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 Committees 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 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.

• 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.

• Denise Broom
  Trustee
  Denise Broom

  Denise is currently a School Business Manager having previously been the Director of Operations for the LIFE Education Trust which comprises 10 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 and regulatory issues.
  He lives and grew up locally and has a long-standing connection to schools in the Trust.
  James has been 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 is also a Trustee of the Donkey Sanctuary and lives locally.

• Danny Cohen
  Trustee
  Danny Cohen

  Danny is a qualified accountant and, following his retirement, joined the Trust as a Trustee in April 2022.
  He worked for international law firms where he held several roles including Chief Operating Officer (Asia) and Director of Finance and Administration.
  Danny lives locally and enjoys sports and leisure activities.