Executive Team (ID 1218)

• Rachel Goodwin
  Chief Executive Officer
  Rachel Goodwin

  Rachel is currently the CEO of MVLT.

  A qualified secondary English teacher, Rachel has extensive teaching and senior leadership experience across a range of schools.

  Rachel has also taught and supported the development of leadership in the primary phase.

  Rachel gained significant school improvement and leadership experience across all phases as an independent school improvement consultant and then as a senior school improvement officer for a local authority.

  Prior to joining the trust in August 2025, Rachel has spent a number of years working for Ofsted as a Senior His Majesty's Inspector. Rachel is continuing in her role as a lead Ofsted inspector.

• Mel Wright
  Chief Operations Officer
  Mel Wright

  Career summary

  • Business Manager just under a year in a large secondary academy leading the finance, HR, estates and compliance functions; programme leadership role for the development and implementation of governance, core service offer, systems and processes for an emerging multi-academy trust.
  • Fourteen years in the NHS leading a range of system and infrastructure transformation programmes.
  • Twenty years' experience in senior administrative roles and business management across a range of sectors including legal, construction, manufacturing and racing.

  Skills, knowledge and experience

  • Programme and project leadership specialist.
  • Held several senior programme management roles within the NHS, working in complex systems and across multiple organisations developing, implementing and embedding strategy, governance, policy and risk management.
  • Extensive experience in corporate governance, leading the corporate governance function for statutory NHS bodies and has led the internal processes in relation to authorisation of two NHS statutory bodies, as well as forming ‘place partnerships' between NHS, local authority and voluntary sector as mandated in national guidance.
  • Leadership of regulatory assurance processes in relation to large scale transformational change and public consultation.

• Sofia Palios
  Chief Financial Officer
  Sofia Palios

Headteachers (ID 1220)

• Sarah Maciver
  Waterloo Primary School
  Sarah Maciver

  • Sarah has nearly 30 years experience in education across Sefton and Lancashire teaching from EYFS to Y6 and for the past 25 years has held senior leadership roles across three schools
  • In Lancashire, Sarah worked alongside the PE Advisory Team to write and launch an local authority PE & Dance scheme of work and linked in with the Youth Sport Trust to support in writing the Top Sport programme
  • In Sefton, she has been an Early Years and Y6 Writing moderator
  • Sarah currently sits on the Strategic Board and Primary Steering Group for the Education School of Liverpool John Moores University and has previously untaken work as a liaison tutor, quality assurance assessor and course deliverer for ITT for the university and two teaching schools in Sefton and Liverpool
  • Sarah is also a Primary school representative at Sefton's Early Help and Ready to Learn partnership forums

• Karen Lynskey
  The Rowan Schools
  Karen Lynskey

  Career summary

  • Karen has been Headteacher in her current school for over 12 years. Moved the school from good to Outstanding; and maintained this for a further two inspections. During this time, she has served on a number of Boards for the Sefton LA, including SEND Forum and Sefton LA School Improvement Board. She led the Teaching School and ran an ITT programme for QTS Primary with SEND.
  • Karen has extensive experience of working in the SEND field and supports schools across the North West in her work as a NASEN SEND Reviewer and Trainer. She regularly contributes to the work of Whole School SEND School report.
  • Karen Chairs the Sefton Special Schools network leading a number of School Improvement Projects currently on the curriculum; especially Maths and English. Karen has Chaired the Merseyside Special Schools Forum. In this role she coordinated CPD for 18 Special Schools and led projects on CEIAG/Enterprise and Peer reviews. She is currently supporting new MATs develop their SEND work in the Salford Diocese area.

• Paul Lindley
  Chesterfield High School
  Paul Lindley

  Career summary

  • Paul was appointed as Acting Head Teacher in July 2023 to support the school's development within the MAT. He was previously Deputy Head Teacher in charge of the daily operation of the school following a range of roles within the senior leadership team during the past 8 years. 
  • In recent years, he has been strategic lead for Attendance, Safeguarding and Behaviour and been part of local and national networks to maintain the development of the school in these areas. He has worked closely with Behaviour Hubs to develop new approaches to improving attendance post pandemic.

• Paul Swift
  Forefield Junior School
  Paul Swift

  Career summary

  • Paul has been a Headteacher for over 14 years in schools across the North West. In his current role he has been actively involved in the development of the Mathematics Curriculum across the local area Teaching & Learning partnership.
  • Paul has been a Headteacher for ten years and a senior leader for over twenty, in schools across the North West. He represents other headteachers on Sefton's SACRE and has a keen interest in developing provision for well-being – for pupils, staff and families. As part of his Senior Mental Health Lead training he has introduced the principles of therapeutic classrooms at FJS. The impact is now being shared with Sefton schools.

• Beverley Roberts
  Forefield Infants & Nursery School
  Beverley Roberts

  Career summary

  • Newly appointed as Headteacher at her current school, however Beverley has previously worked in the same school as Snr Assistant Headteacher since 2012 with responsibility within that period for EYFS and more recently KS1. Within that period, as snr assistant headteacher, Beverley has led on Teaching, learning and assessment and Curriculum design and development.
  • Previously worked for Knowsley LA in 2 different schools. Worked as a Children's Centre Teacher, supporting PVI's in providing high quality Early Year's provision across different Children Centre sites and PVI's within the borough.
  • Beverley has worked as an EYFS Moderator for both Sefton and Knowsley and has supported schools with provision, assessment and moderation outcomes.

  Skills, knowledge and experience relevant to trustee role

  • Experience and knowledge in EYFS - working across both the private and maintained sector with children from birth to 5 with a wide range of training, qualifications and experience in this area.
  • More recently Beverley has focused on leading on primary curriculum design and development.

• Helen Tantouri
  Valewood Primary School
  Helen Tantouri

  Career summary

  • Helen has been a Headteacher for over 14 years in her current school. The school is now the most oversubscribed school in Sefton.
  • Helen has held roles in the Sefton LA School Improvement Service as a Lead Primary Strategy Consultant and the Lead LA Moderator for Reading and Writing. She has led on leadership support in schools judged to be ‘causing concern' by the LA and has provided support for curriculum leaders in the run up to school inspections.
  • Previous to this work for Sefton LA, Helen held a number of leadership positions in schools across the country, including Deputy Headteacher in a Greek Orthodox Primary School in London.
  • Helen leads and hosts the Sefton Deputy Headteachers' & Assistant Headteachers' termly forums, organising and hosting the annual conference. She also plays a key role in the Crosby Teaching & Learning Partnership; leading on the Art curriculum across the cluster, as well as engaging schools in community Art projects, regionally.
  • Given Valewood's outstanding inclusion practice, Helen is a member of Sefton's SEND Forum. She is called upon to support other schools address and improve issues of SEND and to also develop pupil voice, via the UNICEF accreditation programme, as Valewood is a Rights Respecting School- Gold.
  • Helen also attends Sefton's Education & Mental Health Group, working with North West NHS partners and Sefton's Children's Services to cascade good practice across the sectors.

• Danielle Parr
  Valewood Primary School
  Danielle Parr

• Jon Lawes
  Chesterfield High School
  Jon Lawes

• Katie Jones
  Rowan Park Schools
  Katie Jones