Yavneh College became an Academy Trust in 2011. In May 2016 it became a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) when Yavneh Primary School was founded and then opened to its first pupils in September 2016.
The role of the MAT is to drive the core strategic functions of the Yavneh Schools, to ensure that each school within the MAT has a clear vision and ethos and that they strive to provide excellent outcomes for all pupils within their ambit. Each of the schools has a Local Governing Body. There are also various sub-committees of the MAT which perform various functions such as Admissions, Premises and Finance and Personnel. The MAT holds school leaders and local governing bodies to account to ensure that the highest possible educational standards are met and sustained.
In order to meet its core objectives, Yavneh College Academy Trust has 10 trustees who sit on the MAT Board, each with a particular focus.
This is the organisational structure of Yavneh College Academy Trust.
MAT Board
Roz Levin (Chair of YCAT & YPS LGB Chair)
Susy Stone (Vice Chair) (YC LGB Chair)
Spencer Lewis (Executive Headteacher)
Natalie Leon (Chair of Finance)
Caroline Field (Observer)
Richard Gilbert
Mike Rubenstein
Aaron Kaye
Jacqui Rudolph
Mike Rubenstein
Joshua Pyzer
Local Governing Bodies
Yavneh College Local Governing Body
Susy Stone (Chair)
Aaron Kaye (Vice Chair)
Spencer Lewis
Richard Gilbert
Michelle Spevick
Cindy Goldstein
Caroline Dulin
Russell Goldstein
Jason Devan
Joshua Pyzer
Yavneh Primary Local Governing Body
Roz Levin (Chair)
Caroline Field
Nicole Wilson
Gemma Peters
Richelle Joseph
Leanne Redstone
Lisa Collins
Mike Rubenstein
Daniel Morris
Ad Hoc Committees
Pupil Disciplinary Committee
Three governors appointed by the MAT board as required – excluding parents and Executive Headteacher / Primary Headteacher
Staff Grievance and Staff Appeals
Three governors appointed by the MAT board as required – excluding parents and Executive Headteacher / Primary Headteacher
Admissions
Richard Gilbert (Chair)
Spencer Lewis
Caroline Field
Susy Stone
Aaron Kaye
Standing Committees
Finance and Premises Committee
Spencer Lewis
Aaron Kaye
Caroline Field
Susy Stone
Richelle Joseph
Natalie Leon
Personnel Committee
Michael Rubenstein (Chair)
Roz Levin
Spencer Lewis
Caroline Field
Susy Stone
Meet our Trustees
Roz Levin
Chair of Yavneh College Academy Trust
Chair of the Yavneh Primary and Local Governing Body
Roz qualified as a teacher in 1973 and has been involved in education all her working life. Roz was Headteacher of Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School until her retirement in July 2014. Roz enjoys spending time with her family; reading, theatre, travel and volunteering. Roz is a trustee on the MAT Board and is the Chair of the Local Governing Body of Yavneh Primary School.
Spencer Lewis
Trustee since May 2016 – previously a governor of Yavneh College
Executive Headteacher
Spencer Lewis was educated at Hasmonean High School in London and moved on to Jews College London where he gained a BA and MA in Rabbinic Literature from the University of London. After graduating Spencer began his teaching career at Hasmonean High School and the Independent Jewish Day School. In 1993 Spencer spent a year at Bar Ilan University in Israel on the Senior Educators’ Programme after which he joined King Solomon High School in Redbridge. Spencer spent 19 years at King Solomon beginning as a teacher going on to Head the Jewish Studies department, moving to Head of Year, Assistant and Deputy Head Teacher and finally Head Teacher between 2007 and 2013. Spencer has a Post Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership from the University of Hull and the National Professional Qualification for Headship from the NCSL. He was appointed as Head Teacher of Yavneh College in September 2013.
