaching and learning, and ensure that every child receives the strongest possible foundations from the very beginning of their education.
Helen Major | Attendance and Safeguarding Lead
Helen provides expert leadership across two areas that are fundamental to every child's success: safeguarding and attendance. She works closely with schools to strengthen practice, build consistency and help leaders identify concerns at the earliest opportunity. Through clear guidance, constructive challenge and carefully targeted support, Helen helps ensure that pupils are safe, well supported and able to attend, engage and thrive.
Finance and business operations
Penny Plant | Central School Business Manager
Penny is a highly skilled and experienced school business professional who plays a central role in the effective and sustainable operation of the Trust and its schools. With more than 20 years of experience in education, she brings valuable expertise across finance, human resources and governance. Her strong professional qualifications in school business management and advanced accounting, together with accreditation from the Institute of School Business Leadership, underpin the high-quality advice and operational support she provides.
Janette Taylor | Senior Finance Officer
Janette is a highly experienced education finance professional with more than 23 years of specialist knowledge, complemented by an earlier career in banking. Her expertise in financial management, budgeting, monitoring and compliance provides schools with accurate, dependable and informed support. Janette's contribution helps leaders understand their financial position, plan confidently and make effective use of public resources.
Julie Malbon | Central Finance Support Officer
Julie is a valued member of the central finance team, providing accurate, responsive and dependable support to schools across the Partnership. Her attention to detail and commitment to efficient processes help ensure that financial administration is completed consistently and on time. Through her practical support, Julie contributes to the smooth running of the Trust and enables school colleagues to access the help they need.
Governance
Sue Searle | Central Governance and Compliance Lead
Sue is a highly knowledgeable governance professional whose legal background and extensive education experience bring rigour, clarity and sound judgement to the Trust. A former solicitor, she has around 20 years of experience as a school business and governance professional. Sue provides trusted advice to Trustees, Local Academy Committees and leaders, helping them fulfil their responsibilities confidently and ensuring that governance remains efficient, effective and firmly focused on the best interests of children and young people.
Together, our central team offers a level and breadth of expertise that adds significant value to every school in the Partnership. Their combined experience, high expectations and unwavering focus on pupils give Innovate2Educate the capacity to improve, innovate and grow while ensuring that every school is known, supported and challenged to be the very best it can be.
Contact the central teamFor general enquiries, or to be directed to the appropriate member of the central team, please contact enquiries@i2e.org.uk or telephone 01889 561820 ext 268.
Innovate2Educate Partnership, c/o Thomas Alleyne's High School, Dove Bank, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire ST14 8DU
Our Headteachers
Exceptional leaders. Distinctive schools. One shared ambition for every child.
The strength of Innovate2Educate Partnership is rooted in the quality of leadership across its schools. Our headteachers are accomplished, values-led professionals who combine deep educational expertise with an unwavering commitment to their pupils, staff and communities. Each brings a distinctive range of strengths, while sharing the same determination to secure excellent teaching, ambitious opportunities and strong outcomes for every child and young person.
Leading schools from the early years through to post-16, our headteachers understand every stage of a child's educational journey. They work collaboratively across the Partnership, sharing expertise, challenging thinking and turning Trust-wide ambition into exceptional day-to-day practice. Together, they ensure that every I2E school retains its individual character while benefiting fully from the capacity, knowledge and support of a strong multi-academy trust.
First school leadership
Anne Tapp | Headteacher, Picknalls First School
Anne is an inspirational and deeply committed school leader who believes that headship is the best job in the world. Now in her twelfth year as a headteacher in Uttoxeter, she brings sustained leadership experience, warmth and a profound belief in every child's potential. Her career in education began unusually early: teaching keyboard lessons from the age of 14 and qualifying as a Yamaha Music School teacher at 17. This lifelong connection with music and creativity continues to enrich her leadership and her conviction that children should flourish academically, socially and emotionally. Anne has built a powerful sense of community and partnership at Picknalls, bringing pupils, staff and families together around high expectations and a shared love of learning. She takes greatest pride in seeing children recognise their own progress and grow into confident, capable and compassionate young people ready for their next steps.
Tom Burrows | Headteacher, Bramshall Meadows First School
Tom is the new Headteacher of Bramshall Meadows First School, an expanding school at the heart of a growing community. He brings fresh leadership and a clear commitment to building on the school's distinctive vision: 'Bramshall Meadows, where children bloom.' Tom is focused on ensuring that every child is known, nurtured and inspired to achieve their academic potential while developing the confidence and wider skills needed to become a well-rounded individual. Working closely with pupils, staff, families and the wider Partnership, he is committed to strengthening the school's culture of wonder, kindness and self-belief. His leadership will help Bramshall Meadows grow with ambition and purpose while preserving the warm, inclusive community that makes the school special.
