Governors
Rama Venchard MBE - Chair
Following 20 years undertaking IT Service Management and Business Change Management roles in the retail, hospitality and banking sectors, Rama has been a management consultant in the education sector since 2005.
He currently supports various multi academy trusts in their growth strategies, but also offers his time in governance roles across the mainstream, special and independent school sectors, i.e. as a Chair of Trustees of a special and mainstream primary school trust of 9 schools; a Trustee of a primary school trust of 20 primary schools; a Trustee on the family board of a special school trust of 15 schools and 7 college centres; a Member of a secondary school trust of 6 schools; a Member of a single academy trust; and a Chair of Governors of an independent special school.
He sits on various DfE and NGA Advisory Boards. Rama was awarded an MBE for services to education in the 2023 New Years Honours list.
Denise James-Mason - Vice Chair
Denise has worked in education for over 35 years and as well as being a qualified teacher she holds a BA, MA and Diploma in Special Education. She has spent most of her career working in special education and has been, for the last 17 years, leading an Outstanding all age special school in Bromley.
She completed the training to be a Local Leader of education so that she could act as a mentor to new Head teachers and support schools with their school improvement issues.
From 2014, Denise worked as an Ofsted inspector alongside her role as a Head teacher. She carried out inspections of mainstream primary and secondary schools as well as Special schools and independent schools.
Denise is retiring at the end of August 2019 and is looking forward to using her skills and experience as a Trustee.
Charles Yates
Charles has extensive board-level experience in both the public and private sectors and a strong commercial perspective. He is the Managing Director of CmY Consultants, a strategic and financial consulting firm. Previously, he was an Associate Director at the accountants Grant Thornton and before that at an investment bank where he arranged finance for £14 billion of large projects. He is engaged with the local community as the Treasurer of the 4th Bromley Scouts group . His two sons have benefited from attending Bromley College.
Dr Christopher Philpott
Chris Philpott is Emeritus Reader in Music Education at the University of Greenwich, London. Until recently, he was deputy pro vice-chancellor and then interim pro vice-chancellor at the University’s Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Before moving to Greenwich he was a secondary music teacher for 16 years, with a background in the Brass Bands of East Kent, and then became a teacher educator at Canterbury Christ Church University. He has written and edited books, online texts and resources which are used in initial teacher education (ITE) programmes throughout the United Kingdom and has led government-funded projects in relation to ITE in music. He is also an experienced school governor and trustee.
Marek Michalski
Marek has extensive experience in the private sector and held various management positions in a global telecoms company. He subsequently moved to the public sector where he works as a Programme Manager at the Department for Education. He has experience of project/programme management, financial management, policy delivery, business planning/management, commercial management, audit/risk management, and overseeing major transformation programmes.
Prof Lynn Revell
Lynn Revell is a professor of religion and education at Canterbury Christ Church University, where she is also director of research in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education. She is trained as a secondary school teacher of religious education and has worked in schools in Manchester and Buckinghamshire. After working as a lecturer in special educational needs at South Kent College, she earned her doctorate in 2000 and joined Canterbury Christ Church University as a senior lecturer in Primary Teacher Education. She has written and produced many resources for schools and continues to lead professional development sessions for teachers of RE across the country.
Lynn has worked with young people who are unable to enter or have been excluded from mainstream education over a period of years. Between 2010 and 2016 she supported the Prince of Wales Education Centre in Canterbury teaching and developing their curriculum and between 2015 and 2018 she worked with Lernejo, teaching secondary aged pupils who were unable to remain in schools or a PRU.
She writes and researches in the area of Islam and Christianity in education and leads the International Network on Education and Extremism for the World Educational Research Association. She is currently working with schools in London and the South East to develop approaches to racism and anti-racism in education.
