Executive Team

Through the Executive Leaders Forum, our Chief Executive Officer, supported by our School Improvement Lead, works with the Headteachers of Primitas academies, to provide every child in our Trust the kind of education they need and deserve. They aim to do this by delivering, reviewing and shaping our School Improvement Offer.

This means working closely with each other, and with other staff from within Primitas, from our Partner MATs and from other external organisations, and it is these close and supportive relationships which helps make our Trust a true champion of our senior leaders and our academies.

Our Executive Team is made up by:

Mark Maydew – Chief Executive Officer

Mark completed his PGCE in Secondary Education at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1993 and has gone on to gain his NPQH together with a Masters Diploma in Educational Leadership and Management.

Since qualifying as a teacher, Mark has worked in a number of schools in Staffordshire and Shropshire. He gained his first senior leadership role as Assistant Headteacher (responsible for KS4 Achievement) in a school in challenging circumstances with the highest indices of deprivation in Staffordshire. Under Mark’s leadership, the academic performance of the school improved from the bottom 5% of the country to the top 25% of the country for progress. This rapid transformation, in just 4 years, was noted by Ofsted and was instrumental in securing the school its first ever “Good” judgement.

His next senior leadership roles saw Mark become Vice Principal of Erasmus Darwin Academy in 2010, and then Principal in 2016 (which carried with it the responsibility of also being Chief Accounting Officer of the Single Academy Trust). Since 2010, Mark’s leadership has been instrumental in helping the academy enjoy a sustained journey of significant improvement, from being a “coasting school” to becoming established as one of the highest performing and most over-subscribed schools in the region.

Mark is a firm believer that children and young people only have one chance at education and so they need and deserve the best. He is also a firm believer that effective leadership is about inspiring, supporting and empowering other people and then ‘cheering from the sidelines’ as they grow, flourish and succeed.

In 2019, Mark set about using the SAT status of Erasmus Darwin Academy to form a MAT with Highfields Primary School, which would be a truly collaborative educational venture with a clear community focus. In September 2021, Primitas Learning Partnership was born.

Mark Wilkes – Headteacher of Highfield Primary Academy & Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Mark completed a PGCE in Primary Education in 1993 at Wolverhampton University. Since then, he has gained a Masters in Educational Leadership and his NPQH qualification.

Mark has worked in a number of schools across Walsall and Staffordshire, including working as a senior leader in a Special Measures school in an area of deprivation. Mark played a key role in supporting and facilitating their journey to Good, holding responsibilities for assessment, behaviour and maths. He joined Highfields Primary, his current school, as Deputy Headteacher in 2006 and has been Headteacher there since 2012. During his tenure as Headteacher he has led the school from Requires Improvement to Good.

Mark is passionate about child-centred education, promoting the love of learning and providing children with experiences and opportunities to thrive in the modern world. His leadership style reflects his unswerving belief in the power of collaboration and he was fundamental in the creation of the Burntwood Co-Operative Learning Trust and in the development of a peer-to-peer school improvement system for primary schools across Lichfield and Burntwood.

In September 2019 Mark was instrumental in helping to form and shape Primitas Learning Partnership and in September 2021 he became Deputy CEO, where he continues to be driven by his passion for creating exciting and vibrant conditions for schools to improve and for children to excel.

Matt Allman – Chief Education Officer

Matt has extensive experience in educational leadership having worked in the sector since the mid-1990s and having been on the senior leadership teams of five schools across London and the West Midlands.

Matt has held two headships, instigating dramatic turnrounds in both school’s fortunes, and his career has seen him develop high-level expertise in school improvement, leadership and teaching and learning. His credibility as a transformational leader has been recognised at a range of national conferences where he has been a keynote speaker.

Matt’s leadership style has attracted high praise from OFSTED who have recognised “the abundant energy and enthusiasm that characterises his leadership” and the fact that he is “highly effective in identifying the existing weaknesses… and putting in place the structures and systems that allow rapid school improvement to take place.”

Matt played a lead role in forming the Greywood Multi-Schools Trust in September 2019 – going on to be Chief Executive Officer and School Improvement Lead. He was also instrumental in steering this organisation into a successful merger with Primitas Learning Partnership in September 2023, where he is now School Improvement Lead.

Vicki Barnes – Headteacher of Henry Chadwick Primary School

After re-training from a background in industry, Vicki completed a PGCE in education in 2009 at Derby University and since then she has gone on to gain her NPQH qualification.

Vicki has held a variety of roles at Henry Chadwick, starting as a TA, securing an NQT post after qualifying and holding a variety of roles as part of the SLT before taking up the headship in 2019. Her on-going, sustained promotions have given her a unique insight into how her school operates and what needs to be done to ensure that both pupils and staff flourish and thrive.  Also, as well as being Headteacher, she is a also a passionate maths lead due to the small nature of her school.

She is passionate about Henry Chadwick – the pupils, the staff and the community that it serves. It is classed as a small school but it has a big heart and it makes a huge impact in the lives of children.

Vicki’s No.1 aim as a Headteacher is to ensure that all of the children at Henry Chadwick receive the best education possible, where they make fantastic academic progress and gain a wide range of opportunities to enhance and broaden their life experiences. Henry Chadwick’s motto is ‘Learn to Live’ and the school offers an extremely nurturing and caring environment to ensure that this happens on a daily basis.

