Our Executive Officers and Trust Office Team (ID 1146)

• Annemarie Whittle
  CEO
  Annemarie Whittle

  Annemarie began her career in publishing following a History degree at London University. Later, Annemarie took a PGCE at the Institute of Education and became a Primary teacher in London and then moved to Kent. Annemarie had been a Catholic Headteacher for over 18 years and was an Executive Headteacher within KCSP from 2018 - 2021. Throughout her teaching career, Annemarie has been fortunate to carry out a number of roles including an acting Local Education Officer, Executive and Associate Headteacher supporting Catholic schools in Kent, a coach and mentor, and External Headteacher examiner for Christchurch.

  Annemarie is married with three adult children and lives in Kent.

• Sarah McBennett
  Executive Director of Primary Education
  Sarah McBennett

  Sarah graduated with a B.Ed. Hons degree from St Mary's College, Belfast in 1988. She was Headteacher of Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School, Kensington, London, where she led the school for almost 9 years taking it from ‘good' to ‘outstanding' both in respect of Ofsted s5 inspection and s48 inspection of Religious Education. As a committed, practising Catholic, Sarah brings a wealth of teaching and leadership experience and expertise. Sarah held leadership positions in several Catholic primary schools in Kent as well as spending 7 years in senior positions overseas before taking up her headship in London. She has also experience of Executive Headship.

  Sarah is passionate about enabling all children to reach their full potential and firmly believes that having the highest aspirations for all, regardless of their starting points, is paramount to achieving better outcomes for all pupils.

• Charlotte Robinson
  Executive Director of Governance and Operations
  Charlotte Robinson

  Charlotte began her career in education after earning a degree in Education Studies from the University of Greenwich. With a deep-rooted passion for empowering young people, she worked in maintained schools across Medway and Kent before moving into the independent Special Educational Needs (SEN) sector where she developed a strong focus on inclusive learning and operational leadership.

  Her experience spans both teaching and strategic management, including running a limited company dedicated to raising funds for educational charities. This blend of educational insight and business acumen led her into governance, where she holds Affiliated status with the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI).

  Since joining Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership (KCSP) in 2022, Charlotte has supported both governance and operational functions, with a keen focus on organisational development across the trust.

  Outside of her professional work, Charlotte is actively involved in community service as a Trustee for Age UK Faversham & Sittingbourne, and volunteers as a Catechist in her local parish, helping young people prepare for Holy Communion.

• Mike Walters
  Executive Director of Secondary Education
  Mike Walters

  Mike has spent his whole teaching career in Kent after graduating in History from the University of Leicester. He has worked in Kent Catholic secondary schools since 2007. He has been a Headteacher for eight years and Executive Principal for five years of KCSP secondary schools. Mike has been an Ofsted inspector, has worked on secondment to the local authority and has been Chair of the Kent Association of Headteachers. He has served on the Management Committee of two PRUs and is Chair of the Board of LLSE, a national NPQ provider. Mike is married and has two children.

• Joanne Burford
  Catholic Life & RE Adviser
  Joanne Burford

  Former Headteacher of a Catholic primary school in Medway, Joanne is also Catholic Life mentor to the Trust's non-Catholic leaders.

• Rachel Bushell
  HR and Policy Manager
  Rachel Bushell

  Rachel is a former pupil of two KCSP schools: St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary and St Gregory's Catholic Secondary. Rachel worked for the Department for Education (DfE) for over ten years in a variety of roles from policy making to project & programme management. She works closely with academy leaders, so that academies can be reassured about policy compliance and reduce valuable time previously given over to policy production and review. Rachel also supports academies with safeguarding, HR matters and other cross-cutting projects.

• Catherine Fearn
  Executive Assistant to the CEO and Executive Team
  Catherine Fearn

  Catherine joined the Trust in November 2018 having worked as a Personal Assistant at Board level for over 13 years. Catherine worked for Time Inc. (UK) Limited, the UK's largest magazine publisher, for a number of years as Personal Assistant to the Managing Director of Advertising; prior to this Catherine was Personal Assistant to the Finance Director of the British Museum and she also spent a number of years in a senior operational role at The London Dungeon.

