Structure and Remit
The role of the Trustees is strategic in nature. The Department for Education’s Governance Handbook identifies three core functions being:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic decision.
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
The Trustees fulfill the same key roles as the local governing board for each Academy, the only difference remaining that the Trustees oversee the strategy and finance across the whole Trust.
The Trustees are also responsible for ensuring the Trust complies with charity and company law requirements.
Professor Mart Stuart CBE (Chair of Members) is Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town, SA and the Open University, UK where she obtained her Doctorate in Social Policy in 1998. Her research interests are focussed on social mobility and higher education, Life Histories and Civic Engagement and Leadership in 21st Century organisations.
Mary has a strong track record in all aspects of university leadership, having worked in senior roles in three different universities. Since joining Lincoln she has developed the University significantly, culminating, this year, in establishing a new Medical School. Mary has also successfully led the development of Science provision at Lincoln establishing several research institutes including the Lincoln Institute of Agri-Food Technology and the National Centre for Rural Health and Care, responding to several global challenges. She has grown Humanities and the Social Sciences expanding the University from 8,000 students when she joined to just over 15,000 students in 2019, enhancing research provision and driving improvements in research infrastructure and capability. She has driven local and regional engagement as a key theme to enhance the regional economy and to connect the global challenges with local need. She has recently worked with the Civic University Commission to develop national policy guidelines on Civic Universities. Mary is the founder of the 21st century Lab examining higher education’s response to changing society in our time.
Passionate about the student experience, Mary seeks to continually drive change and improvements in partnership with students, alumni and the academic community promoting the traditional concept of a community of scholars. Mary was named as the Guardian’s ‘Most Inspiring Leader in Higher Education’ at their HE awards in 2018. She was also awarded a CBE for her services to Higher Education in the same year.
NATIONAL COMMITMENTS
Mary has always been involved in policy developments nationally and currently is a member of UUK’s Advisory panel on Admissions, a Trustee of the Universities Partnership Programme (UPP) Foundation and a Fellow of the Bridge Group. Mary is also a Commissioner on the National Civic University Commission.
REGIONAL AND COMMUNITY COMMITMENTS
Mary is Chair of the Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership (LCAP) and the Founding Director of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (GLLEP). She is a member of the Greater Lincolnshire Leaders Board, Director of Lincoln Science and Innovation Park (LSIP), Director of Lincolnshire Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), Chair of the Members of Lincolnshire Educational Trust (LET) and member of the Lincoln University Technical College (UTC).
Professor Toby Wilkinson (Member and Chair of Trustees) is Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln. He holds a First Class Honours Degree and a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Cambridge.
Prior to joining the University of Lincoln, Toby served for six years as the inaugural Director of International Strategy at the University of Cambridge, devising and delivering an institution-wide strategy for global engagement, working closely with partners in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. Toby’s earlier appointments focussed on external relations, schools liaison and widening participation, fundraising and alumni relations, and institutional strategy. In his
academic career, Toby has held research and teaching positions at the universities of Cambridge and Durham.
Toby is an internationally acclaimed Egyptologist, and the prize-winning author of ten books which have been translated into eleven languages. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a member of the international editorial board of the Journal of Egyptian History. Toby is also a school governor and a trustee of the Thomas Wall Trust.
Professor Val Braybrooks MBE (Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee) is Dean of the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing and the Holbeach Campus. Val has over 30 years’ experience of teaching and senior level leadership in Further and Higher Education. She has spent many years working and living in South Lincolnshire where she has worked with employers in the Agri-food sector to develop educational opportunities for employees. In addition to her role as a Trustee, Val is a Governor of the University Academy Holbeach overseeing Safeguarding in addition to her wider responsibilities as a Trustee and Governor.
Andy Robinson (Trustee) is, Regional Operations Manager for Sainsbury’s. He is a highly proficient senior executive with over 35 years’ extensive experience operating and influencing at board level within a complex organisation. Andy is an ambitious executive with major operational responsibility and a proven track record of developing and implementing strategic transformational change. Andy is a creative and collaborative leader with excellent communication skills who demonstrates adaptability, humility and resilience. His people-centric leadership approach and interpersonal skills have allowed him to inspire and mentor his people to deliver industry leading results, whilst embodying the values of honesty, trust and professional integrity.
Mark Tinsley (Member) graduated from London University and worked for 7 years as a manager of a complex farming business with a packing house supplying both Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury. Following this Mark returned home to farm and is still there on 600 hectacres farming potatoes, vegetables and cereals.
Mark has been either a Chairman or Director of a number of Food and Farming businesses and on the Board of the NFU Mutual and the Greater Lincolnshire LEP. Mark was previously a member of a government commission looking at sustainable food and farming and helped set up the Red Tractor Scheme and chaired the Oxford Farming Conference. Mark also spend a period of time on the governing body of Ayscoughfee Hall School.
Mark enjoys all sport, studying the natural environment and reading good books.
