Members, trustees and key documents

Meet those who oversee the work of the Trust Board

Members

Members are the ‘guardians’ of Reach Schools. They establish and oversee the effectiveness of the Trust Board and are akin to shareholders within a Company limited by Guarantee. As such DfE describes their role as ‘eyes on, hand off’.

Jon McGoh

Reach Foundation Chair of Trustees; Reach Schools Trustee & Member.

Jon is the Chair of the Reach Foundation, a charity he founded in 2008. He is also the co-founder of Reach Academy Feltham, and currently sits on the Reach Schools Board. Jon is a social entrepreneur working across education, travel and documentary film…

David Dowding

Reach Schools Member

David has been a Trustee since its inception and is a partner at Stephenson Harwood LLP. David is determined to play whatever part he can in supporting Reach to be a continued success story. David is proud of the school’s ability to nurture pupils in a truly inclusive environment whilst building an unshakeable bond with the local community.

Julie Laughton

Reach Schools Member

Julie began her career as a history teacher in Feltham before joining the Department for Education in 2003, going on to hold a range of policy roles across education, health and social care. She has been involved with Reach from the very beginning, including serving on its original board. Julie now also co-owns a garden nursery and restaurant in East Sussex.

Tom Collins

Reach Schools Member

Tom Collins involved with the initial work getting approval for Reach Academy Feltham from the DfE in 2011, and an early governor. After various jobs in International Development, Management Consultancy and Finance he found his true passion as a maths teacher. Tom is now Deputy Head of King’s College London Mathematics School.

Trustees

Trustees are appointed by Members to oversee the business of Reach Schools, agreeing the overarching strategic direction and ensuring robust governance.

Judith Tacon

Reach Schools Chair of Trustees

Jude was a founding governor and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee on the LGB from 2012 before becoming Chair of the MAT on its establishment in 2018. At Deloitte, Jude is part of a community committed to encouraging our people to invest time as volunteers to support schools through governance roles. Jude is a partner at Deloitte and a chartered accountant.

Juliette Cammaerts

Reach Schools Trustee, Chair of Local Governing Body for Reach Academy Feltham

Juliette Cammaerts is Principal Private Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care. Juliette brings a varied background in the civil service, including her current leadership role at DHSC, and was previously Deputy Childrens’ Commissioner. Juliette joined the Children’s Commissioner’s Office in April 2021 from the Department for Education, where, since 2014, she did various roles, including as Private Secretary to the Children and Families Minister and, most recently, as Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State, where she led on all policy relating to children & families, legislation & parliament, and managed the wider team of Private Secretaries.

Prior to joining the civil service, Juliette studied French and Arabic at University College London and SOAS.

Juliette is interested in child and family focussed delivery of public services, how we can improve outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged children, and how we can involve children in the policy making, design and implementation process.

Kimberly Downton

Reach Schools Trustee; Safeguarding Link Trustee

Kimberly is a trustee of the Reach Schools Board and has lead responsibility for safeguarding. Kimberly holds a degree in law and has worked in private practice, specialising in areas of charity law and private client, before moving in-house. As its Chief Operating Officer and Head of Legal Services, she dedicated the latest part of her career to working at a national educational charity providing specialist education and social care to children and adults with complex needs. Kimberly has held a wide range of governance positions, including as a charity trustee and company secretary and, most recently, was appointed as Chair of Governors for a Church of England primary academy. Kimberly brings to the Reach Schools Board broad business experience, including trust expansion and expertise in governance and compliance. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband and young family.

Jon McGoh

Reach Foundation Chair of Trustees; Reach Schools Trustee & Member.

Iain Gravestock

Reach Schools Trustee; Chair of Resources, Audit and Risk Committee; Chair of People, Pay and Performance Committee

Iain Gravestock has a broad set of experience in the public sector. He is currently a Partner at KPMG LLP with over 25 years’ business experience working with Government Departments. He is a qualified accountant with the Institute Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). Iain’s skills and experience include organisational performance improvement, project management, commercial negotiation, finance and accounting, business management and technology. Iain holds a degree in Mathematics and lives in South-West London with his spouse and three children. He is a keen cyclist and allotment gardener.

Jen Baxter

Reach Schools Trustee; Reach Foundation Trustee

Jen is Deputy Chief Executive at The Chartered College of Teaching, where she oversees the operations, finance, strategy, governance and compliance functions. She has previously worked in operations and strategy roles at Teach First and CfBT (now Education Development Trust) as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte, and at a west London secondary school, where she was Head of Modern Foreign Languages. Jen performed the role of Senior Project Manager in the set up of Reach Academy Feltham and was previously Chair of Reach Academy Feltham’s Governing Body. Jen brings knowledge of operations and strategy in an education context.

Sheena Poley

Reach Schools Trustee

Sheena brings over 40 years experience of working within Education and Children’s Services in Local Authorities and a proven track record as an Education Officer. Most recently as Head of School Organisation and Access to Education in the London Borough of Hounslow she held strategic responsibility for Planning, Resources and Funding. Sheena brings knowledge of Education policy and practice and has experience of engaging with, supporting and challenging school leaders to drive improvements across a wide range of educational settings. She lives in Hove.

Elanie Ademokun

Reach Schools Trustee

Elanie trained through Teach First and taught for than a decade in several schools. She is currently working as Programmes Director at Jigsaw Education Group, an organisation that provides schools with PSHE and RE programmes and training.

Elanie is committed to the Trust’s vision and is excited to support Reach in its ambitions to not just impact children’s lives, but also those of the wider community and ultimately lead system change.