Board Of Trustees

Mr Charles Ramsden

Chair of Trustee Board
Mr Keith Skipsey

Vice Chair of Trustee Board; Health & Safety Trustee
Mr Nicholas Simmonds

Headteacher & Trustee
Mr Ramesha V Balaraju

Parent Trustee
Mrs Rebecca Clarke

Parent Trustee
Mr Jagtar Dhadwal

Parent Trustee
Mrs Julia Drury

Safeguarding Trustee
Mr Andrew Green

Parent Trustee
Mr Dean Heslington

Community Trustee
Mr Keith Miller

Community Trustee
Mr Shekhar Natarajan

Parent Trustee
Ms. Lindsey Reece-Smith

Community Trustee
Mrs. Hannah White

Staff Trustee
Mr Will Whittingham

Member; Inclusion & SEND Trustee
Mrs Jennifer Yabsley

Parent Trustee
Mrs Lisa Hillan

Clerk to the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the affairs of Kendrick School which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is responsible for approving the long-term strategy of the school. The day to day running of the school is largely delegated to the Headteacher.

Trustees at Kendrick School are directors of a company for the purposes of company law; and a charity trustee for the purposes of charity law. As a general principle, they have a general ‘fiduciary duty’ to the Board of Trustees. This means that they have a duty to act honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of the school at all times. They must use the powers granted to them for the purposes for which they were conferred (i.e. to run the school). The Kendrick School Trustee Board is made up of 3 committees – Learning & Teaching, Resourcing, and Performance & Reviewing.

The Full Board of Trustees meets 3 times a year, which includes a whole-day meeting, and each Committee normally meets 6 times an academic year.

To contact a member of the Board of Trustees, please email Lisa Hillan, Clerk to the Board, at clerk@kendrick.reading.sch.uk

Letter From The Chair Of Trustees

On behalf of the trustee body, I would like to welcome everyone to the 2026-2027 academic year. I particularly welcome students joining us for the first time who will get the support they need to settle in quickly and make a positive contribution to the school.

As trustees, we are responsible for working with Mr Nicholas Simmonds, Headteacher and the Senior Leadership Team to agree on the strategic direction of Kendrick. We assist with setting the school's vision, aims and objectives. To do this, we are organised into three committees – Learning & Teaching, Performance and Review, and Resources. Each of these committees meets regularly, and we meet as a full board three times a year. All the trustees are committed to supporting the ethos of the school, and many have direct experience of the school – either as a student or the parent of a student.

We want to ensure that every student at Kendrick has the opportunity to thrive – academically, as a member of the school community, and in their personal development. Kendrick has something for everyone: a huge range of extracurricular activities including music, sports, and drama; opportunities to show leadership, as part of the School Council or the Student Leadership Team; and, of course, the chance to help others.

I do hope that you will take advantage of the opportunities to engage with the school. We are always keen to get your feedback, and as Chair of the Board of Trustees, I am always happy to hear from any of you. Please feel free to contact Lisa Hillan, Governance Officer to the Trustee Board lhillan@kendrick.reading.sch.uk if you would like to get in touch.

On behalf of the trustees, I wish everyone a successful year ahead.

With best wishes

Charles Ramsden
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

September 2026

Board of Trustees Membership 2026/2027

Name	Trustee Position + Committee(s)	Link Role(s)	Date of Appointment	Term of Office	Appointed By	Business & Pecuniary Interests	Email
Charles Ramsden	Chair of Trustees; Community Trustee & Member; L&T; Resources; P&R; Admissions	English	10/1/2023	4 years	Board of Trustees	Trustee, Kendrick Trust	cramsden@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Rebecca Clarke	Community Trustee; Resources (Chair); P&R	MFL & Classics, Mental Wellbeing & Personal Development, PSHCE	11/18/2025	4 years	Board of Trustees	The Circle Trust	RClarke@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Jagtar Dhadwal	Parent Trustee; Resources (Vice-Chair)	H&S	19/06/2022; re-election pending, date to 18/6/26	4 years	Parent Election	None declared	JDhadwal@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Julia Drury	Community Trustee; P&R	English; Safeguarding; Inclusion & SEND	10/1/2025	4 years	Board of Trustees	Partner at The Head Partnership	JDrury@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Andrew Green	Parent Trustee; Resources	PE	7/4/2024	4 years	Parent Election	None declared	agreen@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Dean Heslington	Community Trustee; P&R (Chair); Resources	Maths & Computing	30/3/2024	4 years	Board of Trustees	None declared	dheslington@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Keith Miller	Community Trustee and Member; L&T; Resources; P&R (Vice-Chair); Admissions	Maths & Computing; Freedom of Information Trustee	7/4/2024	4 years	Board of Trustees	Fujitsu Services	kmiller@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Shekhar Natarajan	Parent Trustee, L&T	Technology/Art/Textiles/ Food	7/4/2024	4 years	Parent Election	None declared	snatarajan@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Faith Ramsey	Community Trustee, Committee TBC	Link role TBC	5/1/2024	4 years	Academy Members	None declared	framsay@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Lindsey Reece-Smith	Community Trustee; L&T (Vice-Chair)	Humanities; Safeguarding; Mental Wellbeing & Personal Development Trustee	01/09/2022; re-election pending, 1/9/26 start	4 years	Board of Trustees	None declared	LReeceSmith@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Nick Simmonds	Headteacher & Trustee; L&T; Resources; P&R; Admissions	Freedom of Information Trustee	9/1/2026	Ex Officio	Ex Officio		nsimmonds@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Keith Skipsey	Vice-Chair of Trustees; Community Trustee and Member; L&T (Chair); Resources; P&R; Admissions	H&S	5/10/2024	4 years	Board of Trustees	None declared	kskipsey@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Ramesha Vaderalhalli Balaraju	Parent Trustee, Committee TBC	Link role TBC	12/11/2025	4 years	Parent Election	None declared	RBalaraju@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Will Whittingham	Community Trustee and Member; L&T; P&R; Admissions	Science; Inclusion & SEND; Freedom of Information	11/1/2024	4 years	Academy Members	None declared	wwhittingham@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Jennifer Yabsley	Parent Trustee, L&T	Music & Drama	12/11/2025	4 years	Parent Election	None declared	JYabsley@kendrick.reading.sch.uk

Board of Trustees Meeting Dates 2026/2027

Term 1	Day	Date	Meeting
	Thursday	1st October	Learning & Teaching
	Thursday	8th October	Resources Committee
Term 2	Thursday	5th November	Performance & Review Committee
	Thursday	26th November	Resources Committee
	Thursday	3rd December	Full Trustee Board Committee
Term 3	Thursday	14th January	Learning & Teaching Committee
Term 3	Thursday	11th February	Performance & Review Committee
Term 4	Thursday	4th March	Resources Committee
	Friday	18th March	Full Trustee Board Day
Term 5	Thursday	29th April	Learning & Teaching Committee
	Thursday	13th May	Resources Committee
	Thursday	20th May	Performance & Review Committee
Term 6	Thursday	10th June	Learning & Teaching Committee
	Thursday	17th June	Resources Committee
	Thursday	8th July	Full Board of Trustees