Trustees
The role of our Trustees
The Trust Board is the primary decision-making body for The Pinnacle Learning Trust. Our Trustees are responsible for all strategic decisions and are ultimately accountable for the success of every academy and the well-being of all staff.
At the heart of the Trust Board's work is our charitable mission: to "advance for the public benefit education in the United Kingdom." All decisions made by the board must be in line with this core purpose, as set out in our Articles of Association.
Although the board delegates a number of its responsibilities to a committee or an individual staff member, as set out in our Scheme of Delegation, accountability is not and cannot be delegated.
The Academy Trust Governance Guide defines the the role of a trustee as structured around a purpose of governance that includes:
- Strategic leadership
- Accountability and assurance
- Strategic engagement
Trustees are both the charity trustees and company directors of our trust and have statutory duties to exercise care, skill and diligence and avoid conflicts of interest.
All trustees are aware of and accept ‘The Seven Principles of Public Life’, set out by Lord Nolan and endeavour to make decisions in the best interest of our pupils by welcoming a diverse range of viewpoints when debating decisions and remaining connected with and engaging with our communities and stakeholders.
PLT Trustees 1 (ID 1255)
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Dominic WallMember appointed Trustee - Chair of Trustees
Dominic Wall
Dominic Wall retired in September 2024 as an Executive Headteacher and SEND Lead for the Co-op Academies Trust. He finished his career by leading the development of Co-op Academy Brierley, a new special free school for Leeds City Council which opened in 2024.
During his career Dominic worked as a headteacher in SEMH and LDD special schools in Blackburn, Oldham and Bradford, and for the local authority in Bradford as Strategic Adviser for SEN, overseeing the building of eight new special schools. From 2016 to 2020 he was CEO of the Southfield Grange MAT.
Designated by the Department for Education as a National Leader of Education in 2016 until his retirement as a headteacher, from 2019-22 Dominic was seconded part-time to NICE as an Education Topic Advisor on SEND and also served as SEND Leader for the North of England under NASEN's SEND Improvement project for the DfE.Prior to joining the Pinnacle Learning Trust Dominic served as a parent governor at OSFC. He lives in Greenfield, Oldham where he is an active volunteer in the community.
Date of appointment: 31/01/2025
Term of office: 31/01/2025 - 30/01/2029
PLT Trustees 2 (ID 1256)
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Chris WilsonCo-opted Trustee - Vice Chair of Trustees
Chris Wilson
Chris retired from a successful career at The Co-operative Bank where he took ultimate responsibility for the Specialist Sectors business, including Local Authorities, Charities, Real Estate, Co-op Retail Societies and Treasury. Living in the Borough from the age of 10, Chris has also been a Governor of North Chadderton School, Chair of the Local Advisory Board of the Career Academy and Chair of the Partnership Board of the University Centre Oldham.
Chris is the Chair of our Finance and Resources Committee and the Chair of our Pay and Remuneration Committee
Date of appointment: 01/09/2017Term of Office: 01.09.25 - 31.08.29 -
Mike PittCo-opted Trustee
Mike Pitt
Mike is a former longstanding governor of OSFC. He has expertise in a range of fields of law and extensive knowledge of Oldham.
Date of appointment:: 16/05/2023
Term of Office 16/05/2023 - 15/05/2027
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Gareth CornellCo-opted Trustee
Gareth Cornell
Gareth works in a regional senior management role for NHS England with over 15 years of experience in the NHS as a physiotherapist. Gareth brings expertise in strategy & planning, improvement science, risk management and public sector leadership. Gareth is passionate about widening participation and opportunity as well as health inequalities and the wider determinants of health, recognising the important interdependency between education and health
Date of appointment: 1/9/24
Term of office: 1/9/24 - 31/8/28
PLT Trustees 3 (ID 1257)
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Jennifer LieveldMember appointed trustee
Jennifer Lieveld
Jennifer is a qualified Chartered Global Management Accountant who currently works in a Liquidity Regulatory Reporting role within the banking industry with previous experience at a global FinTech company. She currently serves at her local church as a co-opted executive member, where her experiences are highly valued. Jennifer seeks to make positive contributions to the board to improve the education for all children at PLT.