Simon Parkes (Member) is Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance & Infrastructure) at the University of Lincoln. His role is to ensure that the University operates from an inspiring, efficient and well-maintained estate; that the services for staff and students on the campus work effectively and that the University is financially secure. Simon came to the University because he believed that universities can transform the lives of students and communities and, in particular, the University of Lincoln’s values in widening participation, creating opportunity and contribution to the local economy match his own. Simon was originally an Accountant and has served in both the Royal Air Force and the Army.
Michelle Allison (Trustee)
Michelle has over 30 years’ experience in public service during which time she has undertaken a number of senior leadership roles within the education, skills and employment sectors, working in both national and local government, in public and private sector agencies and within charitable and third sector bodies. Previous job roles include Head of SEND and Lead High Need Commissioner for North Yorkshire County Council, Director of SEND Services & Commissioning for a National Children’s Trust Charity, Senior Development Adviser for the Training & Enterprise Council and Partnership Manager for the Learning & Skills Council. More recently Michelle has taken up the role of Chief Executive of the Lincolnshire & Rutland Education Business Partnership (The EBP). Michelle is passionate about supporting all young people to thrive and succeed and make a successful transition to adult life. Her work has involved all aspects of strategic planning for children and young people including working on a range of local, regional and national initiatives.
Edward Libbey
Edward grew up in King’s Lynn and after graduating from Cambridge University with both a BA and PhD in Chemistry started a business career in BP. He managed large and complex refining, supply and distribution and commercial trading activities across the USA and Europe. Subsequently he ran the North American activities of the small high-tech company Whatman, based in Boston, Massachusetts. Whilst there he helped set up and chaired World Energy Solutions, an on-line auction platform providing award-winning procurement capabilities for large gas and electricity contracts. He remains active in his consulting activities in the energy sector. On his return to the UK he developed a diverse portfolio career including the Chair of Norfolk Learning and Skills Council, and latterly the Chair of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. He has had a long-term commitment to the improvement of education and skills especially in more disadvantaged areas and is familiar with the challenges in South Lincolnshire. He has lived and worked abroad in the USA and Canada as well as in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Keith Batty
A highly experienced education professional and business leader, Keith is passionate about raising aspirations, maximising achievement and bridging the gap between the world of education and the world of work. He has twelve years of success in the strategic management and delivery of improvement and support services to early years, special, primary, secondary and tertiary education providers and initial teacher training. Keith has worked as a highly regarded regional director in an international educational charity and has also served as an Assistant Director in a large and successful local authority children’s services. He has extensive knowledge of the school and college sectors as an educator, service provider and as a governor and trustee. His specialist areas include school improvement; governor support and 14-19 education and training. He is an experienced and skilled negotiator and public speaker with well-developed political and commercial acumen. With a further twenty years as a successful leader in secondary education, he now uses his experience to support young people to make the very best of their future opportunities and live fulfilling lives. Keith holds a Master’s Degree in Education; a First Class Honours Degree in International Relations and Politics and a second Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Keith is also a Trustee with the Linkage Community Trust which provides educational and residential services for people with learning difficulties from the age of 16 upwards.
Will Naylor
Will Naylor (Trustee)is a Senior HR Business Partner with Bakkavor, the leading fresh-prepared food provider in the UK. Will has over 20 years of experience of working within HR in the chilled-food sector, the last 15 years with Bakkavor working across a number of business units in South Lincolnshire. Whilst being a recognised HR professional, Will has built a strong commercial and operational knowledge that supports effective HR business partnering. As both a former pupil of Holbeach County Junior School, now part of the LET as Holbeach Primary Academy, and also having graduated from the University of Lincoln with a master’s degree (MSc HRM) in 2002, he is also proud of his ‘alumni’ status and educational links to the organisation. Will is a member of the Food Committee of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP and is always keen to promote the significant career opportunities that lie within the agri-food sector right on our doorstep in Lincolnshire.
Professor Duncan French
Professor Duncan French is Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Social Science, University of Lincoln. Duncan is a Professor of International Law, and is a leading academic on international environmental law and the international legal implications of sustainable development. He has written extensively in these areas, as well as writing generally on both broader questions of treaty law, international economic and investment law, and international dispute settlement. He has secondary research interests in international law of the sea and Antarctica. Recent books include: D. French and L. Kotzé (eds.), Sustainable Development Goals: Law, Theory and Implementation (Edward Elgar, 2018) and V. Ruiz Abou-Nigm, K. McCall-Smith and D. French (eds.), Linkages and Boundaries in Private and Public International Law (Hart, 2018). He is currently working on international law’s response to “planetary boundaries”. Previously Duncan was Head of Lincoln Law School, and before that worked at the Universities of Sheffield and Reading. Duncan has four teenage children.
Lincolnshire Educational Trust Board of Trustees Minutes
Draft LET Board of Trustees Minutes – 20 October 2016
Draft LET Board of Trustees Minutes – 06 December 2016
Draft LET Board of Trustees Minutes – 27 April 2017
Draft LET Board of Trustees Minutes – 06 July 2017
Draft LET Board of Trustees Minutes – 05 October 2017
Draft LET Board of Trustees Minutes – 12 December 2017
LET BoT Minutes 2 October 2018