She was delighted to join Primitas Learning Partnership in September 2023 and to have opportunities to work with like-minded primary leaders and secondary leaders who strive to achieve the absolute best for all pupils. As a small school, the ability to being able to work collaboratively and supportively with other schools offers real benefits and she is genuinely excited about her continued work with her colleagues as they develop exciting and engaging opportunities for children and staff.

Letitia Carter – Co-Headteacher of Queen’s Croft High School

Mark Drury – Headteacher of The Friary School

Laura Gray – Headteacher of Ridgeway Primary Academy

Laura completed a BEd Hons in Primary Education and University of Wales Bangor in 2002 and gained NPQH in 2016.

Laura started her career as a teacher at Castlechurch Primary in Stafford before moving to Great Wood Primary in Upper Tean. She started as a maternity cover at Ridgeway in 2010 before going on to become Assistant Headteacher in 2014 and Deputy Head in 2016. She was appointed to the role of Co-Headteacher in September 2022.

Throughout all her teaching and leadership roles, Laura has had a passion for SEND. She started as SENDCo in 2008 and has continued to support SEND students since then. In 2022 she was appointed as the SEND Trust Professional for PLP.

Laura works closely with Staffordshire Local Authority to improve outcomes for students with SEND and inclusion needs. Having previously been Chair of the SEND & Inclusion Hub for Burntwood, she moved to the Chair of the LMG across Lichfield in July 2022.

In addition to these roles, Laura is a key facilitator for the NPQ’s for Best Practice. This includes NPQH, NPQSEN, NPQSL and many others.

Dawn O’Hare – Headteacher of Holly Grove Primary Academy

Dawn completed a BA (Hons) Degree in Humanities, before going on to gain her PGCE at Newman College (Birmingham) in 1998. She went on to gain her NPQH in 2005.

Dawn started off her teaching career in 1998 Birmingham in a faith school before moving to Lichfield, Staffordshire, as a senior leader in 2001. In 2004, she gained promotion to the position of Deputy Headteacher in another Lichfield school, before becoming Headteacher of Holly Grove Primary School in Burntwood in January 2008.

During her tenure, Dawn has been determined to make sure that Holly Grove continues to develop and serve the community and it now has a thriving nursery and Before & After School Club on site.

Dawn believes that every child deserves to reach their full potential by giving them a safe and inspiring environment to learn in and by providing opportunities to become independent learners. Her leadership style is people-centred as she truly believes that people are at the heart of – and are the key to – running a successful school. This is reflected in her belief in the power of collaboration and in her commitment to collaborative working.

She has worked with other primary schools within the district developing a peer development system to help empower leaders to improve their own schools. Dawn is also the chair of the Burntwood and Lichfield Primary Heads group – which promotes collaboration and support across the district. Holly Grove was also one of the founder members of the Burntwood Co-Operative Learning Trust. Therefore, it was a natural step for Holly Grove to become part of Primitas Learning Partnership, having worked so closely with two of the other founder schools.

In November 2022 Holly Grove Primary school became Holly Grove Primary Academy as a proud founder school of Primitas Learning Partnership.

Phil Walklate – Headteacher of Erasmus Darwin Academy

Phil completed his PGCE in Secondary Education at the University of East Anglia in 2003 and has since gained his Masters and NPQH.

Since qualifying as a teacher, Phil’s career has developed in a number of secondary schools in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent. His first senior leadership role was Assistant Headteacher responsible for Progress, Achievement and Assessment in a school which was in extremely challenging circumstances. Phil played a significant role in helping move the school out of special measures and HMI recognised and praised Phil’s leadership, energy and forensic approach to using data to drive improvement.

Phil’s next senior leadership role was Vice Principal at Erasmus Darwin Academy, which he gained in 2016. Since his appointment, Phil has played an increasingly influential role in helping the academy go from strength to strength and enjoy sustained improvement in in all key strategic areas. His outstanding leadership has resulted in him being appointed Head of School in January 2019 and Headteacher in September 2022, thus releasing the Principal to form Primitas Learning Partnership and take on the role of CEO/Executive Headteacher.

Phil is an unequivocally child-centred leader. He is uncompromising in his ambitions for children and young people and driven to bring about changes which will improve children’s lives and maximise their life chances. Those who work with him closely all testify to the fact that he is consistent, persistent, passionate and bold in his pursuit of delivering school improvement.

Sam Wood – Co-Headteacher of Queen’s Croft High School

Sam completed his PGCE in 2012 and has dedicated his career to special education ever since. Quickly rising to a middle leadership role, he led Computing across a secondary school, demonstrating a commitment to innovation and inclusivity.

In his previous role, Sam spent five years as part of the Senior Leadership Team at a secondary special school rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted on four occasions. Here, he oversaw Key Stage 4, data and assessment, Computing, and served as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. Sam also led a network of special school leaders, fostering collaboration around SEND data, progress, and assessment. Elsewhere, as a DfE Specialist Leader of Education, Sam supported schools in challenging circumstances, offering guidance to improve outcomes for students with special educational needs and disabilities.

Sam joined Queen’s Croft in April 2023, and in September 2023, Sam was appointed Co-Headteacher, contributing to a rapid school improvement journey that culminated in ‘good’ recognition during an Ofsted inspection. Sam has also recently completed the National Professional Qualification in Headship (NPQH).

Passionate about SEND, Sam is dedicated to ensuring every young person is prepared for adulthood – whether that means leading an independent life, entering the workforce, or continuing in education. He is equally committed to supporting understanding: helping young people with SEND navigate the world while educating society to better understand and support them.