Governance

Engagement Model 2025/2026

Shared Services Team

The shared services team, based at Cardinal Wiseman, provide a range of professional support services to our 8 schools. It consists of finance, HR, premises, estate, catering, wellbeing, GDPR and curriculum specialists, whose sole aim is to allow our teaching and learning professionals to concentrate on ensuring that our pupils make outstanding progress throughout each academic year. The team combines academic and business professionals, which are much needed in todays financially challenged educational climate. Please contact us on 02476 451888 if you want to speak to a member of the team.

About The Romero Catholic Academy

Click on the link to see PDF of staffing

The Romero Catholic Academy came into existence on 1st August 2015. The Engagement Model above shows the Governance structure of the Romero Catholic Academy and how the Board of Directors, Principals Committee and the Governing Body relate to each other.

What is the Board of Directors and a Foundation Director?

The Board of Directors comprises of a range of governors. There is a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), five Foundation directors and one co-opted director.

Collectively, they provide strategic direction across all eight schools and they are responsible for preserving and developing the Romero’s Catholic character at all times. This overriding duty (which is also a legal duty) should permeate everything that the Directors do.  In addition:

  • MAC Directors are company directors and charity trustees.
  • The Directors are responsible to the Archbishop, to the Government and to the MAC Members for the quality of education in the academies.
  • Directors are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the MAC.
  • Directors have a duty to uphold the MAC’s objects and to comply with any directives, advice and/or guidance issued by the Archbishop via the DES.

Foundation Governors (Directors and Representatives) are appointed by the local Bishop specifically to preserve and develop the Catholic ethos of the school and represent the Bishop’s education policy (e.g. worship and religious education) to the governing body. This is why Foundation Governors will always outnumber other governors on either the local Governing Body or the Board of Directors. There is no magic formula about what makes a perfect Foundation Governor, they come from all walks of life and all ages. But it is important that each governing body has a good mix of skills, knowledge and experience. The Archdiocese of Birmingham, manages the process for the appointment of Foundation Governors and provides support to governing bodies in carrying out their responsibilities.

Our Vision

The Directors have set the Vision and Mission for the MAC through these documents:

  • Romero Operational Plan 2025-2026
Operational plan 2025 2026Download

Governing Body

All schools in Romero, have a governing body, comprising of different types of governors. On each Governing Body in Romero, we have two elected Parent governors and one elected Staff governor. In addition to these categories, governing bodies in Catholic schools also include Foundation governors, these Foundation Governors will always form a majority and we have at least six appointed for each school.

The Board of Directors delegate local responsibilities to the Governors including day to day operational matters such as Catholic Life, health and safety, admissions, holding the Principal to account for the quality of education, staffing appointments (everything other than the Principal and Vice Principal and in the case of Cardinal Wiseman the Head of RE and Chaplain), developing the unique identity, local community and traditions for the school.

Each school has it’s own Governing Body. You can find out more through the following links which are within their main website:

Board of Director Meetings

The Board meets regularly and has a recently revised structure of three core committees.

Business, Pecuniary interests and Executive Pay

Any Business or Pecuniary interests declared by the Board and the Shared Services Team are listed here .

For details of Executive pay please go to the page detailing Conflicts of Interest here.

On this page you will find the published details of compliance in relation to  Academy Trust Handbook

Attendance 2025/2026

Board

Autumn 1
14/09/2026		Autumn 2
07/12/2026		Spring 1
11/01/2027		Spring 2
08/03/2027		Summer 1
26/04/2027		Summer 2
12/07/2027
Brendan Fawcett
Chair		Present
Eleanor Barry
Vice Chair		Present
Victor BellantiAbsent
Julie FuleaPresent
Dean KavanaghPresent
John Conmy Present
Ian Jones
Co-opted		Present

CC1

CC1
25/11/2026		CC1
24/02/2027		CC1
16/06/2027
Victor Bellanti
Chair of CC1
Foundation director
Ian Jones
Vice Chair of CC1
Co-opted director
Dean Kavanagh
Foundation director
Brendan Fawcett
Foundation director
John Conmy
Foundation Director
Helen Quinn
CEO
Terrie Kenyon
CFO
Tom O'Reilly
Head of Estates
Paul Madia
EVP Sacred Heart
Megan Scullion
Principal
Laura Burtonwood
Principal
Lorraine Stanton
Executive Principal
Chris Fredrick
CC Governor
Sharon Lee

CC2

CC2
19/11/2026		CC2
04/03/2027		CC2
24/06/2027
Julie Fulea
Chair of CC2
Foundation director
Brendan Fawcett
Foundation director
Ian Jones
Co-opted director
Helen Quinn
CEO
Alex Thomas
Head of HR
Ann Harkin
Good Shepherd LGB
Pat Garner
SS Peter and Paul LGB
Danielle Kingham
SJF Principal
Andy McConville
Principal Corpus Christi
Stephen Hainie
Principal St Patrick
Amy Hirons
Vice Principal Cardinal Wiseman
Heather O'Sullivan
Senior HR Business Partner
Howard Forinton
SLT
Siobhan Armstrong
SLT
Sharon Lee

CC3

CC3
12/10/2026		CC3
03/024/2027		CC3
07/07/2027
Eleanor Barry
Chair of CC3
Foundation director
Brendan Fawcett
Foundation director
Victor Bellanti
Foundation director
Dean Kavanagh Foundation director
Helen Quinn
CEO
Paul Madia
EVP Sacred Heart
Michael Kirby Principal Good Shepherd
Rachel Ellis
SH Principal
Will Allen
Vice Principal Cardinal Wiseman
Richard Kingshott Assistant Principal
Kathryn Alton
Assistant Principal
Sharon Feeney MAC Strategic Lead for
attendance
Carole Claridge MAC data lead/ Senior
Finance Manager
Ann Harkin
Good Shepherd/ Cardinal Wiseman LGB
Pat Garner
SS Peter and Paul/ Saint PatrickLGB
Sharon Lee

Please see archive for the attendance at meetings here