Governance for our two schools, Centre Academy London and Centre Academy East Anglia, brings together the heads of both schools and the proprietor. In essence, the membership of Governance provides significant expertise in education, in SEN, and in all aspects of each of the two schools. It also brings together those persons who can action proposals and changes. Finally, it provides a direct link between Governance and the school. The CA Schools Governance has earned praise from various key bodies, including ISA, and Ofsted. Governance for the CA Schools provides the following: clarity of vision; understanding of the Ethos of the Schools; ability to hold school leaders to account; strategic leadership; financial health; cultural values; collaboration with stakeholders.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Chair of Proprietor Board
Rohan Murphy is the Chair of our Proprietor Board. Rohan graduated from Trinity College, University of Dublin with a B.A. in Business and Economics. After this he went into finance working for a global insurance company where he gained his Chartered Financial Analyst accreditation. Rohan was a fund manager and analyst working on equities with a focus on energy. A large amount of his time was spent working on the energy transition and investing to solve the climate emergency. Rohan has been involved with the Centre Academy Schools for many years as an interested family member however in 2022 it became a full-time role.
Contact email: rohan@centreacademy.co.uk
Mrs Lisa Gilbert, BA Distinction, Post Grad Cert, PAPPA Lev 7, NASENCO Award, Head of School, Centre Academy East Anglia
Mrs Gilbert joined CAEA as the schools SENCo and a member of the Senior Management in 2018. Mrs Gilbert has experience as an educator in special education and mainstream settings. She is a highly qualified professional and has a passion for special needs. In October 2022, Mrs Gilbert became the Head of School and continues to lead CAEA forward into ensuring our students thrive and achieve.
Contact email: l.gilbert@centreacademy.uk
Mr Michael Jeffrey, BA, ALCM, Head of School, Centre Academy London
Joining Centre Academy in January 2019 marked a complete change of direction for Michael. He started as a general cover and music teacher but soon felt he would like to contribute much more to school life. In March 2023 he started ‘Job Done’, the school’s substantial work experience programme, and pledged that every student would leave Centre Academy with either an apprenticeship, or a work or college place. He then took over admissions and increased the number to capacity. Michael has a deep respect for those who are involved in SEN education and believes in giving his staff the independence and autonomy required to develop an extra special teaching and learning environment. He became Head of School in January 2025 with one simple guiding principal – to create a school that everyone wants to be a part of.
Contact email: mjeffrey@centreacademy.co.uk
Mr Michael (Mike) Nicholls MA GCGI. Governor, Centre Academy East Anglia
Mike enjoyed a full military career encompassing operational, training, staff and diplomatic postings including many overseas. Since leaving the military, he has worked in Africa in conservation and security capacity development. He is an associate with Othrys and UDSS, as well as working with other International Companies supporting defence development and training. He has recently qualified as a CFR and also as a level 3 (International) Responder with UK RE: Act, a humanitarian disaster relief organisation.
Mrs Fiona Binks, Governor, Centre Academy East Anglia
Fiona graduated from university with a degree in Maritime and Business and began a successful career in that field. Starting a family and moving to Suffolk meant a change of direction and Fiona had an interior design business for several years, which still remains a passion. For the last 10 years she has managed finance for some of her family’s businesses which took her back to her original career in Shipping.
Rebecca (Becky) Rolph, BSc (Hons), PGDE, Governor, Centre Academy London
After university, Becky spent the first 3 years of her career teaching at a secondary school in Cardiff while completing her Post Grad Diploma in Education through the Teach First Programme. She gained further experience teaching in secondary schools across Yorkshire while also volunteering with the local Scouts Group in the evenings. She has since moved onto a role in Management Consulting at Deloitte and has been there for the past 3 years with the majority of her work focussed on Investment Banking Operations. While at Deloitte Becky has led a collaboration with HSBC to enable Deloitte volunteers to deliver financial education to over 2000 students across the UK.
Proprietor: Rohan Murphy – 07793 563 281, rohan@centreacademy.co.uk
