Since becoming Chief Executive Officer of Moorlands Learning Trust in 2017, Helen has provided visionary leadership that has driven MLT’s significant growth and established its strong reputation for excellence across North and West Yorkshire.

Helen is responsible for the strategic direction of the Trust, cultivating collaborative partnerships, policy formulation and ensuring the delivery of high-quality education throughout multiple schools. Her commitment to developing and empowering others and fostering innovation has been vital to the Trust’s success.

Helen brings over 20 years of experience as a senior leader in education, having led equally successfully across very differing types of schools, including those with very high and very low levels of socio-economic disadvantage and those requiring special measures, through to those that are outstanding. As Headteacher from 2014, she led Ilkley Grammar School to achieve its first Outstanding Ofsted rating in 2017. Recognised for her expertise in school improvement, mentoring, coaching, and navigating schools positively through Ofsted inspections, Helen is passionate about inter-school support.

Her qualifications include the NPQH (2006), MA in Education Leadership (2015), LLE designation (2018), and NPQEL (2019).

Under Helen’s stewardship, Moorlands Learning Trust has grown from a single academy to a multi academy trust partnership comprising nine schools, with over 6,500 pupils and around 1,000 staff.

Alison Kaye has worked as Chief Financial Officer at Moorlands Learning Trust since 2017, bringing extensive senior leadership experience, a strong track record in strategic financial management and a commitment to supporting schools to achieve their educational goals in a challenging financial climate. In her role, Alison ensures robust financial performance, manages risk and compliance and contributes to the Trust’s long-term financial sustainability across all its schools.

Alison is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA. Prior to moving into the education sector, she held senior roles in financial services, with responsibility for finance, risk, governance and operations.  Her commitment to the wider community is demonstrated by her roles as Chair of Governors for a local primary school, Vice Chair of the North Yorkshire Schools Forum, Schools Resource Management Adviser for the DfE and Fellow of the Institute of School Business Leaders.

Alison’s blend of financial acumen and commitment to educational improvement plays a significant role in supporting the Trust’s vision and growth, helping to deliver excellent and sustainable learning environments for all students at the Trust. 

Claire Lee has been Executive Director: Quality of Education and Primary Lead at Moorlands Learning Trust since 2025. As a member of the senior executive team, she provides system‑wide leadership to secure high standards of education and robust quality assurance across the Trust, ensuring that pupils experience high expectations, strong belonging, and the foundations they need to thrive.

Claire brings over 20 years of experience in primary education, including 15 years as Headteacher of Burley Oaks Primary School and serving as the Trust’s Primary Director from 2023. With expertise in primary curriculum design and enrichment; SEND and inclusion; and safeguarding, her leadership focuses on teaching quality and developing professional expertise. Claire empowers school leaders to make principled, child‑centred decisions that ensure education works for all pupils. She brings a strong belief in creativity as a catalyst for engagement and a love of learning.

Her qualifications include B.A. (Hons) Music and Education (1999, First Class), NPQH (2007), LLE designation (2015) and NPQEL (2025).

Claire’s strategic insight and deep understanding of effective primary practice play a key role in shaping the Trust’s ongoing development and educational excellence. 

Richard McManus joined the Moorlands Learning Trust’s senior executive team in 2025 and is currently the Executive Principal at The Skipton Academy (TSA) and Executive Headteacher at Benton Park School (BPS).

Prior to taking on his current role, Richard was Principal at TSA, where he led a significant period of transformation. When he joined the academy in 2017, it was in special measures, with a declining roll and identified by Ofsted as a “stuck school”. Under Richard’s leadership, TSA achieved a “Good” rating in all areas from Ofsted in 2023 and has been oversubscribed in Year 7 for the past two years.

In his earlier career, Richard served as Senior Vice Principal at two inner-city Bradford schools and as Senior Assistant Principal at a demanding school in Leeds. His proven track record in improving schools in challenging circumstances, coupled with his commitment to enhancing student achievement, continues to be an invaluable asset to the Trust. 

Delia Martin joined Moorlands Learning Trust in 2025 as Executive Director of Governance & Accountability Frameworks, leading the Trust’s governance systems and ensuring efficient, effective processes are in place to meet all statutory and legal requirements.

