4 January, 2024
We are delighted to announce two exciting appointments to our executive team – Natasha Rancins and Ed Vainker OBE bring a wealth of expertise and experience and will drive strong educational performance across our trust.
Natasha Rancins has been appointed national director of secondary education; a new role created to reflect the scale of secondary education within the trust. Natasha will lead on OAT’s secondary school improvement strategy, creating an ambitious and transformative education for over 32,000 pupils in our 32 secondary schools.
Natasha has been with OAT since 2022 as the trust’s education director for the west and has made a significant impact within the trust during this time. She brings significant leadership, inspection and school-improvement experience to the role and is well-placed to help continue the improvement journey across our secondary academies.
We have further strengthened our executive team with Ed Vainker OBE joining OAT on a part-time secondment as national director of transformation, until the end of this academic year. Ed is the founding chief executive officer of Reach Feltham and the Reach Foundation, sits on the advisory board of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, is a trustee of the Confederation of School Trusts, and has dedicated his career to helping children and young people receive the best education. Ed will add capacity to our executive team so that we are able to both improve our support for schools and teachers in the short term, whilst developing OAT’s longer-term strategy.
As part of this, we are also recruiting to another new senior role, a national director of learning. This post will strengthen the trust’s work in areas including teacher and school leadership professional development and enrichment, alongside developing its approach to longer-term, sustainable and evidence-informed school improvement.
Tom Rees, chief executive officer said: “All of us at OAT are excited by these two senior appointments which add capacity to our senior team. Our national director of secondary education role attracted a strong national field and Natasha was the stand-out candidate. I’m excited about her taking on this role.
“I would also like to welcome Ed to the OAT family. As one of our school system’s most talented leaders, I’m delighted he has agreed to work with us to build on our core mission to provide great teaching, every day, for every child.
“OAT has many strengths but none of us here are complacent and there is so much potential across the trust for us to achieve even more together in service of children. I am looking forward to Natasha and Ed working with our great teachers and leaders to help us fulfil that.”
Natasha Rancins, national director of secondary education said: “OAT’s secondary academies have great foundations, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to build on them and to support our excellent teachers and leaders in delivering the very best education to our students.”
Ed Vainker OBE, national director of transformation said: “The importance of the work that OAT does, including in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country, cannot be under-stated. Nothing is more critical than providing the best educational opportunities for children and young people so that they have the best start in life, and I hope I can be helpful in supporting the team to continue to provide this.”
Category: News
Tags: Ed Vainker, Executive appointments, Natasha Rancins, national director of secondary education, National director of transformation, New appointments
