Trustees

Trustees hold the legal powers and responsibilities of the Trust. As a group, the Board of Trustees sets the overall strategic direction of the Trust and is accountable to the Secretary of State. The Board determines the level of delegation to our schools’ Local Governing Bodies so that these can be as effective as possible.

The EFSPT Board of Trustees has overall responsibility and ultimate decision-making authority for all the work of the Trust. Our Trust has 10 Trustees, one of whom is the CEO.

There are currently four Committees of the Trust Board: Finance Committee; Audit and Risk Assurance Committee; HR Committee; and Education and Standards Committee.

• Christopher White
  Chair
  Christopher White

  Chris qualified as an accountant in 1990 and has spent his career in large global businesses. These include Honeywell Inc, World Fuel Services Inc and currently the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan.

  He has held several Board positions for highly successful international divisions of those businesses for the last 20 years, serving as Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer. He brings considerable experience in Finance, Financial Reporting, Accounting, Risk and Compliance.

  Chris has lived in the Epping Forest area since 1996.

• Sue Sunderland
  Diocese Trustee & Vice Chair
  Sue Sunderland

  Sue is retired from her role as an HR Consultant in a large global company where she undertook a number of operational roles before specialising in HR. Sue brings to the Trustee role her background in Employment Law, Training and Performance Management alongside her knowledge of organisational structure. Sue also has a good understanding of the educational system having begun her career teaching Biology and Science and serving as a Foundation Governor at St John's C of E Primary School for the past 15 years. She is currently Chair of the Local Governing Body at St John's and is therefore involved in governance at both Academy and Trust level. Sue feels privileged to represent the Diocese of Chelmsford as a Trustee and is committed to our aim of 'Unlocking the Potential of Collaboration' Â to improve pupil outcomes whilst still allowing each Academy to preserve its individual identity.

• Peter Tidmarsh
  CEO
  Peter Tidmarsh

  Peter was born and raised in the Epping Forest District and, after an extended period of travelling, began his teaching career in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

  His first post was at Dorothy Barley Junior School where he led Science and was responsible for developing a pond and wildlife area. This project was particularly successful and Peter received an Association for Science Education Award which resulted in a three-month trip to Australia to study how science was taught on the other side of the world. Â

  After three years, Peter moved to Henry Green Primary School to a middle-management position; two years later, he became Deputy Headteacher. This was a challenging school but, by the time he left, it was in the top 100 improving schools in the country. Central to its development was the ability to attract new, vibrant teachers.

  Five years later, in 2000, Peter became Headmaster of St John's C of E Primary School in Buckhurst Hill.

  Peter enjoyed every minute of the 17 years of headship and was proud to lead a school that celebrated achievement in every aspect of school life whilst giving the children a rich and rounded curriculum. As the school became a designated Teaching School as well as a SCITT (School-Centred Initial Teacher Training), Peter was appointed a National Leader of Education.

  During his time as Headmaster, St John's was an active member of the Epping Forest Schools Consortium. Along with his other Headteacher colleagues, Peter recognised the value and support the Consortium gave to the schools.

  It was this framework that provided the schools  with the opportunity to establish the Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust, a Multi-Academy Trust of 16 schools and 1 associate member school. Peter spent most of 2017 presenting the concept of closer collaboration to staff, Governors and parents; in April 2018, the Trust was established and Peter was appointed CEO.

• Denise Broom
  Trustee
  Denise Broom

  Denise is currently the Director of Operations for the LIFE Education Trust which comprises of six schools in Havering and Essex. She started her career at Marks and Spencer, joining the graduate trainee programme before being appointed as Procurement Manager within the Food Division. Following this, Denise was recruited by the London Borough of Havering to set up the finance system and infrastructure at Havering Sixth Form College. She has also been a secondary school Bursar and studied for the certificate in  School Business Management (CSBM). Denise was also seconded to another secondary school for one year to review financial systems, processes and procedures, reporting directly to the London Borough of Havering.

• James Wood
  Trustee
  James Wood

  James is a solicitor at an international law firm based in London, specialising in public law (acting both for and against public authorities). He lives and grew up locally and has a long standing connection to schools in the MAT. James is involved in other voluntary work locally and was previously a governor of Lambourne Primary School, standing down from that role when the MAT was established.

• Lesley Duffin
  Trustee
  Lesley Duffin

  Lesley Duffin M.A.(Ed), B.Ed (Cantab)

  Lesley is recently retired following a forty one year career in Primary Education, over half of that time being spent at Senior Leadership level. She is passionate about the delivery of excellent education at primary level through the delivery of a creative, stimulating and rigorous curriculum which engages young minds and equips them for their future role in society. Over the last 30 years Lesley has served on several governing bodies in different capacities - teacher governor, parent governor, community governor and is currently Chair of a local governing body. Experiences at this level have given her a thorough understanding of strong school management and how it is supported by ensuring financial stability, accountability and clear strategic planning. She is familiar with the work of local schools and fully supports their collaborative ethos as a route to outstanding provision for all children.

• George Yerosimou
  Trustee
  George Yerosimou

  George Yerosimou is a retired Secondary School Headteacher, having served successfully as Headteacher at Epping St John's, overseeing the planning and building of a new school, which opened in September 2013. He worked in education for 38 years and served as a Senior Leader for 20 of those years. He was a Local Leader in Education and trained and qualified as an OFSTED Inspector. He has a wife and 3 children, all of whom have followed him into the teaching profession. He continues to serve on Essex Admissions  and Exclusion Review Panels. He is still active and enjoys exercising and referees in adult football.

• Vivienne Hole
  Trustee
  Vivienne Hole

  Vivienne's background is in international financial services, having held senior roles at Reuters, London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) and Cofunds. She has also served as a Non-Executive Director for the Welsh Assembly Government and has provided coaching for charity and not for profit organisation boards. Vivienne is a Freeman of the City of London and was educated at the London School of Economics and Cardiff University. She holds a Diploma in Company Direction and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). Vivienne lives locally.

• Danny Cohen
  Trustee
  Danny Cohen

  Danny is a retired accountant. Prior to his retirement, he worked for an International Law Firm for 22 years where he held the roles of Chief Operating Officer (Asia) and Director of Finance & Administration.

  He is a keen tennis and padel tennis player and lives locally.