Members oversee the work of the Board of Trustees and how well the Trust is delivering and adhering to the agreed vision and values of the organisation. Meeting annually, Members have the power to dissolve the Trust Board, should they believe the direction of the Trust is no longer aligned to the guiding principles that founded it. The Tapscott Learning Trust has five members:

 

Andi Smith

Andi is an experienced professional having worked for many years within the education sector in the London Borough of Newham and now with his own successful business. Andi is an accredited National Leader of Governance and also an experienced governor. He currently serves as Chair of Governors at Curwen Primary School and has been integral to previous successes achieved across the school.

Andi has worked on many central government initiatives and has also been a national and international platform speaker on education and governance. He continues to undertake reviews of governance and interventions for many local authorities, in addition to pursuing his post-retirement commitments.

Catherine Brown

Catherine has over 32 years senior Board experience in corporate advisory and finance, working with a wide variety of organisations including companies in the FTSE 100. She is registered with the FCA, the financial services register and has comprehensive understanding of regulatory, governance and compliance issues facing highly regulated industries, including Financial Services. 

Catherine previously served as a governor in one of our schools.  

Reza A.B. Choudhury

Reza is a practising barrister specialising in all aspects of commercial and civil litigation. In addition to his litigation work, Reza undertakes mediation and arbitration work in both civil and commercial disputes. 

Reza sits as a Chair of Education Appeals and Independent Review Panel for the London Borough of Newham, hearing school admission and exclusion cases. His charitable work includes sitting as a Trustee of a Citizens Advice Bureau in London and undertaking pro bono cases when opportunities permit. He has also served as governor of a secondary school.

Cllr Joy Laguda

Joy was born in Zimbabwe, arriving in the UK in 1971 to train as a nurse. She has served as a Labour councillor in Newham for more than 20 years, during which time her numerous posts have included serving on the Education Committee. Joy has also served as an additional governor for schools within the Borough that have been in Special Measures.

Joy has served previously as a governor at Curwen Primary School for 16 years and is currently Chair of Council and Civic Lead.  Joy continues to have very close links with the schools and her granddaughter currently attends Curwen.

Rashmi Makwana 

Rashmi is currently a parent governor and vice chair of the governing body at Kensington Primary School, having attended the school himself, which he describes as giving him an excellent start in life.  He is currently retired following a long career with the Metropolitan Police Service during time which he served as part of their senior management team within the IT department.

In addition to his work with The Tapscott Learning Trust, Rashmi is actively involved in a range of other voluntary and charity work within his local community.