Trustees (ID 1152)

• Dr Anita Backhouse
  Chair of Trustees
  Dr Anita Backhouse

  Dr Backhouse started her career as a laboratory manager in the food industry before becoming a science teacher and Head of Department. Following this, she worked in school improvement for a local authority for 8 years, supporting both primary and secondary schools across the East Riding of Yorkshire.

  Moving into academia in 2008 as a Senior Lecturer, teaching on both undergraduate (Primary) and PGCE primary and secondary teacher training programmes. Also playing an active role in mentoring and assessing colleagues in their HEA Associate and Fellowship applications both within the institution and internationally.

  Joining University of Lincoln in 2016, completing a doctorate soon after, following which she became the Head of School in 2020. The role involves having oversight of two undergraduate programmes, a large MA Education programme of which the vast majority are international students and primary and secondary PGCE programmes, in partnership with two local teacher training providers. Our research environment in the School is strengthening at a pace and recent appointments have provided us with a growing capacity to engage in high quality research into education and social justice both locally and internationally.

• Steve Baragwanath
  Chief Executive Officer
  Steve Baragwanath

  Steve Baragwanath was appointed as Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for the Trust in January 2023.

  
  His passion is addressing social mobility and student progress.

  Steve has 20 years of headship experience across three academies, with a proven record of school improvement and curriculum innovation. Taking UAH from 420 pupils to 1366, introducing a sixth form which now has over 300 students and being accredited provider of apprenticeship and “T” Level qualifications.

• Andy Breckon
  Andy Breckon

  Andy has over 55 years’ experience in education starting as a teacher and finishing as the part time CEO of the University of Lincoln Academy Trust, which he established in 2014 and lead for nearly nine years. His last full time post was Director of Education Service for CfBT for 11 years managing the largest ever outsourced School Improvement Services and working as Assistant Director Children’s Service in Lincolnshire, retiring in 2013. In 2012 the service won the national School Improvement Service of the year award, the first local authority service to do so. A contract, which at its peak, which managed over £60m of resources each year, excluding school budgets. In 2011 Andy established the CfBT Schools Trust (Now call Anthem). Former Chief Executive of DATA for 8 years, Ofsted Inspector and appointed by the Government to Chair one of the first Interim Executive Boards at New College, Leicester for 5 years, which made rapid improvement and also appointed Chair of the Leicester City Improvement Board in 2008/10. He was Chief Examiner at A level for 21 years, and member of the National Curriculum Working Group for Design and Technology. Andy has given lecturers in 14 countries and in 2014 gave the keynote international lecture in the US at a major education conference. He has published eight books with sales of over 570,000 copies and over 25 other publications and has advised on over 90 schools TV programmes, including winning the Education Bafta award in 1990 for the Techno Series. He was the Independent Person for the North York Moors National Park for 10 years and also carried out the role for a District Council.

• Professor Duncan French
  (Whistleblowing Trustee)
  Professor Duncan French

  Professor Duncan French is Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Social Science, University of Lincoln.

  Duncan is a Professor of International Law, and is a leading academic on international environmental law and the international legal implications of sustainable development. He has written extensively in these areas, as well as writing generally on both broader questions of treaty law, international economic and investment law, and international dispute settlement. He has secondary research interests in international law of the sea and Antarctica. Recent books include: D. French and L. Kotzé (eds.), Sustainable Development Goals: Law, Theory and Implementation (Edward Elgar, 2018) and V. Ruiz Abou-Nigm, K. McCall-Smith and D. French (eds.), Linkages and Boundaries in Private and Public International Law (Hart, 2018). He is currently working on international law’s response to “planetary boundaries”.

  Previously Duncan was Head of Lincoln Law School, and before that worked at the Universities of Sheffield and Reading. Duncan has four teenage children.

• Dr Edward Libbey
  (Vice Chair of Trust and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee)
  Dr Edward Libbey

  Edward grew up in King’s Lynn and after graduating from Cambridge University with both a BA and PhD in Chemistry started a business career in BP. He managed large and complex refining, supply and distribution and commercial trading activities across the USA and Europe. Subsequently he ran the North American activities of the small high-tech company Whatman, based in Boston, Massachusetts. Whilst there he helped set up and chaired World Energy Solutions, an on-line auction platform providing award-winning procurement capabilities for large gas and electricity contracts. He remains active in his consulting activities in the energy sector.

  On his return to the UK he developed a diverse portfolio career including the Chair of Norfolk Learning and Skills Council, and latterly the Chair of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. He has had a long-term commitment to the improvement of education and skills especially in more disadvantaged areas and is familiar with the challenges in South Lincolnshire.

  He has lived and worked abroad in the USA and Canada as well as in Belgium and the Netherlands.

• Ann Lloyd
  (Safeguarding Trustee)
  Ann Lloyd

  Associate Professor, Ann Lloyd joined the University of Lincoln in 2015 (National Centre for Food Manufacturing), with extensive knowledge and experience within product development, process development/ technical departments.

  Ms Lloyd also has extensive knowledge of apprenticeship Frameworks and Standards, national apprenticeship delivery and quality monitoring systems.

• William Naylor
  William Naylor

  Will Naylor is a Group Reward Manager with Bakkavor, the leading fresh-prepared food provider in the UK.

  Will has over 20 years of experience of working within HR in the chilled-food sector, the last 15 years with Bakkavor working across a number of business units in South Lincolnshire. Whilst being a recognised HR professional, Will has built a strong commercial and operational knowledge that supports effective HR business partnering.

  As both a former pupil of Holbeach County Junior School, now part of the Trust as Holbeach Primary Academy, and also having graduated from the University of Lincoln with a master’s degree (MSc HRM) in 2002, he is also proud of his ‘alumni’ status and educational links to the organisation.

  Will is a member of the Food Committee of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP and is always keen to promote the significant career opportunities that lie within the agri-food sector right on our doorstep in Lincolnshire.

• James Rylatt
  James Rylatt

  James Rylatt is the Managing Director of an advisory firm with audit and taxation specialities, with over 20 years experience in the industry. Previous roles include senior lecturer at the University of Lincoln and also completely his MSc Accountancy at the University.

  Having held a number of Independent Examiner roles to small charities over the past decade, including current appointments in London and County Durham and previously acting as a trustee to an educational charity, sitting on its finance committee.