Together, let's be more
A warm welcome from our CEO
Katy Cox
Chief Executive Officer
It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome your school to Romero Catholic Academy Trust. We are delighted that you are joining our growing family of schools and becoming part of a community united by a shared mission, a common purpose and a deep commitment to the children and families we serve.
As a Trust, we are continuing to develop at pace across the Diocese of Salford, working together to realise Bishop John’s vision that every school in the Diocese will be part of a Catholic Academy Trust by 2030. Today, Romero CAT brings together a diverse and vibrant family of primary and secondary schools across Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Calderdale – each with its own identity, history and strengths, yet all rooted in our shared Catholic mission.
Our patron, St Oscar Romero, inspires us to “aspire not to have more, but to be more.” This challenge sits at the heart of everything we do. Guided by our values of Faith, Service, Aspiration and Collaboration, we are committed to creating communities where every child can flourish, every member of staff can grow and every school can thrive.
This welcome pack has been designed to support you through your journey into the Trust. Here, you’ll find key information about our service areas, the support available to you and the people you can contact as you settle into the Romero family. Our central team is here to walk alongside you at each stage of conversion and beyond, ensuring you feel informed, supported and connected.
We look forward to working closely with you, confident that through our shared values and collective effort, we can make an even greater difference to the lives and futures of the children in our care.
With every blessing,
Katy
“We plant the seeds that one day will grow.”
St Oscar Romero
Each school that joins us helps shape a stronger, flourishing Trust. Together, we are working towards welcoming every school into our family by 2030. As of December 2025, our Trust has:
Schools
Staff
Pupils
Key Documents
The Scheme of Delegation and Escalation Process are designed to provide clarity about how decisions are made, when certain approvals are needed and who to contact in specific situations. These documents exist to make sure everyone knows where support sits and how to access it when needed, you will always be able to find them on this welcome page.
Think of these documents as a shared point of reference. Most of the time your day-to-day work will feel just the same, but if a situation arises where extra guidance or support is required, these documents are here to help you quickly and confidently reach the right person, at the right time, knowing you are supported as part of a wider Trust community.
Trust Services
EDUCATION
Sarah Price
Director of Education - Primary
Catherine Reeves
Director of SEND
Becky Birtwistle
Head of Safeguarding
Sophie Law
Professional Learning and Career Development Lead
John Robertshaw
Primary School Improvement Officer
Helen Cook
Secondary Behaviour and Attendance Lead
Kane Vincent
Secondary School Improvement Officer
What you can contact the Education team about:
- Support with school improvement, including teaching and learning, curriculum development and leadership capacity.
- Arranging core reviews, support with self-evaluation and strategic planning.
- Subject deep dives, leadership coaching and tailored school-level improvement work.
- Guidance on Trust-wide performance monitoring and how this informs strategic planning and resource allocation.
- Access to Trust-wide networks and training.
- Advice and insight from serving Ofsted inspectors within the team.
- Support from the Safeguarding Service, including policy development, compliance with statutory guidance and best practice.
- Safeguarding training, audits, case advice and support for DSLs and senior leaders.
- Liaison with external agencies on safeguarding matters and support with complex cases.
- Access to CPD opportunities, including subject networks and professional development pathways.
- Information about the Trust’s teacher training offer and routes into teaching within the Trust.
GOVERNANCE
Lauren Lang
Governance Lead and Trust Clerk
Victoria Turner
Governance Support Officer
Vicky George
Governance Support Officer
What you can contact the Governance team about:
- Accessing governance tools and resources, including NGA membership, NGA Learning Link, Governor Hub and HY Education’s DPO service.
- Support with setting up, running and developing your Local Governing Board (LGB).
- Guidance on governor recruitment, including parent, staff and foundation governor appointments.
- Arranging or accessing governor training, including bespoke sessions provided by the Trust.
- Support with preparing for and managing Ofsted inspections from a governance perspective.
- Coordination and clerking of sensitive or urgent meetings, such as permanent exclusions and formal complaints panels.
- Assistance with policy compliance, updates and access to the Trust’s central policy hub.
- Termly website compliance checks and guidance on statutory requirements.
- General advice on ensuring effective, compliant and high-quality governance within your school.
