Rachel Shaw, Chief Executive Officer
Rachel Shaw joined Exeter Learning Academy Trust (ELAT) as the CEO in September 2019.
She was raised, educated and trained to be a teacher in Devon and is committed to supporting children and families within the county.
Rachel has spent her professional career as a teacher working in primary education and more than 20 years in senior leadership roles. She has been a Headteacher, Executive Principal and CEO across a number of schools in Devon covering education from 2-19. She has improved schools in challenging circumstances both within and beyond the organisations she has worked in and strongly believes in the strength of collaborative work across the education sector.
Rachel has taken on additional roles such as the Chair of the Devon School Leadership Service and more recently as Interim Director of Education for Devon County Councils whilst remaining the CEO of ELAT. She has been a governor or Trustee for over 25 years and is currently also a Trustee for First Federation Trust.
As well as providing the strategic direction and being responsible for the day to day operation of the Trust, Rachel is also the Accounting Officer. She is responsible to Parliament and the Secretary of State for ensuring that ELAT uses public funds appropriately to advance education for the public benefit. More details about this role can be found in the Academies Handbook.
Rachel believes passionately that education provides choices and opportunities for our children and young people and that we must ensure all achieve their potential regardless of their starting point in life. Ensuring that the adults working with our children are experts in their field and also strive to always be the best they can be is an essential element of this.
If you wish to find out more about the Trust then please contact info@elatschools.com.
Suzannah spent just under 20 years as a logistics officer in the Royal Navy and has a broad range of experience which includes operational and contingency planning, strategy development and implementation, risk management, information management and exploitation. She also has a particular interest in applying insights from history to develop informed and innovative solutions to today’s problems. She is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport, Member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, and Member of the Chartered Management Institute.
Beginning her teaching career in Birmingham in 1983, Debbie settled in Devon in 1983. After teaching across all key stages in various schools across the County Debbie was appointed Headteacher in 2000 and has led several primary schools before retiring from Alphington Primary School in 2018. She has supported schools in challenging circumstances as a Local Leader throughout her career and was seconded to a school in special measures for a year.
Paul has worked within the education sector in Devon over the last twenty years. He has held many leadership positions including Assistant Head, Headteacher at several schools, and most recently is the CEO of a large primary multi-academy trust in Devon. Paul also Chairs the executive committee of Devon School Leadership Services and is a serving Ofsted inspector.
I started my career as a teaching assistant at a local school and quickly realised that I wanted to take the next step so I began my teaching training. I have been fortunate enough to love my job at every stage and progressed from teaching into the assistant head and, as I currently am, head at Alphington Primary School.
Being a headteacher as part of Exeter Learning Academy Trust is a huge privilege and I enjoy every day working together with the school community and the trust to provide the best possible education for our children. Having worked at a diverse range of schools across Devon as a teaching assistant, teacher, assistant head and now headteacher, I have found that one thing is common for all children across our county- they love to learn!