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Abbey Multi Academy Trust

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Our Staff

In addition to our Board of Trustees, Abbey Trust employs a small central team to support the day to day running of the Trust.

Central Trust Staff (ID 1093)

  • Helen Pratten FCCT
    Chief Executive Officer

    Helen Pratten FCCT

    Helen Pratten was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Abbey Multi Academy Trust in May 2026, having previously served as Co-CEO since January 2020. With a deep understanding of the Trust, its communities and its strategic ambition, Helen provides clear, value driven leadership and is responsible for setting and delivering the Trust's vision, direction and performance.

    Alongside her role as CEO, Helen brings extensive operational and system-leadership experience, having previously served as Director of Operations. In this role, she led and oversaw the Trust's Corporate Services, including finance, governance, HR, marketing and IT, ensuring strong infrastructure, robust governance and sound financial stewardship to support high-quality education across all academies. Helen works closely with the Trust Board to ensure Abbey Trust operates with integrity, transparency and long-term sustainability.

    Before becoming Director of Operations, Helen was Executive Principal, working across the Trust's primary academies, and prior to that was Headteacher of St Chad's Church of England Primary School, one of the founding schools of Abbey Trust. These roles continue to shape her leadership approach, placing pupils, staff and communities firmly at the centre of decision-making. Her commitment to creating welcoming, disciplined and purposeful environments, where both children and adults thrive, remains at the heart of her work.

    Helen is passionate about providing children with rich and inspiring learning experiences and about supporting leaders to deliver the Trust's core vision:high-quality education for all. Through academic, cultural and spiritual opportunities, pupils and colleagues are empowered to flourish and to live ‘life in all its fullness' (John 10:10).

    A firm believer in lifelong learning, Helen holds a degree in English and a Master's in Leadership and Management. She has completed the NPQEL and NPQH, as well as an Executive Leadership qualification with Ambition Institute, and became a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching in 2023. Beyond Abbey Trust, Helen also serves as a trustee of a non-profit organisation, reflecting her strong commitment to public service and community impact.

    Linked to the Trust's focus on oracy, Helen's favourite word isubuntu,a concept from Zulu and Xhosa often translated as“I am because we are.”Ubuntu captures Helen's belief in community, compassion and shared responsibility, and underpins her approach to leadership, learning and partnership across the Trust.

  • Paul Cooper
    Director of Education (Secondary)

    Paul Cooper

    Paul joined Abbey Grange C of E Academy in 2010 as Assistant Headteacher having previously held pastoral and inclusion roles at Woodkirk Academy. Following his promotion to Vice Principal in 2013, Paul led on student achievement, resulting in a 0.4 improvement in P8 over this period and cementing Abbey Grange as one of the top performing schools in the city.

    In 2017, Paul took on the role of Principal at Bishop Young Church of England Academy and led a successful improvement journey, resulting in a positive Ofsted inspection in 2021 during which the academy was judged as good for behaviour, attitudes and personal development.

    In February 2020, Paul became the Executive Principal for our Secondary Academies.

  • Yavannah Watterson-Hopkins
    Chief Financial Officer

    Yavannah Watterson-Hopkins

    With degrees in Law and Psychology, Yavannah began her career in professional services, completing her ACA examinations in 2010 while training and working as an auditor with Baker Tilly LLP. She subsequently moved into the education sector, where she has built extensive experience in financial leadership, governance, risk management and organisational strategy.

    Now serving as Chief Financial Officer of Abbey Multi Academy Trust, Yavannah leads the Trust's financial strategy, operational excellence and central services functions, supporting schools to deliver sustainable improvement while ensuring strong stewardship of public funds. She is passionate about ethical leadership, service improvement and developing high-performing teams that enable better outcomes for children and young people. She and her team also work collaboratively with other Trusts to share best practices and innovative solutions.

    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, Yavannah has chosen ‘data' as her favourite word. Yavannah is always keen to base our decision making on facts, statistics and information.

  • David Ryder
    Head of IT & Infrastructure

    David Ryder

    David has worked within Abbey Multi Academy Trust for over 17 years, taking on the role of Head of IT and Infrastructure in 2020. Prior to this, David led our IT team, and is proud to have developed an effective service to support our academies.

    Under David's leadership, our IT team deliver a highly efficient and innovative IT service that has a positive impact on teaching and learning. Within his Estates remit, David's team not only ensure our staff and students have a safe and welcoming working environment, but also commit to sustainable approaches and actions that have brought us closer to meeting our target of becoming Carbon Net Zero.

    For example, in 2021 David led the trust in an application of over £5million in grant funding for decarbonisation works and co-ordinated the resulting projects. He is a fundamental part of the Trust Sustainability team, focussing on the control and monitoring of our utilities infrastructure.

    He has undertaken IT consultancy work in multiple academies, external to the trust, sharing best practices and assisting them in improving their IT systems.

    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, David's favourite word is ‘Articulate' - an adjective meaning 'able to express ideas clearly and effectively in speech or writing'.

