Our Senior Leaders

Our senior leadership team comprises our CEO, Directors and Heads, each with their own areas of expertise, experience and responsibility.

Declarations of Interest – Eden Academy Trust Senior Leaders

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Susan Douglas CBE

Chief Executive Officer

Susan Douglas is CEO for the Eden Academy Trust and was instrumental in its founding and development.

Susan has spent over 30 years working in the educational arena including 15 years as a teacher and headteacher in West London. In 2006, she left headship and has since held key roles with a wide variety of national and international organisations. She now shares her time between the Eden Academy Trust and the British Council.

In her position as Senior Adviser at the British Council, Susan provides sector expertise and advice to a number of educational programmes involving ministries of education, school leaders, teachers and young people across approximately 60 countries worldwide. She specialises in school leadership, professional development and inclusion – particularly related to girls and pupils with special needs and disabilities (SEND).

Susan has also contributed to national policy in England most recently on the Expert Advisory Group for the SEND reforms, the National Professional Qualifications review and the Multi-Academy Trust Advisory Board. Susan chairs the OFSTED inclusion advisory board and is a Trustee of the Confederation of School Trusts.

Susan was awarded a CBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to Education.

Sudhi Pathak

Chief Operating Officer

Sudhi Pathak is a qualified accountant with over 30 years experience in the public sector. He has expertise in accounts, governance, risk management, audit and systems analysis.

Sudhi joined the Trust in 2013 and as COO is responsible for Finance, ICT, Human Resources, Health and Safety, Administration and Facilities.

Carley Holliman

Deputy CEO

Carley joined the Eden Academy Trust in 2024 moving from her role as Assistant Director – Schools and Setting in Cambridgeshire County Council.

Carley started her career in mainstream primary schools including 12 years as a head in Hertfordshire and North London.

Carley is an experienced system leader with a particular passion for innovation and strategic planning. In addition, Carley is an experienced consultant offering school leadership support to other organisations.

Complimentary to her leadership roles she has a broad commercial experience including national facilitation, programme development and school improvement services.

Andrew Sanders

Regional Director for the South

Executive Head for Moorcroft School

Andrew started his career in mainstream school and joined Moorcroft School as a class teacher when it first opened in 1997. After roles as network manager, Head of Key Stage 5 and Head of School he became the school’s Headteacher in 2016. Ofsted judged the school as Outstanding in May 2019.

Andrew is now Regional Director for the Trust’s southern schools and leads Family Services and Therapy for them.

Kris Williams

Regional Director for the North

Executive Head for Branthwaite Academy

‘The Eden Academy Trust is enabling special schools in the North of England to develop their ways of working together over large catchment areas, whilst drawing upon the knowledge and skills of the Trust at large. Eden provides us with the foundations on which we can only improve our already outstanding provision.’
Kris Williams, Headteacher

Perdy Buchanan-Barrow

Co Headteacher for Alexandra School

Southern Hub Cluster Lead

Perdy Buchanan-Barrow is a Cluster Lead within the Southern Hub, working with Alexandra School, Pentland Field School and Grangewood School. She is Co Headteacher of Alexandra School, a primary school located in Harrow, for children with more complex moderate learning disabilities.

Perdy first taught for several years in mainstream before taking up the role of a class teacher at Alexandra in 1998. She became Head of School in 2013 when the school joined the Eden Academy Trust. In 2017 she became Headteacher at Alexandra School which was judged outstanding before September 2024 and continues to maintain those standards at subsequent inspections.

In her role as Cluster Lead she works with the heads in the three schools and is responsible for standards within the cluster.

Catherine Holdsworth

Co Headteacher at Alexandra School

Catherine started her career in mainstream Catholic primary schools, growing into the role as Senco and teaching across key stage one and two.

Whilst on a study trip to China in 2006, Catherine met a teacher from Alexandra School who inspired her to make the move into special education and she hasn’t looked back.

Catherine has worked at Alexandra School ever since, as class teacher, advanced skills teacher, assistant and then deputy headteacher and now as Co-Headteacher alongside Perdy.

Ellie Hodgkinson

Head of School for Moorcroft School

Eden welcomed Ellie as Head of School for Moorcroft School in September 2025.

Ellie joins us from a senior leadership position at a school in London, bringing with her a wealth of experience and expertise. She has a strong background in literacy and early reading, and is also a highly experienced SENCO. Throughout her career, Ellie has made a significant impact by mentoring and coaching teaching staff, and her influence extends well beyond her own school through her work in delivering training and outreach across a wide geographical area.
Her passion for inclusive education and commitment to improving outcomes for all pupils make her a great fit for the Moorcroft community.

Louise Burns

Headteacher at Hexham Priory School

Louise has had several years experience as a Senior Leader in an SLD school, before joining the Eden Academy Trust in 2022.

