Executive Group

Mark Vickers MBE

Mark has held the role of Chair of the APSEND CEO Network since 2020. As the external face of the organisation, he is dedicated to ensuring effective representation for members through being a strong collective voice for the specialist sector. He works closely with the Executive Group to set the strategic direction of the network, ensuring that members feel supported and represented. Mark also plays a key role in ensuring that the network continues to work in partnership with national bodies such as the Department for Education, Ofsted and the ESFA.

Mark is the founding CEO of Olive Academies, a trust of five alternative provision academies in London and the South East that provides education to children and young people aged between 7 and 16 and is a member of the REACh (Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children) consortium which is the DfE’s delivery partner for its Change Programme. His work in education is rooted in his belief that schools have the potential to break historic cycles of social disadvantage and to prevent the marginalisation of vulnerable young people. Mark has been a headteacher of a secondary school, an Ofsted inspector, a school leadership consultant and was a founding trustee of the PSHE Association. His current main area of interest is how local continuums of provision can be developed to support students to be successful. Mark is also a member of the DfE’s National SEND and Alternative Provision Implementation Board.

In his spare time he loves spending time with his family as well as experiencing the highs and lows of life as a Crystal Palace fan.

Christina Jones

Christina joined the APSEND Executive Group to represent the North East, and to link the network into regional APSEND groups. She is also a Trustee of Schools North East, a network of schools that work together across the region. As a member of the APSEND Executive Group, Christina leads on developing the network’s offer for members, especially in terms of building peer support networks and influencing external views of the APSEND sector.  

Christina has been the CEO of River Tees Multi-Academy Trust since 2018. The Trust currently comprises of a Hospital School, a Special Free School and three Alternative Provision Academies in the North East of England. She is experienced in school improvement and has an unwavering commitment to improving the life chances of the most vulnerable learners.    

Christina's main areas of interest are Attendance, Careers Education and Guidance, Measures of Performance within the specialist sector, understanding and embracing risk in specialist settings and improving quality through peer to peer support. She is a practicing Ofsted Inspector and a member of the AP Stakeholder Group.

Julian Scholefield

Julian has been part of the Executive Group for the APSEND CEO Network since 2020.

Julian is the CEO of Esteem Multi-Academy Trust, which is based in the East and West Midlands and consists mainly of special and alternative provision schools. He is also a member of the Advisory Board to the regional directors of the DfE in the East Midlands as well as being a trustee of Oasis Community Learning. 

Previously, Julian was a headteacher of two special schools in Derbyshire and worked as a school improvement advisor.

Louise Lee

Louise is the Chief Executive Officer of The Howard Partnership Trust, a multi-academy trust in Surrey dedicated to providing high-quality education across its primary, secondary and special schools. Louise was previously a geography teacher and school leader in schools across London including as the headteacher of a large all-through comprehensive school in Croydon, South London. She then became Regional Director for one of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts leading a group of schools in underserved contexts. Now leading a MAT, Louise is committed to expanding students' life chances and delivering the same life-changing education for every child and young person that her teachers offered her. In addition to her role as an Exec member of the APSEND CEO Network, she is also a trustee of Speakers Trust, a charity committed to giving young people the confidence, skills and opportunity to speak and be heard.

Kevin Latham

Kevin has over 30 years of experience in SEND, dedicating his career to improving outcomes for children and young people. His journey has taken him from classroom teaching to headship, and to founding and leading Creating Tomorrow Trust as CEO. Throughout his career, as a headteacher and CEO, Kevin has championed collaboration and system leadership. Kevin has worked closely with local authorities to help shape the strategic direction of SEND provision and implement SEND reform. Kevin has driven large-scale change including redesigning authority-wide processes and forming and growing trusts, all to raise aspirations for learners with SEND, and enhance teaching and learning. Beyond his work within the Trust Kevin also serves as a trustee for a specialist college in London, however as a Dad/Step-Dad with five kids, family is always a priority! What drives him is simple – making sure every child has the chance to thrive.

Chris Richardson

Chris has been CEO of Prosper Learning Trust since September 2022, having filled the post on an interim basis for the preceding year. He joined the trust in June 2020 as Executive Headteacher of the Trust’s two AP academies. Chris has over twenty five years’ experience of school leadership across three mainstream secondary schools including eleven years as a Headteacher in Gateshead. Born and brought up in Middlesbrough, he graduated from Newcastle University with an honours degree in Economics, taught English in Madrid, and worked in industry before commencing his teaching career in Northumberland in 1989.

John Prior

Since 1994, John has taught and held leadership roles in both mainstream primary and the broader SEND sector. Prior to becoming CEO for Orchard Hill College Academy Trust (OHCAT), a large and diverse specialist MAT, including Free Schools, he led two special schools as Headteacher; the first - a Local Authority provision - secured an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted judgement (the first London special school to do so under the new framework in 2012), and the second moved from a pre-conversion ‘inadequate’ judgement to ‘good’ during the seventh term post-conversion. OHCAT is sponsored by Orchard Hill College, a consecutively ‘outstanding’ pan-London provider for students aged 16-25 who have a range of complex needs and disabilities, of which he is also CEO. This enables John to have a strong grasp of transitions, meaningful destinations and the interface between the school and FE sectors. John recently sat on the National Teacher Accreditation’s Appropriate Body Panel, was a member of London Councils’ Young People's Education and Skills Board, is a LA governor for a maintained Surrey mainstream school and holds the PQSI, having previously undertaken Ofsted inspections (secondary). John believes in the strong capacity the academy sector has to promote transformation within a framework of ‘high accountability, high support’. He is motivated to play an active role in the agenda for change and reform, ensuring that innovation is matched by sustainability and delivered through working in partnerships. A particular driver is to strengthen the voice and advocacy of learners with SEND, disadvantage and vulnerabilities.

Eleanor Bernardes

Strategic Lead - APSEND

Eleanor Bernardes is an educational leadership researcher, facilitator, and consultant whose work explores how organisations grow, evolve, and sustain through change. She specialises in organisational development, strategy, and leadership transitions, and is currently completing a PhD on Executive Founder Succession in Multi Academy Trusts. Eleanor is the Strategic Lead for the APSEND network, supporting Mark Vickers and the Executive Group to help the network meet its aims and maximise its impact across the sector.