Evolution Academy Trust

Meet the team

Central Team (ID 1108)

  • Dr Craig Avieson
    Chief Executive Officer

    Dr Craig Avieson

    Dr Craig Avieson is Chief Executive Officer of Evolution Academy Trust, having joined the Trust in September 2021 as Director of Education before becoming CEO in January 2023. He has extensive experience across teaching, leadership, governance and organisational development, having worked across a wide range of contrasting schools in Norfolk, Suffolk and East London. His career has included roles as a teacher, senior leader, university lecturer, Headteacher and Executive Headteacher. Craig also completed the Department for Education’s Future Leaders programme.

    Craig is passionate about creating ambitious, values-led organisations where children, staff and communities can thrive. His specialist interests include educational improvement, organisational culture, leadership development, governance and strategic communication. Alongside his CEO role, Craig supports leadership development and executive coaching across education and the wider public sector. He has also mentored aspiring and serving Headteachers nationally through Future Leaders and the Ambition Institute.

    Craig holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD), and professional qualifications in coaching and leadership development. He is also a serving Ofsted Inspector and currently serves as a Trustee and Chair of the Education Committee at another Multi-Academy Trust.

    Craig is committed to collaborative leadership and believes strongly in balancing high standards with strong relationships, professional trust and staff development across Evolution Academy Trust.

     

  • Andrew Hunt
    Chief Operations Officer

    Andrew Hunt

    Andrew brings over 25 years of finance and operations experience across a number of sectors including financial services, non-profit, transport, hospitality and recruitment. He specialises in shared services, finance, operations and transformation and has worked for small, medium, and large organisations in the UK and overseas.

    Andrew is a qualified accountant and a trustee associated with non-profit boards focused on supporting children. His recent roles include the Head of Finance Shared Services at Aviva and the Director of Operations at the National Philanthropic Trust. He has also presented at industry conferences in both the UK and overseas and guest lectured at UK universities.

  • Katie Lawson
    Director of School Improvement

    Katie Lawson

    Katie has 18 years of experience in education, eight of these years as a headteacher. Her most recent role was as an executive headteacher of two large schools and as a school improvement partner, working alongside headteachers to drive up standards. She is committed to CPD and believe that this is the biggest driver to school improvement. She has worked with the Julian Teaching Hub as a lead facilitator for NPQH alongside completing her own NPQEL qualification. She has supported many senior and middle leaders in all aspects of their work, with a particular focus on school improvement planning, curriculum design and providing quality professional development.

  • Suzanne Lightwing-Smith
    Director of People

    Suzanne Lightwing-Smith

    Suzanne brings over 20 years of experience in HR Leadership roles from a variety of sectors. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

    Suzanne is responsible for the HR functions across EAT and has a particular passion for employee development and engagement, striving to ensure that all colleagues are enabled to be the best they can be, offering support, guidance and frameworks to ensure everyone can thrive in a supportive and ambitious culture.

  • Luke Delderfield
    Head of Operations

    Luke Delderfield

    Luke brings 18 years of experience of working in education and operations. This experience was gained at both universities and Multi-Academy Trusts.

    Luke's role covers Estates, IT and Catering and this allows him to ensure that all of our schools are safe and inspiring places to learn and develop.

  • Angie Chusonis
    Head of Safeguarding and Attendance

    Angie Chusonis

    Angie brings to the Trust over 15 years of experience in a range of teaching and leadership roles within primary education. She has recently been a Deputy Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead in a large primary school and this is where Angie really developed her passion for safeguarding and attendance. Angie enjoys working closely with our school colleagues to ensure that the culture of safeguarding and attendance provide the foundations for children to be safe, secure and thrive both personally and academically.

  • Fiona Taylor
    Head of Communications and Community

    Fiona Taylor

    Fiona leads on communications and marketing activity for the Trust. She has worked in a range of sectors in communications roles, including charities, higher education and local publications. She holds a diploma in internal communications and is an accredited member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

  • Lisa Brockett
    Executive Assistant and HR Support

    Lisa Brockett

    Lisa provides administrative support to the CEO and central team. She has over ten years' experience as an assistant in corporate environments and looks to build upon this within Education sector. Lisa brings a wide range of professional skills and experiences to her role and works closely with schools and central team colleagues.

  • Paul Tidman
    Estates and Facilities Lead

    Paul Tidman

    Paul brings a wealth of experience to the role of Estates and Facilities Lead, having spent seven years as a site manager of a secondary school in Gorelston. Prior to that, Paul spent over 20 years managing multiple site teams across a number of holiday parks in Norfolk.

    Paul supports our schools in raising our standards and accelerating our estate maintenance plans.

  • Laura Llewellyn-Stamp
    Senior HR Business Partner

    Laura Llewellyn-Stamp

    With previous experience in recruitment and HR, Laura has a strong background in absence management, wellbeing, grievance and disciplinary processes. Having spent the last four years working within further and higher education provisions, she has gained valuable insight into the unique needs and challenges of working within the Education sector.

 

 

Headteachers (ID 1365)

 

Central finance team

  • Finance Manager - Helen Wells (FCCA) is a qualified accountant with experience working in a range of educational settings.
  • Finance Manager - Imogen Cheetham (FCCA) is a qualified accountant and has extensive experience working in Multi Academy Trusts.
  • Senior Finance Officer - Marcia Hastings has many years of office and finance experience in both the public and private sector.
  • Finance Officer - Maria Girdlestone has a wealth of school financial experience and is an integral part of the finance team.
  • Finance Officer - Louise Smith brings over 20 years of finance experience to the team.

Website design by Greenhouse School Websites

↑