Louise started her teaching career in mainstream secondary schools, where she was Head of Department and then Head of Faculty. She qualified as a SENCO and ran a Learning Support unit within a large high school, before moving over to special school education. Louise is a specialist teacher in Dyslexia and has a strong background in communication, including AAC and qualifications in speech and language development.

Kerry Dunbobbin

Headteacher at James Rennie School

Kerry completed her BA (hons) degree in primary teaching and Geography in 1998. She has worked at James Rennie School since 1999 starting as a Key Stage 3 teacher. She then worked in Post 16 and became the Post 16 lead in 2010, and then shortly after Deputy Head. In 2022, Kerry became Head of James Rennie School. Since she started in 1999, Kerry has seen the school grow immensely. She also spent two years working in a mainstream secondary setting but knew her heart lay within a specialist setting.

Shelley Crowe

Head of School for Branthwaite Academy

Liz Edwards

Headteacher at Pinn River School

Liz joined the Eden Academy Trust in January 2016 as Assistant Head of School at Pentland Field School where she supported the school through their first Ofsted, gaining a strong ‘Good’. In 2018 she was promoted to Head of School, and then to Headteacher, first at Grangewood School, where she guided the school to a solid ‘Good’ in their February 2020 Ofsted inspection, and now at the newly built Pinn River School.

Liz’s ambition remains to provide a clear vision and strong leadership to support pupils and staff. She also has a specific focus on the coordination of outstanding provision to provide for all individual and unique pupils needs.

Ivan Talbott

Headteacher at Pentland Field School

Ivan Talbott is Headteacher at Pentland Field School in Hillingdon. He has a degree in Education and English, and obtained QTS through a primary PGCE route.

He has worked in education since 2000, in both mainstream and SEN settings, as a class teacher, middle leader, and as an assistant head. He joined Pentland Field as Head of School in September 2019.

Ivan spent a decade at Alexandra School before joining Pentland Field School. He has a particular interest in building links with mainstream schools to exchange information around best teaching practice, and building links with professional and voluntary organisations in both Hillingdon and feeder local authorities. Tapping into these offers in a way that children and families can best benefit is the ultimate aim of working in this way.

Samantha Kidd

Executive Headteacher at George Hastwell School

Samantha Kidd has been a Headteacher of six schools in Cumbria, five main stream and one special school.

Sam has also worked as a School Improvement Officer and a Service Manager for SEND and Inclusion for Cumberland Local Authority.

She is delighted to be working for the Eden Academy Trust and most especially in George Hastwell School.

Nicola Bower

Head of School for George Hastwell School

Nicola originally qualified as a nursery nurse in 1993 and worked within early years settings. Deciding she would like a bigger role in the education and support of children and young people, she returned to the University of Central Lancashire in 2001 where she achieved a HND in Childhood Studies, BA First Class Honours Degree in Education, and obtained QTS through a primary PGCE route.

Since qualifying as a teacher in 2006 Nicola has spent time working in primary mainstream schools. It was during this time Nicola had the opportunity to work with young people with SEN and began volunteering in her local specialist setting where she realised this was her true vocation.

Nicola joined George Hastwell School in 2013 as EYFS lead teacher, before progressing through to SENCO, Deputy Headteacher and recently Head of School.

Melissa Barrowcliffe

Head of School for Grand Union Village School

Melissa joined the Eden Academy Trust as Deputy Head in 2021; working with both Grangewood School and Sunshine House before being appointed as Head of School for Grand Union Village School.

Melissa completed her PGCE in Primary Education in 2004, teaching from Early Years up to KS4 and has been a senior leader of both mainstream and alternative provision before making the move to special school education.

Mark Fuell

Associate Head for Pinn River School

Mark joined Sunshine House School in 2011 as a newly qualified teacher, before progressing through curriculum and assessment co-ordinator, to Assistant Head of School and Head of School. In this time the school roll has doubled in size, seen it’s first cohort of teenagers complete Key Stage Three and achieve it’s first Outstanding Ofsted rating. Mark is now Associate Head for the newly opened Pinn River School.

Mark became a Qualified Teacher in Multi-Sensory Impairment (deaf blind) in 2015 and strongly promotes experiential learning that inspires and challenges pupils, with staff learning alongside them.

Alastair Warner

Head of Satellite at Eden Pinkwell Satellites

Alastair taught overseas in Japan and France and worked at the British Council as a programme administrator before a ten-year career as Vice President of an international trade association, based out of London but working in countries across the globe.

He retrained as a primary school teacher in 2017, teaching in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 at a mainstream primary school in Central London.

Alastair moved to the Trust’s Alexandra School in 2021 as a Key Stage 2 teacher, taking on responsibility for leading English. He moved to Eden Pinkwell Satellites as Assistant Head and satellite lead in March 2023 and was appointed Head of Satellite in November 2023.

Our Senior Leaders