Senior Leadership Team (ID 1139)

• Jackie Fieldwick MBE
  Chief Executive Officer
  Jackie Fieldwick MBE

  Trustee and CEO of the Brunel Academies Trust and Brunel Education, previously Secondary Maths teacher; Maths Lead for Residential BESD school; SENCO; Head of Inclusion; Deputy Headteacher; Headteacher. Head Teacher and Executive Head Teacher of Uplands School (Ofsted “outstanding” 2014 and 2017 & TES School of the Year 2015); CEO, Principal Trustee and founder of Uplands Enterprise Trust (UET); opened 19-25 Specialist post-16 institution (Horizons College); developed UET farm provision; developed local Supported Internship Programme; Chair of Association of Swindon Special School Headteachers (2012-14); Former Chair of Special Educational Needs Resourcing Panel; Conference delivery 'Setting Up Alternative Provision', Bespoke training to school leaders 'Developing Funding Streams', Leadership & Management mentoring for new leaders; Schools Forum (2014-present); Vice Chair of School's Forum (2016-2018), Former Chair of School's Forum (2018-2021), member of School's Forum (2021); Member of SEND Strategic Board, High Needs Debt Recovery Group Member, Swindon Inclusion Forum Executive Member, F40 Executive Committee Member (2018 – present), SEND Representative for the Regional Education Partnership Board; Education Representative on the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership Executive (2019 – present), Member of the South West SEND Strategic Group, Member of the Department for Education's Advisory Board.Jackie owns several horses and spends most of her spare time in a horse lorry, driving her daughter around the country to compete in show jumping events.

• Mike Thomas
  Chief Education Officer
  Mike Thomas

  Mike is an accomplished and visionary Chief Education Officer, bringing a proven track record of transformative leadership across both executive and headship roles within the specialist sector, with extensive experience leading high-performing schools andis widely recognised for driving sustained improvement. In his role Mike has worked collaboratively with a wide range of schools, trusts, and local authorities, providing targeted support, robust challenge, and evidence-driven supportive strategies. As a qualified and practising Ofsted Inspector, Mike offers expert insight into regulatory frameworks, quality assurance, and school effectiveness, supporting schools and provisions on their school improvement journey.

  Mike holds specialist postgraduate qualifications, reflecting a strong commitment to professional learning and evidence-informed practice. This expertise underpins their work in inclusion, curriculum development, leadership coaching, and whole-school improvement.

  Mike has successfully led bids for new free schools, overseeing their conception, approval, and opening. In addition, he has played a key role in establishing independent schools, ensuring compliance, financial viability, and a clear educational vision from the outset. Mike is also highly experienced in leading large-scale organisational change, including structural transformation and growth strategies. His leadership is characterised by clarity of vision, resilience, and an ability to unite teams around shared goals, even in complex and rapidly evolving environments.

  In his spare time, Mike spends his time with his family, keeping active and planning the next holiday.

• Karen Iles
  Interim Chief Finance Officer /Director of Education Effectiveness
  Karen Iles

  I have worked in education now for nearly thirty years. I took on the role of SENCO very early in my career and never looked back. The vast majority of my experience in SEND and inclusion has been in mainstream secondary education as a leading SENCO and Assistant Headteacher and as a Deputy Head in a large special school.

  From school leadership, I moved to a local authority role as Strategic Lead for SEND Improvement. In this role I worked across all education settings for Gloucestershire with the aim of improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, across mainstream and special primary and secondary schools. Part of this role was also supporting schools in special measures as part of the local authority school improvement team. I also managed a DfE pilot project Achievement for All which extended my role of improving outcomes for SEND to a regional role across the South West. The Achievement for All charity was set up to continue this work and in the latter years of the charity I took on the role of Acting CEO. Across the 10 years of Achievement for All I co wrote the Pupil premium review, developed programmes for schools across the phases, led national and regional training, was involved in international inclusion projects and working groups for the DfE.

  My passion has always been to improve education outcomes for children and young people and their families and working closely with school leaders to enable them to achieve this. I knew from my first year of teaching that my focus would be SEND and inclusion. Although I am relatively new to Brunel, I am thoroughly enjoying my role, working directly in a Brunel school and love what the Brunel Trust stands for, as far as opening doors for those children and young people with SEND is concerned.

  Having been a keen sports person in my youth, I now enjoy watching my son play his chosen sports. I have a beautiful basset hound who we love to spend time with and take out for a ‘leisurely walk', nothing too fast for her short legs!