Beverley Eaglesfield
Beverley joins the board of trustees after having recently retired from her position of CEO of a Trinitas Academy Trust in Bexley, a trust with 5 primary schools, 1 secondary and 1 special school. Beverley’s passion is to work with leadership teams, supporting them in enabling them, their pupils and their staff, to thrive. She led her primary school from a very fragile position when she joined as Headteacher, to become ‘outstanding’ in their most recent inspection. Then, in her position as Deputy CEO, she worked across trust schools in both the Primary and Secondary phases successfully improving those schools as well. As part of her role as CEO, Beverley led the successful application and opening of a special free school in Bexley which already has gained an excellent reputation locally. Along the way, Beverley has led various improvement projects across a number of schools including leadership development, curriculum design, and the provision of quality feedback. Being retired enables Beverley to both focus on trustee work - to challenge and support academies in making a difference, whilst also enabling her to focus on her family, travel and newly discovered hobbies!
Sarah Servantes
Sarah is a qualified accountant with a career in finance spanning 25 years, working in senior finance roles across a range of industries. She moved to the charity sector in 2019 as Finance Director of Mytime Active, based in Bromley, and is currently Director of Finance and Commercial for a charity supporting individuals with learning disabilities, autism, brain injuries and complex needs across England and Wales. Sarah brings a wealth of finance experience with a focus on commerciality, strategic planning and delivering change.
Daniel Kwalombota
Daniel M .Kwalombota is a lecturer at London South East Colleges in Professional Studies where he has been since 2007.Prior to this, he worked as a Senior Cost Accountant at a human animal food manufacturing company for eight years in Zambia; and lectured in Business and Accounting subjects at various colleges across London.Daniel is a Fellow (FCCA) of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting (BAcc) with honours from the University of Zambia; and AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians).He was born in Mongu - Zambia and is married with four children.
Milena Cooper
My name is Milena Cooper and I was appointed a Parent Trustee at Warren Road Primary School in March 2020. In November 2021, I was elected to be Chair of Trustees. I served on the Finance, Audit & Resources Committee. I am a Senior Director in an FTSE-listed technology company and I lead a global Content Operations unit. I manage the company’s relationships with its main suppliers and create value through efficiencies. Driving continuous improvement initiatives and balancing multiple stakeholder interests are key parts of my job. I am a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder. I am married and have two children who attend Warren Road Primary School. I am passionate about education. I count myself fortunate in that my parents worked hard to give me a good education, which has been central to the life chances that I have had. I am determined to do the same for my children and for all the children across London South East Academies Trust.
Shirley Puxty
I have spent over 40 years in education being a Headteacher in Greenwich and Bromley. I have taught in Bexley, Kent and Greenwich.
In recent years I was CEO of a Multi-Academy Trust which I set up, as well as Chair of the Bromley Secondary Headteachers Forum and a school governor. Working with the RSC, our Trust merged with another to establish a Trust of 8 schools in 2018. I took the role as Deputy CEO.
I am currently Chair of Trustees of a SAT in Bexley and a Trustee in a MAT in Bexley as well as a Trustee for LSEAT.
More recently, after retiring as deputy CEO in December 2019, I joined Bexley LA school improvement team providing bespoke support to Bexley schools in Leadership, Performance Review, Recruitment, Aspiring Headteachers, Heads of Department work, School Improvement and CPD.
I retired from this post in July 2023 and now work privately as a consultant. I continue to work closely with the DfE and a number of Bexley and Kent schools in all sectors.
George Ryan
George is a consultant specialising in strategic communications and education policy, with a background in journalism. He is associate director at Public First, a consultancy firm based in Westminster which helps policymakers and businesses make decisions firmly grounded in research about what matters to the public. He has worked across further and higher education with roles at the Association of Colleges and UCAS. As a journalist, George covered politics for the Press Association in Parliament during Brexit and COVID. He was previously an education reporter for the Times Educational Supplement and a local government reporter for newspapers in Norfolk and Suffolk. George lives in Lewisham with his partner Alex and enjoys running and cycling in his spare time.
