Brunel Education Trustees (ID 1140)

• Jackie Fieldwick MBE
  Trustee and CEO
  Jackie Fieldwick MBE

  Trustee and CEO of the Brunel Academies Trust and Brunel Education, previously Secondary Maths teacher; Maths Lead for Residential BESD school; SENCO; Head of Inclusion; Deputy Headteacher; Headteacher. Head Teacher and Executive Head Teacher of Uplands School (Ofsted “outstanding” 2014 and 2017 & TES School of the Year 2015); CEO, Principal Trustee and founder of Uplands Enterprise Trust (UET); opened 19-25 Specialist post-16 institution (Horizons College); developed UET farm provision; developed local Supported Internship Programme; Chair of Association of Swindon Special School Headteachers (2012-14); Former Chair of Special Educational Needs Resourcing Panel; Conference delivery 'Setting Up Alternative Provision', Bespoke training to school leaders 'Developing Funding Streams', Leadership & Management mentoring for new leaders; Schools Forum (2014-present); Vice Chair of School's Forum (2016-2018), Former Chair of School's Forum (2018-2021), member of School's Forum (2021); Member of SEND Strategic Board, High Needs Debt Recovery Group Member, Swindon Inclusion Forum Executive Member, F40 Executive Committee Member (2018 – present), SEND Representative for the Regional Education Partnership Board; Education Representative on the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership Executive (2019 – present), Member of the South West SEND Strategic Group, Member of the Department for Education's Advisory Board. Jackie owns several horses and spends most of her spare time in a horse lorry, driving her daughter around the country to compete in show jumping events.

• Joe Szymankski
  Trustee
  Joe Szymankski

  Trustee Brunel Education, Member of the Audit; Co-opted Governor for St Marys Primary School in Swindon. Joe is a retired Cost & Management Accountant who has worked in the Precious metals, Food, Chemicals, Telecoms, Software industries and NHS. Joe is also a volunteer at a heritage railway and has interests in travelling.

• Gareth Appleby-Thomas
  Trustee
  Gareth Appleby-Thomas

  Professor of High Strain-Rate Material Response for Defence Applications, Cranfield University, UK

  Based at Cranfield University, Gareth's background covers both Physics and Materials Science. He joined Cranfield University in 2007 and was appointed to the role of Head of the Centre for Defence Engineering (CDE) at Cranfield's School of Defence and Security (CDS) in 2019 before subsequently being promoted to Professor in 2021. He currently leads planning, implementation and management of H&S, personnel, teaching, research and strategy within the Centre and further contributes to wider management as a Member of the CDS Executive team. More recently he has taken on a new role as the lead for the Materials for Extreme Environments Campaign, looking to draw together expertise in this domain. Alongside teaching (with a focus on materials and survivability), he is also research active, with over 100 peer-reviewed articles to-date on Scopus – specialising in investigation of the high strain-rate response of ballistic / armour relevant materials. He has served as Chair of the Shockwaves in Extreme Conditions (SWEC) group at the Institute of Physics (IoP) and is currently a member of the group Committee. He has given guest lectures to organisations including DRDO and US Army DEVCOM and works with a wide range of government, industrial and academic clients and collaborators across the globe from Australia (the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA, Canberra) to Canada (the Royal Military College (RMC) of Canada).

• Jenny Baylis
  Trustee
  Jenny Baylis

  Jenny studied textiles at Brighton University and has worked in Paris, Germany, and London before becoming a mum to two boys. Jenny eldest son has autism with a severe learning difficulty and attended Exeter House Special School until 2018. He now attends a social care farm setting with funded PA support. Jenny also has a younger sibling with Cerebral Palsy.

  Jenny became a Parent Governor at Exeter House in 2008, and later Chair. Jenny has also been Interim Chair at the Primary (St Marks and Wyndham Park) as well as a Trustee. Jenny's main interests are Autism with complex needs, Quality of Education, Transition into Adult Life, Inclusion and hearing the voice of our young people.

  Jenny works part time as a gallery assistant for the New Art Centre, a large independent sculpture park near Salisbury and has freelanced for their Educational Trust. Jenny enjoys walking in the countryside with her family and dogs, running, baking cakes and spending time on her allotment.

• Chris Sims
  Chair of BE Board of Trustees / BAT Trustee
  Chris Sims

  Trustee Brunel Academies Trust; Trustee Brunel Education; Chair of the BASIS Local Governing Committee, Member of the People and Culture Committee, Swindon Carers Centre, Trustee; Uplands Enterprise Trust Trustee; Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. Mostly retired IT specialist having held senior positions at Gartmore Investment Management and Ignis Asset Management.

• Lisa Savage
  Trustee
  Lisa Savage

  Lisa is a dedicated, passionate SEND Professional. Having spent over 30 years in Local Authorities, the past 9 in the South-West, as Assistant Director for Inclusion and Head of Service, SEND. Lisa worked in Swindon Borough Council as Head of SEND from January 2021 to August 2024.

  Lisa led Swindon Borough Council's SEND Team through a successful OFSTED Re-Inspection being the first Local Authority to receive a full ratification of their progress from the previous inspection in 2018 where Swindon was deemed to require significant improvement in 8 key areas. Lisa led Swindon's Delivering Better Value (DBV) programme, and was the led for the Change Programme Partnership (CPP) when Swindon, were asked to jointly lead the South-West's programme.

  In 2024, Lisa moved away from the world of Local Authority and is now Chief Operating Officer for MIAG (Meeting Individual Aspirations and Goals), an alternative provider in the South-West. Lisa remains committed to SEND, and remains active nationally.