• Jonathan Arthur
  Director of Education Effectiveness
  Jonathan Arthur

  Being a leader in education has not just been a job to me, it has been the fulfilment of an ambitious goal set nearly 20 years ago. My core purpose as a leader is to inspire those around me to ensure that everyone linked to the organisation is ‘the best they can be', not guided by national comparative measures but by what is right for every child, teacher and parent in the community. I strongly feel that schools are hubs within a community and success is a triumvirate of school, parents/ carers and community. Every success I have had over my career has been through securing outward facing links, being meticulous in my high expectations, humbly embracing parental feedback and providing high quality coaching to all staff. To this end the schools I have worked in have always demonstrated strong cultures of positivity and respect, based around a relational approach in all matters, where all behaviours are seen as communications to be understood and supported. I want them to question everything they are told as no one ever made change by doing the same things. I want every child to see that even the smallest voice can change the world.

  I began my career in the EYFS 20 years ago and I still feel as enthusiastic about my role as I was back then. Within 4 years I was appointed Deputy Head and I have been in senior leadership within schools ever since, including a year as a Regional Head teacher, 7 years as a Head teacher across 3 schools where I lead a school from Inadequate to Good and 2 years as an executive Head.

  Throughout this time my passion for inspiring the next generation has always been at the forefront of what I do, I have been an associate lecturer in UWE and Bath Spa for 4 years and I have been a lead facilitator and assessor for the NPQSL having passed my own NPQH and NPQEH.

• Jen Southall
  Director of Education Effectiveness
  Jen Southall

  Jen is a qualified teacher and, prior to working for Ofsted as HMI for over ten years, gained extensive senior management experience as a deputy headteacher and subsequently headteacher in three large primary schools. Her responsibilities included leadership and management, quality assurance and working with colleagues to raise achievement. She has worked as a school improvement partner and as a local authority senior adviser, working closely with other services specialising in the field of special educational needs. Jen is SEN enhanced trained and is passionate about working with children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

  Jen is married with two grown up sons. She is the proud grandmother of a grandson and granddaughter. In her free time, she enjoys going to the gym and taking her dog for long walks in the countryside. She also enjoys trips to the theatre and when able likes to go travelling.

• Catherine Clark
  Safeguarding Lead
  Catherine Clark

  I have lived and worked in and around Wiltshire for most of my life. After completing a degree in Psychology I knew I wanted to work with children and families and started my career as a learning mentor in a Swindon secondary school. This led to further roles in the education and charity sectors and then on to working in local authorities.

  Prior to joining Brunel I worked for both Swindon and Wiltshire safeguarding partnerships, the statutory arrangements that require agencies to work together to safeguard and protect children. In these roles I led on developing safeguarding policies, multi agency training programmes, systems of quality assurance and auditing. The roles also included leading on child safeguarding practice reviews, safeguarding adult reviews and domestic homicide reviews.

  I am passionate about improving outcomes for children and supporting organisations to protect, safeguard and promote the welfare of the children to the highest possible standards.

• Nadia Holt-Jackson
  SEND Inclusion Lead
  Nadia Holt-Jackson

  The importance of inclusion and fair access to education began at home for Nadia, her older sister has a genetic condition and with that, many medical and learning difficulties. Her sisters experience of mainstream schooling was not positive and from a young age she had always felt that if she had been taught in the right way, she may have been happier in education. There began her interest in SEND and advocacy for young people and their families.

  Naida began her career in SEND in her NQT year upon completing the (then pilot) NASENCO programme and after many years in SEND, she maintains there is nothing else she would rather do. She has worked in both mainstream and specialist settings and SEND and inclusion were at the heart of every role she has had in her career. She was always passionate about supporting colleagues with SEND Improvement, she found supporting her colleagues in education had the biggest impact for the most children.

  Nadia was given opportunities to design curriculums, lead SEND Networks, mentor and support SENDCOs and she is currently facilitating the NPQSENCO course and training new SENDCOs in the role.

  In the role of SEND and Inclusion Lead at Brunel, Nadia is able to support colleagues in their roles to improve the lives of young people through inclusive practice, work alongside skilled professionals and be a part of a Trust which aligns closely to her own principles of SEND Education.

  Nadia and her husband have two children and a dog and can be spotted most weekends at soft play, a swimming pool or a local farm park. When given a rare bit of time to herself, she will sneak off to the gym or try and go to see a bit of musical theatre.

