Directors

Lynda is Chair of the Board.

Now retired, she has increased her knowledge of the education sector through her membership of the Diocesan Board of Education and her role as a Foundation Governor in a primary school in Swindon. She is very involved with her church community, both as a member of the PCC and many of the church leadership groups. Lynda is passionate about seeing children develop their unique gifts and qualities in environments where learning for life is embraced.

John Swainston is the Chief Executive Officer of DBAT and the Director of Education for the Diocese of Bristol.

Previously John was Assistant Director of Children’s Services in Cumbria County Council, a DfE Adviser and a Project Director in inner-city Newcastle. For 29 years prior to that John was a teacher and Head teacher in 3 schools in Northumberland and Newcastle. He is passionate about School Improvement and Effectiveness.

Iain is an accountant by profession, and a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

He spent over 30 years of his career working in various financial management roles for Vodafone plc both in the UK and abroad. Recently retired, he has become more active in his village and church communities, serving as churchwarden at All Saints Church, Sutton Benger in Wiltshire. Although not previously involved in education, he brings a wide range of financial experience (specifically around company start ups and transformation) to the Board of Directors.

Following an early career in health research and research management at the University of Bristol, Rachel joined the NHS where she has worked for more than 18 years.

During this time Rachel has supported and enabled research, innovation and improvement, and enterprise development working in acute and mental health care. Rachel has held two executive Director positions in Organisational Development and Strategy and a non-executive director position for an innovation company. Rachel’s passion is enabling people and organisations to achieve their potential.

Rachel lives in Bristol, is married to Graham, an experienced teacher, and has two teenage children. She is actively involved in her local church and committed to expressing her faith values in all areas of personal and professional life.

Revd Andrew Gubbins is Priest-in-Charge at St Peter’s Church in Chippenham. Prior to training for ordination in 1996, he managed Unemployment Benefit Operations and then Research and Evaluation functions for North Yorkshire Training and Enterprise Council.

Andrew is a Governor of community and Church of England schools and, as Chair at St Peter’s Primary, oversaw the school’s transition to an academy within the DBAT family (2014). He has served on the Diocese of Bristol Board of Education since 2010 and is most passionate about the significant shared purposes of school and church for contemporary life in Bristol Diocese’s local communities.

John works as a Business Change & HR Strategy Consultant. He has many years experience of leading and facilitating change in complex and demanding environments in the private and public sectors. Prior to moving into consulting, he worked as an HR Director for a large multinational organisation. He served for 5 years as a Non-Executive Director of a large London based NHS Foundation Trust. John is married and lives in Bristol. He and his wife worship at Bristol Cathedral. They are both active in a range of environmental and charitable causes.

Tanya has been a Civil Servant for 29 years. She started her career as a microbiologist but moved to a policy role to advise and support a number of Central European countries apply to be members of the EU. She then had a short spell in China assisting UK companies establish export opportunities. She worked in a number of Government Departments before joining the Senior Civil Service in 2008.

She currently works in the Education and Skills Funding Agency as Territorial Deputy Director (South) and has responsibility for Academy funding in the South West and South East.

Tanya is a strong champion of improving diversity within the Civil Service. She lives in Bath and has two boys who keep her very busy. She enjoys hearing her eldest boy sing in the Senior Chapel Choir and watching her youngest play rugby.

Chris retired in December 2016, having worked in a variety of primary schools in North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire as a class teacher, Deputy Head and Head Teacher.

As a Local Leader of Education, Chris served 2 terms of office as a Consultant Head Teacher developing and promoting the work of the Local Authority’s Leadership Academy and then between 2013 and 2015 she was seconded part time, to support a school in challenging circumstances.

A committed Christian, Chris has always played an active part in the life of the church, leading Bible Study groups and Discipleship courses. She is a member of the PCC and Churchwarden of her local church and is also Lay Chair of South Bristol Deanery. Since 2015, Chris has also been a member of the Diocesan Board of Education.

Jill is a member of the DBE and the DBE Standing Committee. She was Vice Chair and Chair of the Resources Committee of the Local Board of Easton Academy for 5 years and is currently Chair at St Barnabas CEVC Primary in St Paul’s where she has been a governor for nearly 14 years. She is Lay Chair of the Parochial Church Council in St Paul’s Parish, Bristol.
Before her retirement she was an Emergency Duty Social Worker in the LB Hackney in East London and was also privileged to serve as a JP in Bristol for 20 years.

Ann Holt has recently retired as Diocesan Director of Education for Chichester Diocese from where she has moved back to Malmesbury. As DDE she was also a director of the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust and the Tenax Academy Trust. She continues as a Trustee of the Oasis Academy Trust and has now returned to the Diocese of Bristol Academy Trust which she helped to establish as a former Chair of the DBE. Ann has spent over 40 years working in Education and received an OBE for services to Education in 2004. She has recently contributed to the creation of the Church of England Vision for Education and was also a member of the working party that produced the Church of England Report on the future of small schools. She has been a governor of several schools in the maintained and independent sectors and has written extensively on the governance of schools.