Our Staff

The Rose Learning Trust Staff Team

As a trust, we acknowledge the need to retain and develop talented staff within our schools. We will use the growth of the trust to provide professional opportunities for ambitious, skilled staff who share our vision and who are interested in developing their skills. We also have a strong emphasis on ITT development.

We are looking for schools who share our ambitions for the future, whose culture and ethos match ours, and who are committed to providing the very best for their children both academically and socially.

Central Team

Director of Early Years Foundation Stage

Sarah Watson

Chief Executive Officer/Accounting Officer

Helen Harrison 

Helen has had substantial experience in school and executive leadership, including both headship and advisory positions and within her current role as Chief Executive Officer/Accounting Officer of The Rose Learning Trust. She was an accredited School Improvement Partner and has trained as a coach through the Local Leaders of Education programme. Helen has completed the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Executive Headteacher programme and more recently the National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership. She has also led 3 schools through very successful Ofsted inspections as headteacher, as well as supporting trust colleagues and partner schools.

Over the years Helen has enthusiastically maintained her vision for education and has been sustained by the knowledge that ‘every child matters.’ She believes passionately in the importance of raising standards and giving pupils access to the best possible teaching and learning experiences, but equally that pupils’ welfare and wellbeing is just as important. This has underpinned her philosophy and guided her practice, as evidenced through validated academic outcomes, including trajectories of improvement over time  and through Ofsted.

As both a headteacher and CEO, Helen has been able to apply her skills as a peer-to-peer coach and mentor to identify and share outstanding practice in order to facilitate impactful system wide improvements. She believes that schools and organisations are successful when they are led by leaders who lead learning and where everyone understands their responsibility for sustainable improvement and for building effective partnerships.

Helen thoroughly enjoys being Chief Executive Officer at The Rose Learning Trust and feels privileged to play her part in making a difference.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer    

Jeremy Harris

In this role Jeremy has focussed on all aspects of school improvement including the implementation of trust wide strategies to secure highly effective teaching and learning, leading to strong outcomes for all pupils.  Jeremy particularly enjoys working with school leaders to build capacity in leadership at all levels.  He has also taken a lead on the development of IT and online cloud solutions for effective communication and information sharing across the trust.  Jeremy has the National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL) and was the Headteacher of Hatchell Wood Primary Academy for thirteen years leading the school through four inspections.

Jeremy has been in education for twenty-seven years.  He was pivotal in taking his school through the process of academisation in 2017, seeing the benefits of belonging to a multi-academy trust and the opportunities this would bring for high quality school improvement and collaboration. 

Jeremy thoroughly enjoys his work and feels privileged to play a part in changing the lives of children through the delivery of a high-quality educational experience.

Chief Finance Officer

Amy Skelton

As a qualified accountant, Amy has over 20 years experience working in public sector accountancy working across many facets of local government finance including both revenue and capital accounting. She completed her chartered public finance accountant (CIPFA) exams in 2006.

Amy has worked within the education finance sector for the last 14 years initially as a Local Authority Principal Finance Officer dealing with schools funding and the statutory aspects of education finance. She then moved to the finance support traded service to Rotherham Schools where she managed a team delivering support in all financial aspects of administering a school delegated budget. During the early days of academisation, she was both a strategic and operational lead in adapting financial support services to Rotherham academies.

Amy completed the NCSL/CIPFA Certificate in Financial Reporting for Academies in 2012 and has over 8 years experience of producing Academy Statutory Accounts for both single and multi-academy trusts.

Amy has been in her role with The Rose Learning Trust for last 5 years. During this time she has developed robust financial systems, procedures and budget reporting tools which underpin statutory compliance and facilitate effective financial management and accountability. 

Amy feels very privileged to be part of the Executive Leadership team where she can use her skills and experience to support and drive the trust’s vision for raising educational standards.

School Improvement Lead / Director of SEND

Debbie Secker

Principal at Richmond Hill Primary Academy Executive Leader and Director of SEND for The Rose Learning Trust

With over two decades of experience in education, Debbie is a passionate and dedicated leader committed to raising educational standards and developing school leadership. As Principal of Richmond Hill Primary Academy, she has demonstrated her ability to foster academic excellence and create a nurturing learning environment.

Debbie extends her role as Principal providing executive leadership to local primary schools in the area and within the Trust, sharing her knowledge and experience to drive improvement across multiple schools. Her commitment to continuous professional development is evident in her qualifications and ongoing studies:

• National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)

• Post Graduate Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education

• Currently undertaking the National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL)

As Director of SEND for The Rose Learning Trust, Debbie brings a particular passion and expertise to special educational needs and disabilities. She is dedicated to ensuring that all pupils, regardless of their individual challenges, receive the support and opportunities they need to thrive.

Debbie's approach to school improvement is holistic, focusing on developing strong leadership at all levels. She believes that by nurturing and empowering educational leaders, we can create a ripple effect of positive change throughout our schools and communities.

In her role within the Executive Leadership team of The Rose Learning Trust, Debbie contributes strategic insight and practical experience to drive the Trust's vision forward. She is committed to collaborative working, sharing best practices, and fostering innovation in education.