FINANCE
Liz Fleming
Chief Financial Officer
Claire Walsh
Head of Finance
Lisa Cheung
Finance Manager
Sarah Ginn
Finance Manager
Mark Magee
Finance Manager
Mandy McFadden
Finance Manager
Christine West
Finance Manager
What you can contact the Finance team about:
- Support from your dedicated Finance Manager for school-specific advice and day-to-day financial guidance.
- Assistance with preparing management accounts and interpreting financial performance.
- Support with annual and multi-year budget planning.
- Guidance on compliance with the Academy Trust Handbook and other statutory financial requirements.
- Advice on achieving value for money and making effective use of school resources.
- Help with financial monitoring, forecasting and identifying areas for improvement.
- General support to ensure strong, sustainable and well-managed financial stewardship across the school.
OPERATIONS AND ESTATES
James Bolton
Head of Operations and Estates
Heather Haworth
Health and Safety Manager
Rick Darby
Site Services Manager
Lee Colbeck
Site Services Co-ordinator
Steve Porter
Site Services Co-ordinator
What you can contact the Operations and Estates team about:
- Support with maintaining safe, compliant and well-managed school buildings.
- Full support and guidance on using iAm COMPLIANT.
- Guidance on statutory compliance and risk management, including DfE and HSE requirements.
- Assistance with estates management, including planned maintenance, condition issues and capital projects.
- Advice on sustainability initiatives and long-term estates planning.
- Support with fire safety, asbestos management, legionella control and all statutory testing.
- Expert Health & Safety guidance, including risk assessments, accident reporting and policy development.
- Arranging or accessing Health & Safety training for staff.
- Support with emergency preparedness, critical incident planning and site security.
- Regular audits and central compliance tracking to ensure schools meet all legal obligations.
IT AND DATA
Jason Hodson
Trust IT Manager
Muhammad Iqbal
Trust IT Manager
Jane Igbine
Business Intelligence Analyst
What you can contact the IT and Data team about:
- Support with maintaining secure, reliable and high-performing IT systems, networks and devices across the Trust.
- Guidance on DfE digital standards, cyber security requirements and data protection compliance.
- Assistance with technical infrastructure management, including networks, servers, cloud platforms and telephony systems.
- Advice on digital strategy, technology procurement, system upgrades and long-term IT planning.
- Support with safeguarding technologies such as web filtering, monitoring, access controls and user management.
- Expert advice on cyber security, including threat mitigation, incident response and staff awareness training.
- Arranging or accessing IT and cyber security training for staff.
- Support with business continuity, disaster recovery planning and data backup solutions.
- Regular IT audits, monitoring and centralised system management to ensure all schools remain secure, compliant and digitally resilient.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Helen Barker
Chief People Officer
Kelly Forrest
Head of HR
Kathy Foster
HR Advisor
Zoe Robinson
HR Advisor
Helen Swinson
HR Advisor
What you can contact the Human Resources team about:
- Advice and support on all staffing matters, including capability, disciplinary, grievance, redundancy, restructure, safeguarding, equality, sickness and absence management.
- Attendance at formal meetings—such as disciplinary, capability, grievance or sickness hearings—to advise headteachers, senior leaders and panels.
- Guidance on employee relations and support with resolving workplace issues.
- Access to and updates on the full suite of Trust HR policies, including consultation and implementation.
- Support with payroll processes and annual statutory returns to the DfE.
- Assistance with staff wellbeing and engagement initiatives, including staff surveys and wellbeing programmes.
- Coordination and guidance on the performance review cycle in partnership with school leaders.
- Support with recruitment processes, including leading and advising on the appointment of Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers.
- General support throughout the entire employee lifecycle to help schools recruit, retain and develop a highly skilled workforce.
EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Emily Hind
Executive Administrator and Conversion Project Manager
Caitlyn Birtwell
Office Administrator Apprentice
What you can contact the Administration and Project Management team about:
- General Trust enquiries or support in finding the right person to help.
- Requests to meet with or speak to the CEO.
- Queries related to conversions, including timelines, processes, requirements and post-conversion support.
- Updates or issues relating to the Trust website
- Support on media communications or social media channels.
- Support with planning, coordinating or leading events.
- Access to, support with or feedback about the Trust Portal.
- Assistance with Trust-wide communication, administration or operational queries.