As a member of the senior executive team, Delia is responsible for the Trust’s Accountability Frameworks, ensuring clarity of expectations and supporting schools in preparation for Ofsted. In her role, she shapes and strengthens Quality Assurance systems to drive sustained school improvement. Delia also oversees Careers Education across the Trust’s secondary schools, ensuring students receive high-quality, future-focused guidance.

With a background as a history teacher, Delia has worked in four schools across Leeds and Northumberland. She served as a Headteacher for 10 years and an Executive Headteacher for three at Benton Park School, bringing extensive leadership experience and deep sector knowledge that contributes significantly to the Trust’s wider educational ambition.  

Delia holds a B.A. (Hons) in History and English and received her NPQH in 2008, underpinning her long-standing commitment to excellence in education. 

Since joining Moorlands Learning Trust in 2023 as Director of IT, Scott Lynch has led the Trust’s digital strategy, infrastructure and innovation across its diverse group of primary and secondary schools. He is responsible for trust-wide technology delivery, cyber security, data protection and systems integration, ensuring that digital services genuinely support teaching, learning and operational efficiency. 

Scott brings over 20 years of experience in education IT, following an early career in the Royal Air Force, where he developed a disciplined, mission-focused approach to systems, resilience and delivery. He went on to hold senior IT positions at Hemsworth Community College, Minsthorpe Community College and Ilkley Grammar School before joining the Trust’s executive team. 

His work is strongly focused on simplification and impact, driving large-scale platform migrations, cloud adoption and automation that improve reliability and consistency while respecting the identity of individual schools. Scott works closely with school leaders, central teams and external partners to translate complex technical challenges into practical solutions. 

A seasoned IT professional, Scott’s direct and delivery-focused approach plays a significant role in building resilient systems and developing strong, clear processes that enable staff to focus on improving outcomes for children and young people. 

Susie Leach joined Moorlands Learning Trust in 2018 in a newly created role at Ilkley Grammar School as Operations Manager and was appointed to the Trust’s executive team in 2023 as Director of Operations. In this role, Susie leads the Trust’s estates portfolio and capital works, oversees procurement and contract management, and advises on compliance and risk.

Susie brings wide-ranging public sector and commercial experience to her position, including managing membership experience, retail, promotions and events within a national charity, alongside many years of experience in education financial management.

An accomplished education business leader, Susie holds the Diploma in School Business Management (DSBM) from one of the programme’s early cohorts and is accredited at Strategic Level OpEx in Education. Her mission is to make things happen in the most effective way while consistently promoting positivity and continuous improvement. 

Amanda Dudley joined Moorlands Learning Trust’s central team in 2024 as Director of Inclusion, bringing extensive experience in leading SEND strategy and a strong commitment to ensuring every child and young person with SEND is supported to succeed. She drives the Trust’s strategic direction for SEND, working collaboratively across schools to strengthen provision, improve the quality of education and maintain high expectations for all learners. 

A qualified SENDCo since 2010, Amanda has led SEND across three schools and also serves as Deputy Principal for Quality of Education at The Skipton Academy. She holds the NPQSL and an MA in Education and SEND, and is passionate about building inclusive cultures, developing staff expertise, and creating environments where all pupils can thrive. 

Her specialist knowledge and commitment play a key role in advancing the Trust’s mission to deliver high-quality, inclusive education for every learner.  

Mark Rignall has been part of Moorlands Learning Trust since its formation in 2017. As Director of Data & MIS and Trust Educational Visits Co-ordinator (EVC), he is a member of the executive team and provides strategic leadership across data, information systems, and educational visits. 

In his role, Mark has led the successful implementation of a single Management Information System (MIS) across all Trust schools and chairs the Data Strategy Group, ensuring coherent and high-quality approaches to data use and assessment. 

His expertise stems from his work as a Specialist Leader of Education, through which he supported school improvement and played a critical role in the smooth transition of The Skipton Academy into the Trust. Mark also currently serves as Deputy Principal: Monitoring & Quality of Education at The Skipton Academy.    

Alongside his educational leadership, Mark brings over 30 years of experience as a mountain guide and serves as an operational member of a local Mountain Rescue Team, strengthening his role as EVC and enhancing his contribution to safe and enriching educational visits across the Trust.