Susy Stone
Trustee since March 2019
Chair of the Yavneh College Local Governing Body
Susy is a retired Headteacher with over 40 years experience in Education. She was Head of Bell Lane Primary and of Akiva School and served as a governor of both schools and of JFS, where she taught and was a parent.
Susy is a Steering Group member for Pikuach and a Trustee of Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS). She and her husband, Maurice founded and direct the Israeli Dance Institute, which amongst other projects supports dance activities in Jewish schools.
Richard Gilbert
Trustee since November 2018
Chair of the Admissions Committee
Richard Gilbert has two sons, both of whom are pupils at Yavneh College. Richard has been a Governor of Yavneh College for many years having sat on the school’s Temporary Governing Body before the school opened and then on the school’s Governing Body until the formation of the Multi Academy Trust. Richard chaired the Education Committee for many years, sat on the Finance Committee and has been the Governor with responsibility for Child Protection issues. Since the formation of the Multi Academy Trust, Richard sits on the Local Governing Body for Yavneh College as its Vice Chair.
Richard is also very active in the Bushey Community currently serving as Warden for Bushey Synagogue. He is a practising solicitor.
Aaron Kaye
Trustee since September 2019
Vice Chair of the Yavneh College Local Governing Body
Aaron and his wife have lived in Borehamwood for 9 years and have three children, all of whom attend Rosh Pinah Primary School. Aaron is an active member of the Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue and Aaron has served on the Board of Management and various other committees for the Shul, whilst his day job is that of an internal Financial Analyst for Springer Nature Publishers.
Aaron has been unofficially helping Yavneh since 2011, with data, statistics and communications for the Yavneh College Primary School and more recently, admissions related issues and demographics for Yavneh College. Aaron joined the Yavneh College Local Governing Body in July 2016, where he hopes to use his analytical and statistical strengths on both admissions and wider school performance data.
Jacqui Rudolph
Trustee since May 2019
Jacqui has been the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator at Menorah High School for Girls since 2006 and before that was SENCO at Mathilda Marks Primary School. For a number of years Jacqui was the vice-chair of the Stanmore and Canons Park United Synagogue where she continues to be involved in communal affairs. Jacqui was a Yavneh parent for 7 years, “graduating” in 2016. She has also been a parent at Immanuel College and JFS, so has wide experience of Jewish schools both as a parent and as a professional.
Natalie Leon
Trustee since October 2022
I am a Chartered Accountant and commercially astute Senior Executive, with 25 years’ experience working within the Corporate, Advisory, Not for Profit and Education sectors. I am a collaborative leader of diverse specialist functions – Finance, Operations, IT, Governance, Company Secretariat and HR and pride myself on balancing the strategic vision with an eye for detail and total commitment to excellence.
Currently, I am the Director of Finance and Resources for the Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools, which comprises 2,650 students and 500+ staff, with responsibility for their Finance, HR and IT functions. I am also a trustee of two grant making charities, one of which supports children in the Jewish community.
I have two primary school-aged children and live locally in Elstree.
Yavneh College Local Governing Body
Susy Stone is chair of the Yavneh College Local Governing Body. In addition to Susy, Spencer, Richard, Susy and Jacqui are also MAT board Trustees who sit on the local governing body. Rolanda is also supported by the governors detailed below.
Michelle Spevick
Michelle Spevick is a co-opted governor at Yavneh College and has two girls, one of whom is a pupil at Yavneh College. Michelle is an in-house Real Estate Solicitor for University College London.
Cindy Goldstein
Cindy lives in Borehamwood with her husband, Michael, and their three children. They have been parents at Yavneh College since 2016 and currently have two children in the school.
Cindy gained her MSc(Med) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and has been involved in medical research since 2003. As a Clinical Project Manager, Cindy is responsible for coordinating a portfolio of clinical research projects, working collaboratively to ensure the safe, compliant, and successful delivery of the trial from start to finish. Cindy is an active member of the Borehamwood and Elstree community and has been involved in a wide range of committees and activities. Cindy served as a member of the Board of Management for three years, before accepting a role as an Honorary Officer in 2019 with responsibility for BES@Yavneh.