  • Kerry Weatherill
    Head of Governance and Compliance

    Kerry Weatherill

    As Head of Governance and Compliance, Kerry supports our trust board, executive team and academy leaders to design, implement and support the highest quality governance.

    With 17+ years within the education sector, Kerry uses her significant expertise and wealth of experience to alleviate pressure on academy leaders, providing reassurance and guidance on all aspects of governance and compliance. Kerry has supported the conversion of primary schools into our Trust, and in her previous Trust was part of the project management team that built and opened a centre for co-located services.


    In her role, Kerry has responsibility for establishing high quality Trust-wide and local governance as well as effective communication between the Board and its local committees. She is also responsible for overseeing the Trust's legal support, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks, and is our Data Protection Officer.


    Kerry holds has undertaken degrees in English Language and Literature and also Law, is a Chartered Governance Professional and was admitted as an Associate of the Chartered Governance Institute in 2018.


    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, Kerry's favourite word is ‘vicarious' – an adjective, meaning experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person.

  • Liz Edwards
    Head of People

    Liz Edwards

    Liz joined the Trust in April 2022 and brings over 25 years' experience in HR from a range of public sector roles, as well as a commitment to the education sector demonstrated through many years as a governor and then, more recently, as a trustee for a Church of England MAT in North Yorkshire and Stockton.

    Liz is committed to making a difference to colleagues across the Trust by delivering a high quality proactive HR service and enhancing our employee experience. She has a keen interest in professional development and talent management, as well as supporting colleagues' wellbeing.

    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, one of Liz's favourite words is 'leadership'. Much of the work led by Liz and the HR team focusses on nurturing leadership qualities in all our people, supporting individuals to empower each other to success.

  • Rebecca Sanders
    Director of Inclusion

    Rebecca Sanders

    Rebecca joined Abbey Trust in September 2026 as our Director of Inclusion. Having worked in SEND and inclusion since 2005, she began her career as a Disability and Inclusion Careers Adviser within Connexions, supporting young people with additional needs to navigate education, training and employment with confidence and autonomy.

    In 2012, she joined Bluecoat Aspley as a post‑16 special needs teacher, before progressing into senior leadership roles including SENCo, Assistant Principal and Trust SEND Lead within Archway Learning Trust. Across these roles, she has led whole‑school and trust‑wide improvement in SEND provision, championed inclusive cultures, and strengthened systems that ensure every pupil is known, understood and able to thrive.

    Rebecca is committed to developing leaders and sustainable systems that make inclusion everyone's business. Her work focuses on building capacity rather than dependency—supporting schools to embed strong self‑evaluation, relational practice and high‑quality provision so that all children belong, participate fully and reach their potential.

    Her leadership is grounded in three core values: authenticity, curiosity and kindness. These values shape her approach to collaboration, professional learning and school improvement, ensuring leaders feel empowered, supported and equipped to make meaningful, lasting change.

    With extensive experience across teaching, SEND leadership and trust‑level inclusion strategy, Rebecca brings clarity, compassion and a deep commitment to equity to her role as Director of Inclusion.

    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, Rebecca's favourite word is ‘curisoity' - as it helps us to continually to ask why things are the way they are, how things work, what sits beneath a barrier or behaviour, what canwe learn from every interaction.

  • Mel Carlin
    Strategic Lead for School Improvement (Secondary)

    Mel Carlin

    Mel Carlin is Strategic Lead for School Improvement (Secondary) and is passionate about ensuring that every young person, regardless of postcode or circumstance, receives an education that enables them to thrive. She is particularly committed to helping the most disadvantaged and hardest-to-reach pupils develop the confidence, ambition and self-belief to achieve their full potential.

    After beginning her career as a History teacher in 2006, Mel developed expertise in curriculum leadership, teaching and learning and school improvement. She became a History Advanced Skills Teacher in 2012, leading local authority-wide professional development and supporting schools across the region to improve the quality of History teaching. She subsequently served as Subject Leader for History and Head of Humanities, contributing to the school's recognition as Outstanding by Ofsted. She later held leadership positions including Lead Practitioner within Abbey Trust, Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning and Vice Principal for Quality of Education, supporting rapid improvement across a number of schools.

    Alongside her wider school improvement work, Mel has become a nationally recognised advocate for oracy and the role of talk in improving learning, achievement and life chances. She has championed the development of talk-rich classrooms and supported schools to embed high-quality oracy across the curriculum. She is also the founder of the Yorkshire Oracy Hub, led by Abbey Trust, which brings together schools, researchers and practitioners to share evidence-informed practice and drive improvement in oracy education across the region.

    The impact of Mel's work has been recognised nationally. It has been cited in the Parliamentary report Speak for Change (2021) and referenced in research led by the University of Oxford. She continues to work with schools, trusts and educational organisations to ensure that every young person develops the confidence, voice and communication skills needed to succeed in education and beyond.

