Meet our trustees

Shaun joined the British Army at 16 and had a military career spanning 12 years with operational tours throughout the world. He left the Army in 2005, since when he has worked for Thurrock Council and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham with responsibility for Social Care, Health, early years and Job Centre plus. Shaun was the Head of Intervention service at London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where his team dealt with all complex family support cases that did not reach social care threshold. He was also responsible for temporary housing, council house allocations, family homes and money support service and the government's troubled families programme.In 2019, Shaun was awarded an MBE for services to vulnerable people.   

In addition to his role as a trustee, Shaun is also the Chair of the Local Governing Body for Stanford-le-Hope Primary School.

Ian is a qualified cost and management accountant and as an ex Customer Service Managing Director at BT Group plc. He has international and UK wide experience managing large operations and developing and delivering 3 to 5 year strategies for several major operational units over his career. He was the service and transformation board director for two of BT Group's Divisions (Global Services and BT Business). He has also led and managed the Group's Billing & Collections operation.

Now retired, apart from helping out now and again in his son's Café & Bistro, Ian supports the Trust as a member of the Board of Trustees and as chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.

Mike has been a school governor in Thurrock since 1998, serving on a number of governing bodies throughout the borough. In addition to sitting on the trust board, Mike is currently Chair of Governors at Thameside Primary School and Thames Park Secondary School.

Mike works as a technical support engineer for an Essex based security company. He brings experience in business management, quality systems and some aspects of human resources to his roles as a governor and trustee, as well as significant experience in governance.

Kay Goodacre is a qualified accountant, having originally trained in the Private Sector, she moved into Local Authority Finance specialising in Children and Adult services accounting. She has worked for Essex and Thurrock Council as well as a number of London Local Authorities.

From 2017 to 2020 Kay was seconded to the Department of Education working with the Education and Skills funding agency on School funding and Local Government reforms with Local Authorities, maintained Schools and Academies. Kay now works for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets as a Head of Strategic Finance for Children and Culture.

Kay’s area of particular focus with the trust is around Finance and Resources although she is has a strong interest in high needs provision and ensuring all children should be welcome at our trust and is proud of the inclusive nature and support we offer to Children and Families.

Paul Griffiths has been the CEO of Osborne Co-operative Academy Trust since 2012, having previously been the Head Teacher at St Clere’s School for 18 years. Paul has had significant school improvement experience in a wide range of contexts including alternative provision, primary and secondary, supporting the Department for Education and Local Authorities as well as individual schools and trusts.   

Paul has experience of chairing the Thurrock Schools’ Forum and being a member of the Local Safeguarding Board.  In 2017 he was the East of England Pupil Premium Champion, working with the Thurrock Teaching Schools Alliance.  Under his leadership the trust has grown since 2012 to twelve schools, three secondaries, one junior and eight primaries.   

Trisha worked in 5 Local Authorities and served 18 years as a secondary Headteacher before retirement. During this time, she gained registered inspector status under 3 different Ofsted frameworks as well as being a visiting fellow at the Institute of Education, a speaker at a number of DfE conferences and contributor to two books on school leadership and belonging. She was also used by an LA as a coach for new headteachers.

After a period as Trustee of the Co-operative College where she focussed on the family of co-operative schools in England, she became Chair of Trust of a co-operative school in Newham, representing the Co-operative College. This was followed by becoming a trustee and then Chair of Trust of the Osborne Co-operative Academy Trust in 2017. Trisha was approached to become Chair of Governors of a 14-16 alternative provision free school in Hackney which gained outstanding status while she was in post. She is also a trust appointed governor of two of the secondary schools in the Trust. Inclusion, equality, staff and student voice and enabling high achievement are some of her passions. 

Since 2005, Andrew has served as a school governor in Thurrock, starting as a parent governor and then moving into the position of Chair of Governors at Arthur Bugler Junior School. During this time, he played a key role in navigating the school's amalgamation with the neighbouring Infant School, resulting in the establishment of Arthur Bugler Primary. Apart from his role as a governor and trustee, Andrew is the Creative Director and Co-Founder of Periscope, a design agency that works with organisations committed to making a positive impact on society. With a focus on clarifying their brand, message, and promise, Andrew helps clients effectively communicate their vision to the world. He has been nominated for a BAFTA for his work on Channel 4’s Chéz Mimi and was appointed as a trustee in 2017.