Cindy is excited to be in a position to use her skills and experience to contribute to the governance of Yavneh College, ensuring that all students can explore their full potential in a warm, safe and nurturing environment.
Russel Goldstein
Russell is the Head of Year 9 and a Business Studies Teacher at Yavneh College, with previous experience working in the Recruitment sector. He also has over 50 international appearances for England Futsal.
Jason Devan
Jason is an economics graduate from Manchester University and a qualified ACA accountant. After a brief period learning in Yeshiva, he realised that instead of making sets of company accounts, he would rather try to mould and help build young people through teaching. He has given himself a 5 year deadline to see if this better suits him and if not, will head back once again to the audit world.
Joshua Pyzer
Staff Governor – Appointed October 2024
Josh lives in Borehamwood with his wife and 2 children, who attend Sinai Jewish Primary School and are all active members of Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue. He attended Yavneh College in only the 2nd year of intake for the 6th form, graduating in 2011, going on to study maths and physics at UCL thanks to the grades achieved with the help of the school. Josh now works in the investment industry, managing pension scheme assets.
Yavneh Primary School Local Governing Body
Roz Levin was appointed chair of the Yavneh Primary School Local Governing Body in June 2017. In addition to Roz, Rolanda is also a MAT board Trustee who sits on the local governing body. Roz is also supported by the governors detailed below.
Caroline Field
Caroline Field was educated at Haberdashers Aske School for Girls before going to Manchester Metropolitan University where she graduated in 1997 with a First Class Degree in Primary Education. Caroline began her career at Colindale Primary School. During this time, she studied and gained a Certificate in Specific Learning Difficulties before moving to Dollis Infant School where she worked as a Special Educational Needs Leader.
In 2004 Caroline moved to Menorah Foundation School where she took up the role of Deputy Headteacher. She was promoted to Headteacher in 2013 where her leadership was rated outstanding by Ofsted. Caroline has the National Professional Qualification for Headship from the NCSL. Caroline was appointed Headteacher of Yavneh Primary School in November 2015 and has been instrumental in setting up Yavneh Primary School which opened in September 2016 with its first cohort of Reception children.
Gemma Peters
Gemma Peters is a co-opted governor on the Yavneh Primary School Local Governing Body. She is the Deputy Head teacher of a Jewish Primary School. Gemma has responsibility for SEND on the Yavneh Primary School Local Governing Body. Gemma has a child at Yavneh Primary School.
Richelle Joseph
Richelle Joseph’s Corporate Clothing business started 27 years ago and is now a global corporation with offices in the USA, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. Outside of business Richelle chairs a charity, volunteers at a local hospital and enjoys spending time with family and friends. Her son and his wife live in Israel with her grandchildren. The skills she learnt both in business and working with charities have given her a good understanding of problems facing young people in the ever-changing world.
Leanne Redstone
Leanne has been a secondary school teacher since 2001. She has taken on a variety of leadership roles and has taught both in England and Australia., She is devoted to providing the highest education standard for our children.
Mike Rubenstein
Daniel Morris
I am an E-commerce & Marketing Manager. My wife and I have lived in Borehamwood since we got married and we have two sons. One in reception and one who will join reception in 2024.
Nicole Wilson
Staff Governor – Appointed January 2019
Nicole has been in Yavneh Primary School since the school opened in 2016 and is now the Assistant Headteacher there. She has been teaching for over 10 years and is dedicated to providing the best experiences for the children.
Lisa Collins
Staff Governor – appointed February 2020
Lisa has been at Yavneh Primary since the beginning helping to build up the school to where it is now. She previously worked for the UJIA for 12 years before taking on a role within the Yavneh family.
She has 2 children who have both been through the Jewish education system. Lisa loves to travel and is always planning her next adventure.
