Our Executive Team
The Executive Team is comprised of the Chief Executive Officer, Director of Operations, Director of Finance, Director of Education and Executive Head Teachers. They are responsible to the Trust Board and ensure consistency across all academies. The Executive Team provides both support and challenge to the Academy Leadership Teams.
Jeremy Meek
Chief Executive Officer
Jeremy started his journey as the CEO of The Kite in September 2023, having gained over sixteen years experience in education, with twelve of those in school leadership. He has dedicated his career to continuously improving education and improving the life chances of all young people.
Jeremy has overseen significant and sustained improvements in a number of schools, including leading schools from inadequate to good and better judgments. He has particular expertise in leadership and behaviour management, having supported a number of schools to achieve outstanding Ofsted grades in these areas. He holds a firm belief that the people at The Kite are its richest resource and, as a result, the Trust has a relentless focus on not just the pupils’ education, but on the support, development and wellbeing of every Kite employee. Jeremy is a serving Trustee with another successful multi academy trust and believes that practice in education should always be informed by evidence and research.
In his spare time, Jeremy enjoys participating in a range of sports and is an avid cyclist and gym enthusiast. He thrives on spending time with his young family and enjoys reading a range of both fiction and non.
Jayne Godolphin
Director of Operations
Jayne is a human resources and business support professional with more than 30 years’ experience in general management, human resources, performance & change management and organisational development, from operations to board level. Working primarily within the public sector, she has led regional HR teams across Surrey, Sussex and Kent, as well as customer services, complaints, governance, marketing and estates management teams. She is an enthusiastic motivator with a collaborative style encouraging engagement from both staff and stakeholders. Jayne is proud to lead strong operational Kite teams who are committed to providing the best environment and supporting a positive culture for all Kite colleagues to work and learn in.
After many years in public service including local authorities, social housing and care services, Jayne finds the education sector to be especially rewarding. To see the incredible impact that great teaching and learning makes on the lives of children and to work alongside such committed and dedicated colleagues is a source of real joy.
In her spare time Jayne enjoys walking and canoeing alongside more creative pastime’s such as painting, sewing and reading.
Jane Coleman
Director of Finance
Jane is an enthusiastic CCAB qualified accountant with over 30 years’ experience working across a variety of public sector and charitable organisations. Having worked previously as Head of Finance for The Kite Academy Trust, she commenced her role as Director of Finance in April 2023.
Jane has significant expertise in strategic financial management and leading finance teams with eight years working in the Academy sector. She has a track record of successfully implementing and developing sound financial systems & controls, to help facilitate effective and timely decision making. Jane enjoys the challenge of developing financial systems to ensure her team produces financial management information of the highest quality. She has a passion for benchmarking and is always striving to ensure that the Trust spends wisely to support its aim of providing the best educational experience for all Kite children.
Jane is a keen swimmer and enjoys paddle boarding or canoeing on the Basingstoke Canal (except the time when she fell under her paddle board in January 2022). She loves spending time in the sea or on ski slopes with her husband and three growing boys.
Matthew Swain
Director of Education
Matthew joined The Kite as its new Director of Education in September 2023. Prior to his appointment, Matthew strategically led the quality of education across eight highly performing primary academies where he achieved consecutive outstanding Ofsted judgements for leadership. He has also been at the forefront of leading national improvements to the teacher education landscape as Deputy Director of the East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Teaching Hub and Head of the regional Appropriate Body.
Throughout his 15 years in education leadership, Matthew has been driven by his belief that all children should enjoy, access and succeed equally at school whatever their background. And it is this belief that has driven him to constantly challenge traditional ways of working. He has built a formidable reputation in the sector for his research led innovations, which include whole school mastery models for mathematics and reading and, most recently, the collaborative working model that underpins The Kite’s recent successes.
Above all things though, Matthew is a father and most of his free time is spent enjoying building Lego with his son and watching his daughter play in her latest football match. In the moments between, he is also a runner and board gamer.
Dee Hughes
Executive Head Teacher
Dee’s career in education and passion for school improvement began 23 years ago when she accepted her first teaching post. She has gained experience of teaching year groups across EYFS, Key Stage One and Key Stage Two which has provided her with a solid understanding of the high-quality teaching and learning, research informed pedagogy and meticulously sequenced curriculum progression needed to ensure all children are able to achieve their full potential.
Dee's leadership career has seen her play a pivotal role in school leadership and school improvement in a wide range of schools; from one and two-form entry schools to most recently, a three-form entry school with an onsite Nursery provision. As Headteacher, Dee has successfully led schools through the academisation process and has proactively taken on the role of Headteacher in schools that require rapid and sustainable school improvement. She is passionate about early years’ education and has strategically led EYFS at a trust wide level for a number of years. Dee has expertise in leadership, behaviour and safeguarding and has secured a number of outstanding Ofsted outcomes in these areas.
In her free time, Dee enjoys spending time with her son and on the weekends, supporting him as he plays for two different football teams. She enjoys reading a wide range of books and going to the cinema. Dee can often be found running in her local area and sets herself the challenge of competing in half marathon races at least two or three times a year.