Danielle Austin | Headteacher, All Saints CE First School and Hutchinson Memorial CE First School
Danielle brings valuable leadership continuity and a strong understanding of the Trust to her headship of All Saints CE First School and Hutchinson Memorial CE First School. Having previously served as Assistant Headteacher at The Richard Clarke First School, she has first-hand experience of I2E's expectations, collaborative culture and commitment to improving outcomes for every child. Her progression into headship reflects her leadership capacity, professional ambition and readiness to make an impact across two distinctive Church of England schools. Danielle is committed to working closely with staff, families, Local Academy Committees and the wider Partnership to secure high-quality teaching, nurturing and inclusive school cultures, and ambitious opportunities for every pupil. Her knowledge of the Trust places her in a strong position to build collaboration, share effective practice and lead both schools confidently into their next chapter.
Kay Hanson | Headteacher, The Richard Clarke First School
Kay is a highly experienced and passionate school leader who has worked in education since 1994 and served as a headteacher since 2014. She leads The Richard Clarke First School with high expectations, genuine warmth and a clear commitment to ensuring that every child receives an inclusive, engaging and joyful education. Kay's vision reaches beyond academic success: she champions excellence in the arts, technology and sport while helping pupils develop confidence, positive learning behaviours and respect for others. She is proud of the school's close-knit community and of its place within a forward-thinking Trust that values both innovation and individual school identity. Kay's personal enthusiasm for dance, theatre and the natural world reflects the energy and breadth she brings to school life, helping create rich opportunities that enable children to discover their talents and thrive.
Middle school leadership
Annie Grattage | Executive Headteacher, Ryecroft CE Middle School and Windsor Park CE Middle School
Annie is an ambitious and forward-thinking executive leader who has led Ryecroft CE Middle School since April 2022 and became Executive Headteacher of Ryecroft and Windsor Park CE Middle Schools in June 2025. Her broad leadership experience includes work as a Vice Principal, SENCO, curriculum lead and English and mathematics subject leader, giving her a detailed understanding of teaching, inclusion and whole-school improvement. As a Specialist Leader of Education, Annie supported schools across Stoke-on-Trent to strengthen curriculum and classroom practice, and she completed the NPQH in 2022. She is also leading I2E's digital strategy, harnessing technology thoughtfully to remove barriers, increase engagement and extend opportunity across the Partnership. Annie combines strategic drive with a strong personal commitment to education and is passionate about ensuring that innovation translates into better learning and brighter futures for pupils.
James Twynham | Headteacher, Oldfields Hall Middle School
James is an accomplished educational leader with 16 years of senior leadership experience and a strong record of developing teaching, curriculum and people. After studying Environmental Science at the University of Liverpool and completing teacher training at the University of Nottingham, he began his career as a biology teacher before progressing from subject leadership to deputy headship. James joined Oldfields Hall Middle School as Headteacher in September 2024, bringing particular expertise in science education, whole-school teaching and learning, curriculum development and leadership development. His influence extends beyond his own school: he has facilitated a range of professional development programmes and serves as a Visiting Fellow for Ambition Institute on the NPQH programme delivered on behalf of the Staffordshire Research School. James's combination of subject expertise, strategic insight and commitment to developing others strengthens both Oldfields and the wider Trust.
High school leadership
Lou Heywood | Headteacher, Thomas Alleyne's High School
Lou is an experienced, community-focused secondary leader who combines more than 12 years of senior leadership expertise with a deep personal commitment to Thomas Alleyne's High School. A former pupil of the school and a member of the local community, she returned as Deputy Headteacher in 2022 and became Headteacher in 2025. Lou studied Biology and completed her PGCE at the University of Leeds, where she received the June Wenban Prize for Innovation in Teaching. Her career has encompassed a wide range of leadership responsibilities, including pastoral leadership and whole-school improvement across several secondary schools within a multi-academy trust. Lou brings both strong professional credibility and a powerful sense of purpose to headship. She is determined that every young person receives excellent provision and develops the knowledge, confidence and wider skills needed to lead a healthy, happy and successful life.
Leadership across the Partnership
Our headteachers do more than lead individual schools. As a collaborative leadership team, they shape Trust strategy, share effective practice and build capacity across every phase. Together, their exceptional breadth of expertise, ambition and integrity ensures that every I2E school is known, supported and challenged - and that every pupil is equipped to flourish now and in the future.
Contact our schools
Further information about each school and its leadership can be found through the individual school websites. For general Trust enquiries, please contact enquiries@i2e.org.uk or telephone 01889 561820 ext 268.
Innovate2Educate Partnership, c/o Thomas Alleyne's High School, Dove Bank, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire ST14 8DU