Mike has taught in every year group across the primary range. He has held a wide variety of management and leadership positions across the primary phase. 

He became head of Prestolee Primary School in 2005. Since then Prestolee has moved from a requires improvement school to an outstanding one as well as a key system leadership school. The trust is built around the core value that every child deserves a first-class education. Mike believes strongly in the importance of effective primary practice as the foundation for building a strong lifelong education.

As the Chief Executive of the trust he oversees our community of practice.  He is well supported by a highly effective leadership team and school improvement team.  Alongside his role as CEO, he is a lead Ofsted inspector and a founder and member of the executive steering group for the Greater Manchester Learning Partnership.  He sits on a number of boards for system leadership across Greater Manchester and is committed to supporting schools to succeed through school led solutions. He was a National Leader of Education and has supported school improvement across the region and beyond to develop.

He believes our Trust succeeds because it is about empowering others and building great communities of practices across our communities and across the region.  All of the solutions to the challenges we face are out there somewhere.  We simply have to work together to find them.

Rebecca Dunne is Deputy CEO of Prestolee Multi Academy Trust and as a system leader provides school improvement expertise both locally and nationally. She has led Prestolee Primary School as the Head and been part of team Prestolee for many years. Within the Trust her leadership role includes being the Executive Head teacher of Waterloo Primary School, Strategic lead for Prestolee SCITT and leading school to school support improving leadership and management throughout and beyond the Teaching School Alliance and Trust, with a particular focus on quality assurance.

Rebecca began her career as an NNEB and undertook Initial Teacher Training (ITT) through the graduate teaching programme. This foundation of school led teacher training and leadership development has been key to her commitment to building capacity in the Trust through a process of both external recruitment and developing leaders within the Trust. Progressing from newly qualified teacher to Head of school at Prestolee, Rebecca was integral to the school becoming first outstanding, and later a National Teaching School specialising in assessment and leadership.  Through her commitment to school led ITT Rebecca successfully led Prestolee’s School Direct Programme training over 3 years and supported the transition to  become a SCITT.

In her spare time Rebecca is an amateur painter and cat lover and is slowly becoming a plant collector.

Vikki is Head of Governance and Compliance at Prestolee Multi Academy Trust, where she leads and develops governance at all levels across the trust. She provides support, advice and guidance to Trustees and Governors, ensuring strong strategic leadership and effective oversight of all schools.

With 20 years’ experience in governance, Vikki has previously led Governor Support Services in two local authorities and managed professional clerking services supporting hundreds of schools. She has also worked as a Senior Governance Support Officer, delivering training and supporting boards following External Reviews of Governance, with her work recognised in subsequent Ofsted inspections.

Vikki is a National Leader of Governance and delivers external reviews and support through the National Governance Association. Alongside her professional role, she is an experienced governor herself, having served on maintained school governing boards, as a Trustee, and currently as Chair of a large Anglican primary school.

Karis is Head of People and Finance at Prestolee Multi Academy Trust, leading on people strategy, HR, and financial operations to ensure the trust runs smoothly and effectively. She brings over 18 years of business administration experience, having worked across a range of sectors since graduating with a Business Management degree from Liverpool John Moores University in 2006.

Her career began in personal assistant roles within the construction and private healthcare sectors before she moved into HR in 2015. She completed her Level 5 CIPD qualification in 2016 and went on to work as a HR Manager before joining Prestolee in 2018.

At Prestolee, Karis has been instrumental in developing and embedding efficient systems and working practices to support the trust’s growth. She is committed to ensuring strong operational foundations, enabling schools and leaders to focus on delivering the highest quality education for children.

Alex leads on driving educational excellence across all schools within Prestolee Multi Academy Trust, overseeing standards, improvement and accountability. She has extensive leadership experience including roles as Headteacher of Prestolee and Executive Headteacher at Barton Moss, and she serves as an Ofsted Inspector. She also holds the NPQEL qualification.

Alex is deeply committed to ensuring that every pupil, especially those with SEND or from disadvantaged backgrounds, receives high quality education. She champions evidence informed practice, professional development and collaborative leadership, working closely with school leaders to build capacity and sustain improvements.