Staffing Structure

The Senior Leadership Team

• Mr Damian Owen - Principal
   Mr Owen has over 25 years’ experience of teaching and leadership in a range of settings, working in some of the most deprived areas of the country to turn around the performance of failing schools, as well as moving Good schools to Outstanding status. He came to Manchester Health Academy in September 2013 and has been instrumental in leading its development to a Good judgement by Ofsted within eighteen months of his arrival. He continues to develop the quality of teaching and learning and works with a number of other schools in sharing excellent practice. He is also a member of the Ofsted Focus Group for schools in challenging circumstances, developing the ways in which schools are inspected. Mr Owen is a keen sportsman and has found the perfect role at the Health Academy, where the focus on the mental and physical wellbeing of children is at the heart of everything the Academy does.

• Mr Kevin Green - Vice Principal
   Mr Green originally began his career in engineering, completing a four year apprenticeship and working for the Ministry of Defence. He subsequently set up a sub-contract engineering company with a colleague, before selling the business to embark on a new career in teaching. Mr Green’s teaching career spans twenty years, working in five schools, three of them being deemed ‘outstanding’ providers. He has progressed from being a teacher of Design Technology, through to Curriculum Leader for this subject before moving into senior leadership. He was an Assistant Principal responsible for Key Stage 4 for five years before moving to Manchester Health Academy as Vice Principal.
• Mrs Louise Staunton - Strategic Director of Finance and Corporate Services
   Mrs Staunton has over 15 years’ experience of education finance.  Mrs Staunton has held a number of roles in education finance, providing financial advice and support to a number of schools in a vast range of settings.  Mrs Staunton held the role of education finance officer on behalf of the local authority for a number of years before progressing to finance manager in a single Academy Trust.  Mrs Staunton further qualified as an ACCA Accountant in 2006 and was appointed as Business and Finance Director. This is where she established a business management partnership, providing business and finance services to schools across the local authority.  Louise has worked closely with the National College for Teaching & Leadership as regional business manager advocate and partnership adviser, promoting school business management collaborations across the North West.  Mrs Staunton has since gained her advanced diploma in education business management and  a post graduate qualification in educational leadership prior to commencing her role at the Academy
• Mrs Julie Hawkins - Assistant Principal
   Mrs Hawkins has worked in the education sector for more than twenty five years having previously worked in as an engineer, designer and marketer. Her experience within education has been across KS1, 2, 3 and 4 in various leadership roles including school improvement.
  Being part of the original leadership team who were responsible for the successful opening of Manchester Health Academy in 2009, her main responsibilities are Transition from KS2 to KS3, Safeguarding and Senior Leadership of the Performance Team.
  A very keen sportsperson, Mrs Hawkins really believes that the values promoted at the Academy are the keys to success and reaching one’s full potential.
• Mr Peter Jones - Assistant Principal
   Mr Jones’ career spans thirty nine years teaching in Manchester and he started his first ever teaching position on this site in 1976. He was raised and educated in Wythenshawe and has always had a particular affinity with this area. Mr Jones has been involved since the Academy was started in 2009 and was part of the first senior leadership team under Mr Burke as Assistant Vice Principal.
  Mr Jones currently has responsibility for Behaviour & Attendance and overseas year 9, 10 & 11. He is particularly proud of the Academy’s pupil attendance record which has been consistently the highest in the south of Manchester. Both behaviour and attendance were praised by the Ofsted team during their inspection in April 2015.
• Miss Lucy Neukom - Assistant Principal
   Miss Neukom has been an English teacher for twelve years, working as a Lead Teacher with responsibility for running targeted interventions and mentoring trainees before becoming Curriculum Lead for English at the Academy. As an English practitioner, her passion is for inspiring a love of reading and raising the profile of Literacy to enable all students to have the best possible opportunities in the future. Through the Assistant Principal role, Miss Neukom has led the motivational Pride Protocols resulting in a positive focus on discipline which has now become part of the whole Academy value system. She is also responsible for developing outstanding features of teaching and learning within lessons, leading a team of advocates to support new and existing colleagues.
• Mrs Helen Walker - Associate Assistant Principal (Director of Specialism)
   Mrs Walker began her career as a Nurse and a Midwife. Following five years clinical experience she completed a BSc in Health Care and Welfare and teaching qualifications and went onto teach post 16 students and adults Health, Social Care and Early Years at several Further Education Colleges. She then moved onto Salford Children’s Services as Diploma Co-ordinator , engaging with major employers and Sector Skills Councils in order to fund and develop bespoke programmes for Schools and Colleges across the City.
  Mrs Walker joined the team at Manchester Health Academy in 2010, teaching Health across the Academy and acting as Curriculum Leader for Health, Humanities and Modern Foreign Languages. She is a pivotal link with our sponsor, Central Manchester Hospitals, managing practical learning experiences for our students within both clinical and non clinical areas of the hospital. In her role as Director of Health she has a specific focus on emotional health and well being, in particular the promotion of resiliency. She also oversees the curriculum in Health, Food and Science. Mrs Walker has recently completed her MA in Education and is a Teaching Leaders Fellow.

• Mrs Allison Cowan - Associate Assistant Principal
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• Dr Rachel Martin - Associate Assistant Principal
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Curriculum Leaders

• Mrs Helen Cates – English
• Mr Tony Dennis – Performance
• Mr Mark Newman – Mathematics
• Dr Rachel Martin – Science

Support Staff

• Jane Roddy – Business & Marketing Manager
• Dom Cook – ICT Manager
• Bob McCluskie – Site Manager
• Marice Gilbert – Attendance Officer
• Leanne Maguire – Safeguarding Officer

Welfare Team

• Sonja Evason – Welfare Leader
• Lisa Donnelly – Year 7 Welfare Co-ordinator
• Clare Dutton – Year 8 Welfare Co-ordinator       Steph Watkins – Assistant Year 8 Welfare Co-ordinator
• Tina Spencer- Year 9 Welfare Co-ordinator
• Nicola Sheridan – Year 10 Welfare Co-ordinator
• Megan Offord – Year 11 Welfare Co-ordinator