  • Claire Senior
    Strategic Lead for Safeguarding & Attendance

    Claire Senior

    Claire joined the Central Education Team at Abbey Trust in July 2022 as the Strategic Lead for Safeguarding and Attendance.

    Responsible for promoting the very best standards in safeguarding at all the schools across the Trust, Claire works alongside Senior Leaders and Designated Safeguarding Leads to promote the welfare of children, protect them from harm and working strategically to enable all children to have the best outcomes. She is on hand to offer advice, support and direction about child protection and safeguarding issues.

    Claire also works closely with the Directors of Education to improve the outcomes for children by ensuring regular school attendance. Following the pandemic school attendance has been a significant challenge in the Education sector and Claire is passionate about removing the barriers that stop children attending school, so they can have a happy time at school and make the most out of their education.

    Prior to joining our Trust, Claire worked as Attendance Lead and Deputy DSL in a Pupil Referral Unit and has considerable experience of ‘looked after children' from both personal experience and voluntary work in the adoption field. Prior to moving into the Education sector Claire worked in banking both in operational, training and project management roles.

    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, Claire has chosen ‘culture' as her favourite word. She can often be heard talking about ‘culture', as she feels very strongly that culture underpins who we are and our values and is the foundation to a successful learning environment for our children.

  • James Routh
    Strategic Lead for School Improvement (Primary)

    James Routh

    James started his career teaching in inner city Bradford. He has lead several subjects across school, successfully driving progress and achievement. In doing this he also developed bespoke CPD in line with the specific needs of pupils and staff. He has mentored staff for many years, identifying and developing talent of staff in order to raise standards of teaching and learning.

    More recently, James has worked closely with schools across North Yorkshire around curriculum development and school improvement, writing and implementing policy, behaviour, staff CPD, and raising standards by successfully executing the vision of these schools.

    James joined Abbey Trust in September 2022. He works closely with Trust staff on strategic school improvement, developing collaboration and raising standards in all schools, across the curriculum.

  • Andy Fisher
    Strategic Lead for Assessment & Data

    Andy Fisher

    Andy Fisher began his teaching career in 2009 after completing his PGCE at Newcastle University. With a passion for Physics and a dedication to enhancing science education, Andy has spent 15 years working in secondary schools across the Midlands and West Yorkshire. He joined Abbey Grange Academy in September 2022 as the Achievement Director for Science and later became the Lead for Quality Assurance in December 2023.In September 2024, Andy joined the Central Education Team at Abbey Trust as the Strategic Lead for Data and Assessments. In this role, he collaborates with school leaders to refine assessment policies and strategies, ensuring data is used effectively to impact student outcomes. Andy is particularly excited about learning more about primary assessments and supporting primary colleagues, and helping leaders across all levels to use data more effectively to improve outcomes for all students within the trust. His favourite word is "excel" - which you can either take as his knowledge of spreadsheets, or his ability to help us use data to improve outcomes for all pupils within our trust.

  • Caroline Holloway
    Strategic Lead for School Improvement (Primary)

    Caroline Holloway

    Carolinebegan her teaching career in inner-city Birmingham, whereshe taught for several years before relocating back to North Yorkshire in 2013. Her career has given her a broad and varied experience, from large urban schools to small rural settings. Having taught in a range of contexts, including three-form entry primaries and split-class village schools, Caroline hasheld a variety of roles such as class teacher, phase leader, and deputy headteacher.

    English has always been a professional passion for Caroline, particularly the power it holds to unlock confidence, creativity, and communication in children.She believes that language and literacy are the foundations of learning across the curriculum, andis passionate about creating rich, inclusive environments where children are inspired to find their voice—whether through reading, writing, speaking, or listening. She enjoys working with colleagues to explore innovative approaches to teaching English, using research-informed strategies to build both subject knowledge and pedagogical confidence.

  • Amanda Snowdon
    Communications & Marketing Manager

    Amanda Snowdon

    Amanda joined Abbey Trust in October 2022 bringing over 18 years public sector marketing experience into our Trust. Amanda is responsible for developing and leading the Trust marketing strategy in line with our vision and values and supports our academies by driving forward their Marketing and Communications action plans. Amanda and her team manage our websites and social media channels, provide in-house design and creative services, and develop engage marketing campaigns and across student recruitment, teaching and learning, staff engagement and other Trust-wide projects.

    Prior to joining the Trust, Amanda worked for a range of public and private sector organisations, delivering marketing and communications activities to a wide variety of audiences. She has a degree in Linguistics & Phonetics, holds the CIM Level 6 Professional Diploma in Marketing, and is a founding member of the Mums in Marketing membership network.

    Linked to our Trust-wide focus on Oracy, Amanda has chosen ‘authenticity' as her favourite word. Amanda shares that when creating marketing materials for our school and Trust, it's important that the authenticity of each individual school shines through.

 

Our Academy Leaders

Academy Leaders (ID 1492)

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