Chris Barrett DL – Chair of Trustees Expand Chris has spent his entire professional career working in the Advertising and Marketing sector. His early career was spent in leading international advertising agencies latterly as a creative director. In 1977 he co-founded his own agency, Barrett Howe which became a leading UK Business-to-Business and Brand development Agency. In 2013 he founded Rapport Marketing, a Brand and Marketing Consultancy that advises organisations on the development of Strategic marketing communications; Brand Creation and Development; and Public and Press relations. In 2001 Chris was part of a small group of business people who came together to form ‘Slough Business Community Partnership’ and was its Vice Chairman from 2007 - 2012. In 2007 he became a trustee of ‘Berkshire Community Foundation’ and was elected Chair of Trustees in 2010, a post he held for five years. Upon stepping down in June 2017 he was invited to become Managing Trustee of the Rivertime Boat Trust. In January 2018 was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of The Royal County of Berkshire. Chris joined the Board of Prior’s Court in September 2018.
William Powlett Smith - Deputy Chair Expand William is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, retiring in 2008 from Ernst & Young LLP after 25 years as a partner where he led the Anglo-German business development practice and subsequently the health sciences team. He then held two non-executive appointments with private companies and taught on the undergraduate programme at St Clare’s, Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. For fifteen years (including five years as Chairman) he served as a trustee of Cecily’s Fund, which helps educate orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia. He is a founding trustee of the recently formed Charity Mentors, Oxfordshire which provides strategy mentoring for non-profit making organisations. In September 2016 he was appointed Chair of Northern House School Academy Trust.
Gordon Bull - Deputy Chair Expand Gordon has nearly 40 years’ experience in both the commercial and public education sectors. Previous posts include: Vice President Training for American Express; Director of Global Learning Management for Vodafone and Principal and CEO of Newbury College. Gordon has served on many national education and special needs committees. He has also served as a board member on a number of education related organisations, including the Association of Talent Management, e-Business National Training Organisation; Southern Regional Council for Education & Training and the Learning and Skills Council.
Claire Miller Expand Claire is a senior HR professional with significant experience in the IT and business process outsourcing market place. Claire specialises in delivering major HR transition and change programmes (including those involving staff transfer), but has held HR business partnering, resourcing management and functional ‘expert’ HR roles during her career. She currently works for Unisys Europe Limited and has previously worked for Siemens, Xansa and Wincor Nixdorf. Claire was delighted to join the Board at Prior’s Court in March 2016.
Professor Catherine Tissot Expand Catherine is a Professor of Education and Special Needs at the University of Reading where she is the Head of School for the Institute of Education and lectures in Special Educational Needs across most of the initial teacher training and Masters level programmes. Her doctoral research focused on appropriate educational provision for children with autism and looked at this from the view point of parents, local authorities and a school. She was previously an employee of Prior's Court School and is a parent of a young adult with autism (who was one of Prior’s Court School’s first students).
Maggie Shirman Expand Maggie Shirman retired from full time work in 2013. Prior to that she worked in education for over 30 years. She was a teacher, key stage co-ordinator, SENCO, Senior Manager in main stream schools and a Specialist Support Teacher, Team Leader of the Specialist Support Team and Assistant Manager for Service for Children with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) at a Local Authority. Maggie worked directly with schools promoting and training staff, parents and head teachers in inclusive educational practices to support the outcomes of children and young people with SEN (Special Educational Needs). As a project leader Maggie implemented strategic government initiatives for the local authority aimed at removing the barriers to learning and improving provision for children with SEN. She is currently employed on a part time basis by Brunel University as a Link tutor mentoring post graduate teacher trainee students in schools. Maggie was appointed as a trustee in March 2014.
Susan Duncan Expand Susan is a Registered Nurse with over thirty five years of experience. She has recently retired as Nursing Director for Thames Hospicecare, an independent voluntary organisation specialising in adult palliative care and Sue had overall leadership responsibility for nursing and clinical support teams across two sites – the bedded unit and community Services. She was the Deputy CEO and Registered Manager. Susan built strong working relationships with NHS colleagues which enabled services to be developed in partnership, giving wider access and choice to patients and families in East Berkshire. Susan has been a school governor and Deputy Chair of a C of E First School for twelve years and although now retired from this role, she gained knowledge and experience about school management. This included being part of the admissions committee, the headteachers annual CPD panel and regular involvement in staff recruitment. Susan joined Prior’s Court as a Trustee in 2012.
John Byrne Expand John is a retired teacher who spent the majority of his teaching career in special education. He was, for the last twenty years of his career, head teacher of a large special school. This all age school catered for pupils with a variety of special needs that included complex and severe disabilities as well as pupils on the autistic spectrum. During his time as head teacher John became an Ofsted Inspector specialising in the inspection of special schools. On his retirement he worked as a school improvement advisor supporting the head teacher and governing bodies of special schools in a number of local authorities. John finished this work in 2013. John is a family man with children and grandchildren. In his spare time he enjoys golf, gardening and supporting London Irish Rugby Club.
Ken Bisset Expand Ken is Finance Director of The Royal British Legion Poppy Factory. He is a Chartered Certified Accountant and experienced Finance Director and business advisor. After training in industry with Macmillan Publishers and Motorola and a period working in Luxembourg he progressed to Finance Director of an international computer software business. Following this he has been Group Finance Director of international manufacturing groups. In 2011 Ken completed a full time MBA at Henley Business School. In March 2011 he joined the board of Prior’s Court.
Buchan Scott Expand Buchan is a qualified solicitor. He started his career working in corporate finance before moving in-house with the FI Group, the business founded by Dame Stephanie Shirley. He then spent 15 years as a partner in a private equity firm with responsibility for legal and compliance and latterly fundraising. Since retiring in 2015, he has been working part time as in house counsel and is a member of his children's school's fundraising and overseas development committees and the United Nations Association Finance Committee. He joined the board of Prior's Court in March 2017.