Our Central Team

As well as our schools, we have a Central Team whose purpose is to ensure our Trust runs smoothly enabling our academies to focus on Teaching and Learning. The Central Team consists of School Improvement; Finance & Operations; HR; Technology; Governance; the Wellbeing Service and the SCITT.

 

 

• Graham Clifford
  CEO
  Graham Clifford

  Graham Clifford is CEO of Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust. He has over twenty years' experience of teaching and leading in schools in Waltham Forest, Newham and Tower Hamlets. Graham has held multiple senior leadership positions including Head of Primary, Head of Secondary with Sixth Form as well as consultancy work for a Pupil Referral Unit and for schools preparing for Ofsted.
  Graham holds both NPQH and NPQEL and is an advocate for the arts and Philosophy for Children (P4C). He was chair of the Stepney Partnership, a collaborative network of primary and secondary schools, and is driven by a deeply held belief in the power of education to positively impact society.

• Karen Salmons
  CFO
  Karen Salmons

  Karen has worked in schools' financial management for the last 15 years; supporting schools as part of the LA traded service and then as a School Business Manager in a secondary school in west Essex. She is currently the CFO for the Trust. Karen  held her first parent governor position in 2000 and has seen how the education landscape has changed over the last 20 years. One thing that remains consistent though, is that high quality teaching and learning coupled with a tailored curriculum will ensure success allowing students to continue their learning journeys. Good financial management ensures the trust can enable this happens.

  She is married with three grown up children who benefitted from the high-quality education provided by Moulsham High School and are now carving out their own career paths.

  She enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, travelling and walking her dog Bailey.

• Sarah Rees
  School Improvement Director
  Sarah Rees

• Leah Dear,
  School Improvement Manager
  Leah Dear,

  ,

• Donna Wright
  School Improvement Team & Central Team Admin
  Donna Wright

• Susan Marbe
  SCITT Director
  Susan Marbe

  Susan grew up in East London and after working in a variety of different jobs, including the Financial Times and at Arsenal FC, began her teaching career in 1996, after studying a four year Bed (Hons) degree at University of East Anglia.Â

  Working as assessment lead in a primary school in Barking and Dagenham as well as a DT specialist adviser for the Teacher Training Centre, she then went on to become Acting Deputy Head teacher in Redbridge.

  Susan began working in Epping Forest at St John's School, Buckhurst Hill as the Deputy Headteacher in 2001, she then went on to set up and lead the Teaching School.Â

  Susan has always engaged with Evidence Informed pedagogy and the latest research. She has worked for Essex LA, the Teaching School and ASPIRE leading school to school and head teacher support across a variety of whole school development areas.

  She now leads the highly successful West Essex SCITT and is a member of the trusts central team. She is part of the Early Career Teacher delivery team and also an Evidence Lead in Education. Working to support schools across the Saffron Teaching School Hub in evidence informed school improvement projects.Â

  Her passion is teaching and learning - she believes that every child has the right to quality first teaching and that the key to outstanding teaching lies in relationships, connections and a passion for children and their futures.

• Emma Squires
  Deputy SCITT Director
  Emma Squires

• Vanessa Smullen
  SCITT Manager
  Vanessa Smullen

  In Vanessa's role, she supports Susan Marbe and Emma Squires. She manages the Initial Teacher Training Programme application and offer process and also manages the finance & admin for the SCITT.

  Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust is accredited to deliver Initial Teacher Training using the marketing name West Essex SCITT.

  Vanessa is part of a large team that supports teachers and pupils and ensures progress is made by all.

• Sarah Hurwood
  Head of the Wellbeing Service
  Sarah Hurwood

  Sarah graduated from St Mary's College, Twickenham with a BA Hons in English and Drama and then went on to gain her PGCE teaching qualification from Chester College.

  Sarah's teaching career has centred around schools within Epping Forest and as such, she has a strong understanding of the needs of the locality.

  She moved to Epping Upland in 1992, where her career progressed to Headship. As Head of a Church School, she has strong links with local clergy and would say that Rev'd Canon Chris Bard, who was her first Chair of Governors, has acted as one of her greatest inspirations in trying to make a difference to children and their families.

  Sarah's principal philosophy is that happy children are more able to learn and that their learning spaces should be positive and nurturing. Children should feel that they 'belong' to their school and feel valued and respected. She places great emphasis upon mental health and wellbeing believing that where children feel relieved of their worries and anxieties, they are more able to focus on their learning and more able to absorb what they are being taught.

  She also extends this focus to staff believing that the workforce deserves to be well looked after also so that they can be the best that they can be for the children they are teaching.

• Karen Bowden
  Wellbeing Service Family Support Worker
  Karen Bowden

  I have been working in this role with FaCSS since 1997. I have nearly 30 years' experience working with children and families both within a residential social care and education setting. I hold a City and Guilds Certificate in Health and Social Care and have attended numerous training courses through the years.

  My role is to support vulnerable children and families and those families needing additional support. This help can cover a wide range of issues that impact the family including debt, housing, parenting, SEN and mental health.

  My aim is to improve outcomes for families and give them opportunities to build on their strengths.

• Melissa May
  Wellbeing Service Administrator
  Melissa May

  After graduating I completed a post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies before starting work within the University of London. I took a career break to raise my children and then returned to a support role within education as I enjoy facilitating an organisation to run smoothly and efficiently, especially when I know how much its services can benefit others. At FaCSS it is fulfilling to be able to contribute to a team that makes a real difference to the lives of children and their families.

• Tula Smith
  HR Director
  Tula Smith

• Matthew Harrison
  Head of Technology
  Matthew Harrison

  Matt has worked in education for the past 10-years. He works as the Trust's Technology Manager.ï ¿ ½ From working as a support assistant in 2009 to training as a teacher and achieving a BA Ed w Mathematics, Matt has taken on a wide-range of roles across multiple schools. He started his technology journey in a school in Croydon. Due to his work on the Computing curriculum and developing school wide use of technology, Matt became a member of the SLT before moving to The Alderton Junior School and bringing this knowledge with him. He began to introduce and develop new technologies at Alderton as well as being phase leader.

  During his time at Alderton, he began to work as a member of the EFSPT Technology Hub and supported schools with their remote learning offer during the pandemic. This led to him joining the central team in 2021 where he supports all trust schools with their use of technology and ensures that an infrastructure is in place for all schools.

• Jenny Cope
  Operations Manager
  Jenny Cope

• Lorna Newcombe
  Finance Manager
  Lorna Newcombe

• Elisabeth Nunn
  Head of Governance/Company Secretary
  Elisabeth Nunn