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At St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust, performance is about helping every school — and every child — to flourish. Guided by our shared mission and values, we work to ensure that high standards, strong attendance, and a culture of safeguarding are at the heart of every classroom and school. Led by Phil Smith, Chief Performance Officer, the Performance Team supports school improvement across the Trust, so that together we continue to make Christ known and make lives better for all our children and young people.

Whether you’re a leader, a teacher, or a visitor wanting to learn more about how we drive excellence, we’re glad you’re here.

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Why Performance Matters

Behind every thriving school is a culture of high expectations, care, and continuous improvement. The Performance Team plays a vital role in helping our schools live out the Trust’s mission — making Christ known and making lives better — by ensuring that every pupil is supported to achieve their fullest potential.

Led by Phil Smith, Chief Performance Officer, the team works in close partnership with headteachers and school leaders to strengthen teaching and learning, raise standards, and foster environments where excellence and inclusion go hand in hand. Their work is rooted in the belief that improvement is not simply about results, but about developing people — nurturing the talent, confidence, and wellbeing of both pupils and staff.

Attendance and safeguarding are also central to the team’s focus. Every child deserves to be present, safe, and ready to learn each day. Through proactive support and shared accountability, the Performance Team helps schools remove barriers, celebrate progress, and ensure that no child is left behind.

Their contribution may not always be visible, but it is felt in every classroom, every conversation, and every success story across our Trust. By working together, they help our schools to be places of joy, learning, and transformation — where performance is a reflection of our shared purpose and faith in action.

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School Improvement

At St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust, our commitment to excellence in every classroom is lived out daily through the work of our Regional Performance and Improvement Officers. Working closely with school leaders, they bring expertise, challenge, and encouragement to help every school — and every child — flourish.

Our Primary Regional Performance Officers, Chris Horridge and Helen Arnold, work alongside headteachers and staff to strengthen teaching, learning, and curriculum across our primary schools. They provide tailored support, celebrate what’s working well, and identify opportunities for growth — ensuring that each school’s distinctive character is honoured while standards continue to rise. Through their deep understanding of primary education, they help build the confidence, consistency, and creativity that drive lasting improvement.

In our secondary schools, Jeni Almond, our Regional Improvement Officer, leads school improvement work with the same passion and precision. Drawing on a wealth of experience in secondary leadership, Jeni supports schools to deliver ambitious outcomes for all learners — from academic excellence to personal development and preparation for life beyond school.

Together, Chris, Helen, and Jeni embody the Trust’s belief that improvement is a shared journey. Their work is not just about raising results, but about building capacity, empowering leaders, and ensuring that every young person experiences a rich, safe, and inspiring education. Through collaboration, compassion, and professional excellence, they help make Christ known and make lives better across all our schools.

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Safeguarding

At St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust, safeguarding is more than a duty — it is a calling rooted in our mission to make Christ known and make lives better. Every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and supported, and our approach to safeguarding ensures that this belief is lived out in every school, every day.

Led by Pauline Baker, Head of Safeguarding, our Trust-wide safeguarding work focuses on creating a culture of vigilance, care, and proactive support. Pauline provides expert guidance and challenge to Designated Safeguarding Leads, senior leaders, and governors across all schools, ensuring that safeguarding remains at the heart of every decision and action.

Her work goes beyond compliance — it’s about building confidence and capability within our schools. Through training, policy development, and reflective practice, Pauline helps staff recognise the signs of need, respond effectively, and work collaboratively with families and external agencies to protect and nurture every child.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and under Pauline’s leadership, our schools are empowered to live out that truth. Her dedication ensures that each of our communities remains a place where children can learn, grow, and thrive — secure in the knowledge that they are cared for and loved.

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Attendance

At St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust, we believe that every day in school matters — for learning, for wellbeing, and for life. Regular attendance is not simply a statistic; it’s a reflection of belonging, opportunity, and care. That’s why our approach is built on the belief that attendance is everyone’s business.

Led by Jo Davies, Trust Attendance Lead, and supported by Taylor Davidson , Regional Attendance Officer, our Attendance Team works in close partnership with schools to ensure that every pupil is known, supported, and encouraged to attend every day. Together, they provide expert guidance, practical tools, and targeted intervention to help schools remove barriers and build strong, trusting relationships with families.

Their work combines compassion with accountability — recognising that improving attendance is about understanding the whole child, not just the numbers. By bringing together leaders, teachers, pastoral teams, and parents, Jo and Taylor help to create a culture where being in school is valued, expected, and celebrated.

Through their dedication and the commitment of staff across our Trust, we continue to make a powerful difference — one pupil, one family, one school day at a time.

STOC Performance Team

To learn more about our brilliant Performance Team, their experiences and why they are so passionate about the positive differences that they can make, click on the images below:

Chief Performance Officer

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Chief Performance Officer - Phil Smith

Phil joined STOC as Chief Performance Officer in February 2024 and prior to this was Director of Education for Great Academies Education Trust.

He is a qualified teacher with extensive middle and senior leadership experience across secondary schools in the Northwest, including being a former HMI and National Lead for History and Inspector Training. His experience includes serving as a Local Authority Senior School Improvement Officer and an accredited School Improvement Partner, working across secondary, primary, and special school phases.