• Dr Sarah Owenson
  Continuous Professional Development Lead
  Dr Sarah Owenson

  The importance of continuous learning and innovation began early in Sarah's career as she completed a PhD in Virology and Biochemistry and moved swiftly into teaching Science in part due to her experiences as a STEM Ambassador during her studies. She quickly realised that the scientific method—asking questions, testing ideas, and continually refining approach—could be powerfully applied to improving teaching and learning. This belief in evidence-based development and growth has been the cornerstone of every role she has held.

  Sarah's career is marked by strategic leadership and operational complexity across diverse educational provisions, ranging from mainstream secondary schools to all through independent schools , specialist education and Higher Education at Imperial College, London. This depth of experience allows her to lead effective workforce planning and tailor training that accounts for the varied needs of colleagues within a large organisation. She has successfully led the quality of education, teacher development and managed the full educational administration of teaching and research programmes, demonstrating a command of both pedagogy and operational excellence.

  Always passionate about creating pathways and sharing knowledge, Sarah has spent years mentoring, coaching, and training colleagues. She is an accredited SSAT National Lead Practitioner (Science and Teaching and Learning) facilitating training and development across the UK schools. She has led numerous projects including one funded by the BBSRC that brought together biology and maths teachers to co-deliver mathematical concepts, the results of which were presented at a national University of Reading conference. Today, she leverages this passion as the Continuous Professional Development Lead for the Brunel Academies Trust. Her strategic work includes managing the Brunel Aspire to Inspire Programme - Routes to Teaching initiative and pioneering a unique Trust collaboration with the University of Buckingham to tutor TAs on an undergraduate degree program.

  To balance her demanding leadership roles, Sarah maintains an active lifestyle, engaging in sports like yoga, cycling, and swimming and is qualified to coach gymnastics, football and yoga. When enjoying time with her family, they can be found climbing hills, visiting museums, and adventuring outdoors. She is also the President of her village WI.

• Michelle Carter
  Governance Lead and CEO's EA
  Michelle Carter

  I am an experienced Executive Assistant (E.A), Governance Professional and Company Secretary in the education and charity sectors. Supporting the CEO, Executive Leadership Team and three separate Boards' of Trustees from the establishment of the companies and through significant periods of change and development.

  In 2019, I achieved a Level 4 Certificate in Corporate Governance qualification through CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy), which I then successfully converted to a Level 7 Diploma the following year.

  My role as both the Trust Governance Lead and CEO's E.A is to ensure that the CEO, Executive Leadership Team and Boards of Trustees are supported in all aspects of compliance, strategic development and governance. This includes the provision of clerking and company secretarial services and ensuring compliance with governance responsibilities set out in the Academies Trust Handbook and in line with the Scheme of Delegation. I also provide procedural and policy advice and support to the Brunel Academies Trust, Brunel Education and Uplands Enterprise Trust Boards and their committees.

• Paul Davis
  Growth & Development Lead
  Paul Davis

  Unusually I am Swindon born and bred so you could say that I have been in Education in Swindon since the early 70's! As a child I attended Nythe Infant and Junior Schools before moving on to Dorcan School for my secondary education.

  Although I could have considered staying on for post 16, as a teenager in the mid to late 80's opportunities to work were plentiful and this appealed to me more than studying for A Levels. Although I didn't have a specific career in mind, I had an interest in numbers so a finance role of some sort seemed the obvious choice. After a few failed interviews I secured a job at Lloyds Bank in Gorse Hill and there I stayed for 4 years working my way through various roles and responsibilities.

  As banking became more sales orientated I decided it was time for a change and, via a quick stop at the Membury Services cash office, I joined Swindon Borough Council as a Cashier and subsequently Senior Cashier before moving to the Governor Support Team in 1998 providing support and advice to 1400+ Swindon governors. I stayed with Governor Support until 2012 before moving to the SEN Team to become an SEN Commissioner which incorporated management of the high needs budget.

  In 2017 I left SBC to become Business Manager at The Chalet School. In December 2018, The Chalet School converted to an Academy and joined the Brunel. At this point I joined the Central Team and the rest, as they say, is history.

  In addition to my Brunel role, I continue to clerk for two local governing bodies, Colebrook Junior School and Eldene Primary School. In my spare time, I enjoy long walks with my Border Terrier, Brody, fitness classes, reading and supporting the National Trust.

