Carol Dewhurst, OBE

I have been CEO of BDAT, a Diocesan MAT supporting a family of 17 primary and secondary schools for over 7 years. Before that I worked for the Department for Education supporting the development and set up of academy trusts across the North of England. As such I believe I am well placed with an insight of both the policy drivers and pace of the academy programme combined with bringing the practical experience of a long-standing CEO to help support and advise the continued roll out of the RSC priorities. Over my tenure I have learned a lot of lessons about what makes a strong MAT and also importantly where the pitfalls are. I believe that part of my role as a system leader is to share that practice. I do that already by working with a large network of Trusts in our region and beyond (which will provide useful area context in this role) but feel that this will be help me support more systematically. Ultimately though, I am motivated by making sure children have the best life chances and I strongly believe the work of the RSC office, supported by system leaders, is integral to getting education right.