Debbie feels privileged to be in a position where she can make a significant impact on the lives of pupils and the professional development of educators. Her goal is to continue raising educational achievement across the Trust, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Director of Curriculum Effectiveness

Kelly Cousins 

Kelly has worked in education since 2009, with over a decade of experience working in senior leadership roles.  Being Head of School and Acting Principal at Richmond Hill Primary Academy, has cemented Kelly's passion for securing strong teaching and learning for all children.  Having taught first hand, in all year groups in the primary phase, (Nursery through to Year 6) Kelly enjoys driving standards, utilising her coaching and mentoring skills, in order to support colleagues to strive for excellence in the classroom.   

Kelly has supported all of our Trust schools through her role as Director of Curriculum Effectiveness, providing coaching and mentoring at all levels of leadership, with a strong focus on leading quality assurance activities, for all areas of the curriculum.  Kelly provides support for all schools during Ofsted inspections, achieving successful outcomes for all of our schools.  Her passion for ensuring all pupils have access to an aspirational curriculum, alongside strong teaching and learning, can be seen throughout her qualifications; National Professional Qualification for Headship, Chartered Teacher programme, gaining CTeach status, as well as acquiring the NASENCO qualification to ensure all children’s needs are met.

Throughout her role as Director of Safeguarding, Kelly provides valuable support to schools to ensure a strong safeguarding culture is evident, whilst also ensuring all schools are compliant, providing annual Safeguarding and Single Central Record audits, as well as bespoke support for Designated Safeguarding leads, within and external to the Trust.

Kelly leads the Let's Think in English (LTE) Hub for the North of the country, providing high quality CPD, whilst showcasing strong practice in the classroom and collaborating with schools within the Trust, as well as externally. 

Kelly is committed to ensuring that all children have access to a high quality curriculum, by sharing the best practice across our family of schools, putting collaboration at the heart of all that she does.

Director of Early Years Foundation Stage

Sarah Watson  

Sarah is Assistant Head Teacher at Woodfield Primary School in Doncaster. Her interest and passion has always been in Early Years pedagogy and practice and she relished the chance to further develop her expertise in the role of Head of Early Years at Woodfield and then subsequently as Director of Early Years for The Rose Learning Trust.  

Having joined the school whilst it was graded Requires Improvement and under the scrutiny of HMI, learning about data analysis and school improvement planning with a focus on the Early Years was of prime importance and these are skills that she is currently using to support schools in her Executive Lead role.  This has been enhanced by working as a Lead EYFS moderator for the LA under the previous EYFSP as well as planning and delivering CPD for a range of agencies such as Doncaster ITT and the Education Exchange.  

Throughout her career she has been fortunate to work in a number of different schools giving her experience of varied catchments and the different needs of children and families within these catchments. Working in an attachment aware school, she has used the principles of attachment theory to evaluate and improve systems for transition into the Early Years such as paperwork, information collection and early intervention in terms of support for families with additional needs.  

During her time at Woodfield she has worked as a mentor supporting ITT students in school alongside link tutors from both YSJ and the Doncaster ITT Partnership and is now ITT and ECT Co-ordinator in school.  Her mentoring role has focused upon students within the Early Years where she has been able to offer ongoing support in their classroom role as well as offering CPD around policy, practice and pedagogy in the EYFS. She is the Phonics lead in school ensuring that the school follow the Read Write Inc programme with fidelity.

Trust Business Operations Manager 

Lucy Frewer

With several years' experience in School Business and Operations, Lucy has a background working in schools in the South Yorkshire area. Previously she has supported schools as both a Business and Operations Manager, first in Barnsley Academy and then at Netherwood Academy. She has worked strategically with the schools to improve compliance and ensure best practices across all areas of business operations. 

Prior to working in education Lucy worked in recruitment and IT software, supporting the setup of both a successful recruitment company and a UK division of a German IT software company. 

In addition to the above she also supports other schools in the South Yorkshire area as Vice Chair of Governors for both a primary and secondary school, something she finds extremely rewarding. 

Lucy is committed to providing highly efficient operational and business services that support the Trust and ensure that the schools can provide the best experience and outcomes for our pupils. 

Trust Finance Officer

Emma Dobson

Prior to joining The Rose Learning Trust, Emma was a Manager at Yorkshire Bank, where she had a 15-year career in retail and developing experience in business banking undertaking a qualification in this area also. Emma moved to education finance 6 years ago, developing her skills in education finance at Hatchell Wood Primary Academy.

For 18 months, Emma has held a dual role coordinating finance and banking across the trust while continuing to provide local support to Hatchell Wood. This dual has enabled Emma to develop her expertise in all aspects of finance in education required for members, schools and for the trust body.

Emma is passionate about education, a natural organiser, and takes great pride in her contribution to ensure the smooth running of the financial systems and bank accounts for the trust.

Trust Governance and Compliance Officer

Lyndsey Williams 

Prior to joining The Rose Learning Trust, Lyndsey worked at Doncaster Council, where she had a 12 year career in the administration of Council Tax Liability and the assessment of Housing Benefit claims. During this time she gained a vast amount of experience and knowledge in Customer Service, Compliance and Government Legislation.

Lyndsey changed careers into Education Administration in 2015 and enjoyed working in busy primary school offices over the next 8 years; starting as an administration assistant and then moving on to become Office Manager. During this time she developed her knowledge and skills in the day to day management of a school office covering many aspects such as Health and Safety, Finance, Compliance, Governance and Safeguarding.

Lyndsey feels privileged to be a part of The Rose Learning Trust central team. Her career experiences mean that she has a breadth of knowledge to bring to the Governance and Compliance role.