  Catherine is currently EA to the CEO and Central Team; she is passionate about ensuring the efficient & effective organisation of the Trust and its team.

• Sarah Flight
  CPD Coordinator
  Sarah Flight

  Sarah joined the trust in May 2020 after relocating to Kent in November 2019. Before joining the Trust, Sarah worked for a leading Teaching School and academy trust in the Midlands. In her role as Teaching School Manager Sarah took responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Teaching School, including overseeing the delivery of CPD and large scale conference and events. Prior to this, Sarah worked for the National College of Teaching and Leadership where she managed a number of leadership development programmes before joining the Teaching School team.

  Sarah is passionate about ensuring all school staff are able to work to the best of their abilities and strongly believes that this can be achieved by providing outstanding CPD that is accessible for all staff.

• Emma Johnston
  Financial Accountant - School Support
  Emma Johnston

  Emma joined the trust in September 2017 having worked for Kent County Council in a variety of finance roles for 16 years. Whilst at KCC her work included providing finance support to Kent and Medway schools as well as working as part of a project team to support academy transfers. Whilst at KCC she studied for and successfully gained her Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) & Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualifications. Since joining the trust she provides finance support to all our schools and assists with preparing the annual trust accounts.

• Emma Jones
  Governance & HR Administrator
  Emma Jones

  Emma began her career within the banking industry, holding various roles in Customer Service, complaints handling, and resource & planning. Emma then moved to Italy where she taught English to students from the age of 8 up to 92 years of age! After returning to the UK, Emma worked remotely as an Account Manager for a coffee vending company, Coffee Nation, who were later acquired by Costa. During Emma's 11 years with Costa Express she worked in several roles within Operations and Sales, leading many projects and Managing a team of National Account Executives. In 2019, Emma left the corporate world to join the family business as a Company Director, and was responsible for the accounts and all administration for the business.

  An opportunity then came to join KCSP in October 2022, with the Governance Administrator role giving Emma the opportunity to use her wide-range of work skills, whilst still offering an excellent work-life balance for her and her young family.

• Anouska May
  Financial Accountant
  Anouska May

• Maria Meehan
  Data Manager
  Maria Meehan

• Sarah Ottembrajt
  Governance Officer
  Sarah Ottembrajt

  Sarah joined the Trust Governance Team in summer 2023, bringing with her a wealth of experience from her previous role as Area Business Manager for two of the Trust's primary schools. With over ten years of experience in administration within the Trust, Sarah has developed a deep understanding of school operations and governance, further strengthened by her service as both a Parent and Staff Governor. She holds a Level 3 Certificate in the Clerking of School and Academy Governing Boards and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Governing Body at a maintained school outside the Trust, where she continues to apply and expand her governance expertise. Within the Trust, Sarah clerks for the Trust Board and its sub-committees, and liaises regularly with non-executive directors to support the effective planning and delivery of governance meetings. Sarah is also an active member of the St Thomas More Parish in West Malling, reflecting her strong commitment to community engagement.

• Grainne Parsons
  Strategic Inclusion Lead
  Grainne Parsons

• Eloise Pender
  Finance Assistant
  Eloise Pender

• Trish Shingles
  Governance Officer
  Trish Shingles

  Trish joined KCSP in 2021, beginning her journey with the Trust as a Governance Clerk. This role provided her with invaluable experience and a strong foundation in school governance, which she now draws upon to effectively and knowledgeably support KCSP's team of Clerks in her current role as Governance Officer. Trish also plays a key role in supporting the Trust's complaints process, helping to ensure that concerns are handled fairly, consistently, and in line with statutory guidance.

  Alongside her role, Trish is in the final year of her degree in Psychology, which she feels enhances her understanding of people and strengthens her ability to support colleagues and stakeholders across the Trust. She is proud to work in a role that contributes to the success of schools, supporting them in delivering an excellent education for all children.

• Lucie Turner
  CPD and SCITT Lead
  Lucie Turner