Suba Dickerson
Suba Dickerson MA, QTFE, PG Dip, is currently the Deputy Principal Quality and Innovation at London South East Colleges and Campus Principal or Bexley and Holly Hill. She is currently leading on all aspects quality and innovation at LSEC. Suba has over 25 years of experience working within the Further Education Sector, both in senior and middle management roles. She has led innovative large-scale collaborative multimillion projects across London Colleges. In her previous role as Vice Principal for a large college group, she helped successfully lead the College during an OFSTED inspection into achieving outstanding grades for its Leadership and Management and Quality of Education. In 2023, she nominated the teams she managed for National FE Team of the Year, and they won.
Suba has taught politics, business and IT to students in colleges and schools, and has achieved outstanding observation grades from OFSTED and local authority inspectors. As an advanced practitioner she has trained both further education and school teachers to help them enhance their pedagogical practices. She has also served on national committees representing the FE sector, for example JISC and COLRIC. She is a keen advocate for using technology in improving the quality of teaching and learning and assessment and has presented papers at national conferences in this area. She was shortlisted for public servant of the year for partnership working and has championed and led London wide projects on EDI and inclusive learning. She has also been a governor for a College in London. Suba is a keen cricket afficionado and volunteered for the ODI World Cup in 2019.
Dr Sam Parrett CBE
Dr Sam Parrett CBE is an experienced CEO and Principal , whose drive and determination to improve education across London and the south east has resulted in the expansion of high-quality pathways and outcomes for learners.
Sam was appointed principal of Bromley College in 2010, overseeing a merger with Orpington College the following year. In 2016, she led the country’s first three-way College merger, bringing together Bromley College, Bexley College and Greenwich Community College to form London South East Colleges.
Sam also established a successful Multi Academy Trust in 2013 – London South East Academies Trust - which now includes seven alternative provision and special schools and one mainstream school across Bromley, Bexley and most recently, Surrey.
The network of schools has grown and developed under Sam’s leadership of the FE college-led Trust. The unique Group structure is ensuring that children and young people, many with a range of special educational needs, have access to high quality provision and care from birth right through to 25 and beyond.
College success rates have risen steadily each year, with record numbers of students passing their vocational qualifications. Ofsted rated the College as Good in March 2019 and it was named Overall FE provider of the Year at the TES FE Awards 2021, as well as receiving a Social Value Award for Public Sector Leadership. Sam was named TES FE Leader of the Year in 2020 and the College was also awarded the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2020.
Last year Sam was awarded a CBE for Services to Education, building on the OBE she was presented with in 2016 for Services to Further Education. These honours reflect the work Sam is doing across the sector, positively impacting many people’s lives throughout the region and beyond.
Sam achieved a PhD in FE Policy in 2019 and currently sits on the Boards of the Association of Colleges, Education and Training Foundation and is an elected member of the CBI London Council. She is a fellow of the CIPD, RSA and the Chartered Institution of Further Education. Sam is also a designated National Leader of Further Education and undertakes improvement work across the sector, including the mentoring and coaching of new and aspiring principals.
Group Principal and CEO of London & South East Education Group expenses can be seen here.
Jennifer Pharo (Governance Professional, Company Secretary and Clerk to the Trust Board)
Jenny is Group Executive Director of Governance, a role she commenced in April 2019. Prior to this she was Group Executive Director of Corporate Services with strategic and operational management of key Group Corporate Services areas of IT, HR, MIS, Funding, Planning and Performance, Exams and Administration Services.
She has strong and proven governance, legal, project and change management skills, leading and delivering on a number of governance, educational, curriculum, customer and information systems projects, including college mergers, business acquisitions and business process re-engineering.
She has significant management experience in both the public and private sectors with a career portfolio providing insight and knowledge of operational and strategic business and resource planning in most business services areas.
Her career began in legal and company secretarial, transferring to the investment banking and financial services sectors where she worked for 20 years. Jenny retrained as a business and IT teacher in 2001 and started her career in the FE sector, progressing into a senior management role.
Since her move into the Governance Professional role in the College, Jenny has achieved qualification status in the ICSA Diploma in Academies Governance, NGA Clerking Certificate and the ETF Governance Professional Intermediate Programme.
She is the Group Data Protection Officer for London & South East Education Group.