Academy Council
| Academy Council | Role |
| Andrea Wills | Chair of Academy Council, Chair of Trustees |
| Craig Abbs | Head Teacher, Soundwell |
| Ali Cade | Councillor |
| Martyn Hinan | Councillor |
| Sandie Davis | Local Authority Councillor |
| Emily Currant | Teaching Staff Representative |
| Leanne Bush | Support Staff Representative |
| Bob Taylor | Parent/Carer Representative |
| Kelly Field | Parent/Carer Representative |
| Regan Meares | Councillor |
| Learn@ MAT | Role |
| Colin Cattanach | Chief Executive Officer |
| Rebecca Watkins | Chief Finance and Operations Officer |
| Elizabeth Jahn | Clerk |
To contact the Clerk to the Governing Body, email Elizabeth.Jahn@learnmat.uk
The Chair of the Academy Council, Andrea Wills can be contacted using
| Soundwell Academy Link Councillor Roles | |
| Role | Name |
| Chair | Andrea Wills |
| Vice Chair | Alison Cade |
| Children in Care / Young Carers Councillor | Alison Cade |
| Finance Councillor | Martyn Hinam |
| Health & Safety Councillor | Martyn Hinam |
| MAT Trustee | Andrea Wills |
| Parent Representative | Kelly Field |
| Parent Representative | Bob Taylor |
| Pupil Premium Councillor | Alison Cade |
| Safeguarding Councillor | Alison Cade |
| Special Educational Needs & Disability Councillor | Sandie Davis |
| Support Staff Representative | Leanne Bush |
| Teaching Staff Representative | Emily Currant |
MEET THE ACADEMY COUNCIL
Craig Abbs, Headteacher
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board, Ex-Officio
Craig has been in teaching for 15 years and is passionate about teaching, learning and the social and emotional development of the students and recognises and values the opportunities provided by a collocated specialist SEMH and SLCN provision with a short break (respite) residential facility.
For 12 of those years, Craig has taught in Alternative Provision and Special schools. He is passionate about the pupils getting local high-quality provisions that will meet their needs He has held Leadership roles for 7 years in a variety of provisions.
He has lived in South Gloucestershire for much of his life and previously worked in Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset.
Craig will often be out running, cycling or walking the dog. He is keen on sports, recently completing the Cotswold 70.3 Triathlon.
Andrea Wills, Chair of Soundwell Academy Council
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board from 14 May 2020 - 13 May 2023
Andrea lives in South Gloucestershire and was a trustee with Learn@MAT from September 2017 until her resignation in November 2022. Over the last five years she has served as both vice-chair and chair of the Board. She has extensive governance experience with specialist knowledge of broadcasting regulation in the UK and Australia. She was Independent Editorial Adviser to the BBC Trust and investigated complex complaints over the decade it existed. She began her career as a journalist at BBC Radio Bristol, then a TV producer in the Natural History Unit, and finally Chief Adviser with the BBC’s Editorial Policy team. Andrea is on the Appeals Panel for the Video Standards Council Rating Board and is on the Board of the press regulator, IMPRESS, and is chair of its Standards Code Committee.
Martyn Hinam, Academy Councillor
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board from 14 May 2020 - 13 May 2023
Martyn Hinam is the manager of Kingswood Active Lifestyle Centre and enjoys developing his team to create a great environment for staff and customers.
The community is of great importance to Martyn, where he has created several initiatives to help adults and children with abilities and disabilities to become physically and mentally healthier.
He has been working in the leisure industry for over 25 year, where he has gained a wealth of experience from a wide range of areas.
Martyn enjoys spending time with his family and two children, especially outdoors in the fresh air. In his spare time, he is a tai chi instructor, who has over the last 16 years worked with a variety of people and groups including Choices 4 U, The Priory, health clubs and leisure centres.
​​Emily Currant, Teaching Staff Representative
Elected by Staff from 14 May 2020 - 13 May 2023
Emily trained at the University of Gloucestershire specialising in Mathematics and Art. She then moved to Bath where she taught Year 1 for 2 years and headed PSHE. She endeavours to make every lesson creative and engaging using art as a means of doing this. When Emily is not teaching she enjoys baking and ice skating.
Leanne Bush, Support Staff Representative
Elected by Staff from 23 September 2020 - 22 September 2023
Leanne has worked for Learn@MAT for 3 years, first in the Pastoral Team, she learnt many skills on how to work with different children when they are in crisis. She then became a Learning Facilitator in Key Stage 3, working closely with the young people ensuring that I supported their daily learning and social needs.
Since coming to Soundwell Academy Leanne has become an HLTA working with individual children to help them manage their behaviour and ensure that they are aware of the personalised steps they can take when they feel like they are in danger of escalating.
Previously Leanne worked in a mainstream school looking after SEND students and the behaviour of other children within the setting.
Alison Cade, Academy Councillor
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board from 14 May 2020 - 13 May 2023
Ali Cade has been a foster carer and encourager for eight years. She loves cooking, baking and crafting.
Ali wants to see young people achieve the best they can in life through education and life skills.
Through her experience and training in fostering she hopes she can make a difference for the young people at Soundwell academy
Sandie Davis, Academy Councillor
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board from 14 May 2020 - 13 May 2023
Sandie has been a foster carer for 38 years specialising in the care of children who have disabilities or additional needs, usually on a permanent basis, also adopting twice. Throughout this time it has been evident that good quality, appropriate education has been vital for the well-being of her children.　 All six of her adult children and their children live in South Glos and keep Sandie grounded but busy.　　
One of her grandchildren has ASD and unfortunately, no South Glos school could offer him a place, he was out of school for almost a year before being placed at an Independent school out of our LA. Sandie saw first hand the trauma and worry this had on the whole family but particularly on the child. She desperately wants to see more local provisions being offered and saw Soundwell Academy being part of this. In 2019 Sandie became a councillor in the New Cheltenham Ward where Soundwell Academy is placed and was very pleased to be asked to serve on the Academy Council
Bob Taylor, Parent/Carer Support Representative
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board from 10 November 2020 - 09 November 2023
My wife Sue and I have been foster carers for the past 7 years. I worked for the Post Office in various roles for 25 years before finishing with them in 2014. I sat on the board of Sovereign Housing Association for 2 years as a tenant governor until 2016.
We currently have two foster children who both attend specialist education, one is at Soundwell.
I enjoy going out for walks with the children and our dog. We are lucky enough to live by the docks, Ashton Court and Bristol City FC, so we are out as much as we can be.
Kelly Field, Parent/Carer Support Representative
Appointed by Learn@ MAT Board from 10 November 2020 - 09 November 2023
After noticing differences and the struggles her youngest son was having, he was put on the pathway to an autism diagnosis. It has been a steep learning curve and Kelly wants to do what she can to ensure young people are not misunderstood and have the difficult experiences her son did in education.
Working in the food and drink sector in marketing, education is a welcome change full of new learnings!
Outside of working and looking after her two boys Kelly loves getting out for walks, enjoying animals and nature, but also watching basketball and rugby when she is allowed!
With the recent lockdowns, Kelly took up running which is almost unheard of for her!
Regan Meares
Academy Councillor
Appointed by the Learn@ MAT Board 17 October 2022 - 16 October 2025
Regan is a new curate at St Stephens Church in Soundwell. He was ordained in July after studying at Trinity College. Regan enjoys meeting and getting to know people because he believes everyone has a story to tell. His hobbies are listening to music, watching films and going out for a run whenever he can.