• Louise Thomas
  Head of Finance
  Louise Thomas

  I have had a slightly nomadic life; I spent my childhood in Didcot, moved to Cornwall via Cheltenham, then Bath & Swindon before settling in South Cerney 11 years ago.

  When the time came to leave compulsory education, I took a BTEC National Diploma in Business and Finance at Abingdon College of Further Education. Having studied modules on economics, marketing, and law it was the finance and accounting that stood out. I qualified with a distinction and my first job took me to a locally based national charity as payments clerk. It wasn't long before I was taking evening classes to gain my Association of Accounting Technicians qualification and my role changed to ledger clerk then senior ledger clerk.

  A chance meeting with the owner of a Cheltenham based business took me on to be the office manager for a small group of companies involved in providing event management, theatrical sound, light and AV services. A quick dip into the private sector and a lot of fun, but by now, my parents had moved to Cornwall, and I shortly followed.

  It was here I took my first step into the public sector with an accountant role at Restormel Borough Council. Again, it wasn't long before I was studying again – this time for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Three very long, hard years, working full time with one day a week at college in Bristol but worth it. A couple of role changes at Restormel and it was time for the next challenge.

  Another slight step sideways – for a short time I worked for a private company providing interim / consultancy services to Local Authorities. A fantastic opportunity to use my knowledge and skills and meet amazing people. Unfortunately, with the financial crisis came redundancy, but thanks to contacts made along the way, I was offered a full-time permanent role with North Somerset Council.

  I was happy at North Somerset, but my personal life was moving on – by now I was living in South Cerney, married and had our son. For about 18 months I commuted (baby in tow) up and down the M4/M5 between South Cerney and Clevedon but realised this couldn't continue.

  Another chance conversation with a friend I had studied with took me to Cotswold District Council. A challenging role, supporting the implementation of a transformation programme that would lead to 4 local authorities coming together to form a separate company model for service provision. I learnt a lot about organisations, project & programme management. Once the company had formed, my role changed to that of Chief Accountant, supporting the Finance Business Manager and Director of Finance, with technical and financial management reporting.

  2020 brought the Covid pandemic and school closures saw me working from home, whilst home-schooling my son. Although an incredibly difficult time, it also gave me the opportunity to reflect on my work-life balance and I realised this had got slightly lost somewhere along the way. I want and need a challenging job – that has been the main driver behind most of the moves throughout my career - it's the challenge that brings the rewards but not at any cost.

  So, June 2021 and another move brought me to Brunel. It is a pleasure to work with like-minded people, who bring such passion and commitment to the work we do, improving the lives and opportunities for children & young people.

  Meanwhile, at home, both my husband and I are Scout Leaders and we support our local church with their “Messy Church” services. I am also the Treasurer for the church. As a family we enjoy spending time outdoors and like nothing better than a day walking in the Brecon Beacons. When I do sit down, its usually with a book or some knitting while watching a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

• Adam Evans
  Head of Technology & GDPR
  Adam Evans

  Adam Evans is an experienced technology leader with over 20 years of experience delivering innovative IT solutions across both the commercial and education sectors. As Head of Technology and GDPR at Brunel Academies Trust, Adam leads the strategic development of technology and digital services across the organisation, ensuring that systems are secure, reliable and support outstanding teaching, learning and operational delivery.

  Throughout his career Adam has led large-scale technology transformation projects, developed enterprise infrastructure, and advised senior leadership teams on how technology can enable organisations to work more effectively. He has extensive experience managing teams, leading complex procurement, and infrastructure projects, and delivering secure digital environments that support thousands of staff and devices. Prior to joining Brunel Academies Trust, Adam held senior IT leadership roles at Bristol Zoological Society, Longleat Enterprises and Downside Abbey Trust.

  Outside of work, Adam is passionate about community and environmental projects. He has been a member of the Bristol Masters Swimming Team, enjoys beekeeping (which he has been doing for over six years), and has helped run a community farm for the past nine years. In his spare time, he is also actively involved in charity and community work, reflecting his commitment to supporting and giving back to the local community.

  Adam is known for his collaborative and approachable leadership style, combining technical expertise with a strong belief that technology should ultimately serve people, communities, and organisations.

• Sharon Day
  Head of Estates and Facilities
  Sharon Day

• Sarah Bentley
  Head of People Services
  Sarah Bentley