His work has contributed to significant improvements in outcomes, attendance, and behaviour, alongside sustained trust-wide improvement.

His responsibilities include oversight of the school improvement service, safeguarding service, attendance service and the professional and career development service.

School Improvement

Regional Performance Officer - Helen Arnold

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Regional Performance Officer - Helen Arnold

Helen has worked in Catholic Education in Salford Diocese for 32 years and served as Headteacher for 15 years. Under Helen’s leadership her school was consistently judged as Good by both OFSTED and the Catholic Schools Inspectorate.

Helen has experience in providing school to school support as LLE and has served as Section 48 inspector for Salford Diocese. She chaired the Emmaus Federation of Catholic Schools in Rochdale for seven years and co-chaired Rochdale Association of Primary and Early Years Headteachers for two years before joining STOC.

Regional Performance Officer

Regional Performance Officer - Chris Horridge

Chris has worked in Catholic Education since 2002; having over 18 years leadership experience. Before joining the performance team at St Teresa of Calcutta in June 2024, he was a Primary Headteacher. Under his leadership, the school secured both a ‘CSI’ and Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ judgement in 2023.

Chris is currently undertaking the National Qualification in Executive Leadership (NPQEL) and continues to be a serving CSI inspector. Over the last five years, Chris has worked with the PTI, (formerly The Prince’s Teaching Institute) a charitable organisation dedicated to providing the best possible, subject specific CPD for teachers. Often linked to universities and research hubs, Chris has worked with the PTI to source the most relevant and current speakers to tailor bespoke training packages to groups of schools.

Regional Improvement Officer - Jennifer Almond

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Regional Improvement Officer - Jennifer Almond

Jeni has over 15 years’ experience in secondary education, having served as Executive Headteacher, Headteacher and senior leader across a range of school contexts. A qualified Business Studies teacher with previous industry experience in leadership and management, she has also worked as a GCSE examiner.

Before joining St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust, Jeni led significant school improvement work with a strong focus on curriculum development, quality assurance and staff development.

Jeni has recently completed the National Qualification in Executive Leadership (NPQEL) and working towards Chartered Leadership Status through the Chartered College of Teaching. She also holds the NPQH, NPQSL, NPQML, the Catholic Certificate of Religious Studies (CCRS) and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Management.

A skilled coach and facilitator, Jeni is passionate about values-led leadership and developing leadership capacity through coaching, training and professional learning communities.

Safeguarding

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Head of Safeguarding - Pauline Baker

Pauline is a Safeguarding professional with over 20 years’ experience of ensuring the protection and wellbeing of children and young people. She has expertise in developing safeguarding policy, staff training and multi-agency collaboration as well as a proven track record of working with regulatory bodies – conducting thorough investigations and developing preventative strategies to mitigate risk. Her extensive knowledge, skills and experience have been developed from working within various sectors including Education, Local Authority children’s Social Care and Elite Sports.

She has a proven track record of successfully leading teams to implement safeguarding protocols, risk assessments and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks.

Attendance

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Trust Attendance Lead - Jo Davies

Jo began her career in education at Castlebrook High School (Unsworth Academy) in 2004 as a non-teaching Head of Year. In this role, she successfully led initiatives to improve attendance and punctuality, working closely with the Local Authority (LA). In 2012, Jo joined Bury LA as an Education Welfare Officer, where she was based at St Monica’s RC High School. There, she continued to focus on attendance improvement while also serving as Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL). In 2017, she joined St Monica’s RC High School full-time as Family Liaison Officer and DDSL, maintaining her leadership on attendance and working closely with families to eliminate barriers to education.

In 2023, Jo undertook a secondment as Attendance Lead for the Trust, successfully enhancing attendance across several schools. Her achievements led to her appointment as the Trust Attendance Lead on a full-time basis in September 2024. She remains committed to supporting and challenging school leaders in implementing whole-school strategies to improve attendance and help every child achieve their full potential.

Regional Attendance Officer - Taylor Davidson

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Regional Attendance Officer - Taylor Davidson

With over a decade of experience working with children, young people, and families in education, Taylor is committed to improving outcomes for all learners through a strategic, compassionate, and evidence-based approach. He has driven improvements in attendance, safeguarding, and pastoral care across a range of settings, including large secondary schools and specialist provisions.

As Regional Attendance Officer, Taylor develops and implements strategies to strengthen attendance practice and culture across the Trust.

Previously, he held senior roles in safeguarding, pastoral leadership, and HR, designing policies that strengthened compliance, wellbeing, and operational effectiveness. His experience as a trainee social worker deepened his understanding of relationship-based practice, anti-oppressive approaches, and multi-agency collaboration, which continue to shape his work supporting families with complex needs.

Throughout his career, Taylor has led teams with empathy and high expectations, driving improvements in attendance, safeguarding, staff development, and partnerships with families and external agencies. Passionate about social justice and equality of opportunity, he is committed to creating lasting, positive change.

Make Christ Known; Making Lives Better

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STOC Performance Team

Chief Performance Officer

School Improvement

Safeguarding

Attendance

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