Date of appointment:: 02/02/2024Term of Office: 02/02/24 - 01/02/28 -
Saqab RasulMember Appointed Trustee
Saqab Rasul
Saq Rasul is currently Head of Knowledge Exchange and Innovation at the University of Sheffield and has over 20 years of experience within the Higher Education sector, predominantly in the area of business development and knowledge exchange.
Having been a pupil of Alexandra Park he's keen on giving his experience to ensure the Trust continues to deliver for it's communities and using his skills to ensure their strategy is successfully delivered.Saqab is the Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee.
Date of appointment:: 07/02/24Term of Office: 07/02/24 - 06/02/28 -
Nigel FowlerCo-opted Trustee
Nigel Fowler
Nigel is a recently retired Executive Principal of two academies in Oldham, a Secondary and Primary both in areas of social deprivation. Having been a school leader across the North of England for over 20 years he has specialised in school improvement lifting a number of schools out of special measures and working to academise failing schools. He was also a Parent Governor when his sons were at school.
Nigel has joined the Board with a wealth of experience and hopes to use this to improve the education of pupils in the Trust.
Nigel is the Chair of our Standards Committee
Date of appointment: 18/9/24
Term of office: 18/9/24 - 17/9/28 -
Tim MonaghanCo-opted Trustee
Tim Monaghan
Tim recently retired after 11 years as European regional president for US based semiconductor manufacturer Diodes Incorporated. His background is in engineering but more recently he brings expertise in leadership, strategy deployment, finance and governance.
Date of appointment:: 6/1/25
Term of office: 6/1/25 - 5/1/29
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Lynne BianchiMember Appointed Trustee
Lynne Bianchi
Professor Lynne Bianchi is an established specialist in curriculum and in-service teacher professional development, innovation and research in science and engineering education. She has developed international reputation leading sector-leading research, projects and transformative educational campaigns seeking to enhance teacher confidence and competence in mainstream primary-secondary science education (5-14 years). She trained as a primary teacher and practiced in North Manchester before pursuing a career in Higher Education, where she is the Director of the University of Manchester's Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub. Through sustained collaborations with STEM charities, learned societies and industry partners, she speaks to the importance of practical learning, real-world contexts and children's questions as means to invigorate mainstream National Curriculum learning experiences in STEM.Lynne is the Vice Dean for Social Responsibility & EDIA at the University of Manchester where she leads strategy for university-school engagement in outreach, public and civic engagement. She is an international speaker and holds a significant publication record, enabling her to be an expert advisor to groups including UNESCO STEM Alliance.Date of Appointment: 5/1/26Term of Office: 5/1/26-4/1/30 -
Philippa GellMember Appointed Trustee
Philippa Gell
Philippa retired from teaching in 2025 having taught English in secondary schools in Leeds and Leicestershire before coming to Oldham Sixth Form College in 2000 where she taught for 24 years. While working at Oldham Sixth Form College, she served as a workplace representative for the National Education Union and was Sixth Form Officer for the NEU Oldham Committee. She continues to support the work of the Oldham NEU Committee.
Date of Appointment: 05/01/26
Term of Office: 05/01/26 - 04/01/30
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Gary LagarCo-Opted Trustee
Gary Lagar
Date of Appointment: 05/01/26
Term of Office: 05/01/26 - 04/01/30
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Naveed MalikCo-Opted Trustee
Naveed Malik
Group Data Protection Officer at a FTSE 100 global business, responsible for data protection governance and regulatory compliance. Previously worked at the Information Commissioner's Office and in local government, where he served as Data Protection Officer supporting Stockport schools. He also held senior privacy roles at the global clothing brand Burberry. He brings expertise in governance, risk and regulatory compliance to the Trust.
Date of Appointment: 26/01/26
Term of Office: 26/01/26 - 25/01/30
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Neil SmithCo-Opted Trustee
Neil Smith
Neil is a former Head of a HMC 3-18 day school, and currently works as a specialist in the policy team for the Association of School and College Leaders. He has extensive experience of school governance having previously served as Chair of the Governing Body at an infant school in Stockport, and as a governor at an 11-16 academy in Manchester.
Date of Appointment: 26/01/26
Term of Office: 26/01/26 - 25/01/30
