- Home
- About Us
- Local Academy Committee (LAC)
Local Academy Committee (LAC)
Kensington Avenue Primary School is an academy within the Wandle Learning Trust. The Wandle Learning Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees and has oversight of all the academies in the Trust. A Local Academy Committee is responsible for academy-specific matters.
Information on the composition, the role of the Board of Trustees and annual accounts can be found here.
Our LAC Chair is Ayesha Ahad. If you wish to contact the Chair of the LAC or the governance team, please email: governance@wandlelearningtrust.org.uk
Working closely together, the Board of Trustees and the Local Academy Committee have the following core strategic functions:
- Provide strategic oversight of the education provision of the school
- Ensure that stakeholder voice is heard and helps to inform strategic decision-making
- Provide strategic oversight of compliance of the school with Trust policies
- Support the Trust Board to ensure good governance across the Trust
Annual reports of our work
Please click here to see financial statements and information about executive pay.
To see Kensington Avenue's dedicated page on the 'schools financial benchmarking' service, click here.
Meet the LAC members
Ayesha Ahad (Chair)
Ayesha is a dedicated mother of two boys who serve as her inspiration for contributing meaningfully to education and governance. With over two decades of experience in corporate sales within the real estate sector, she developed strong leadership, strategic thinking, and relationship management skills.
Ayesha is deeply passionate about working with children and is committed to ensuring that every child is given the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential. Alongside her governance responsibilities, she teaches part-time at her local mosque and actively volunteers with charities that support disadvantaged children both in the UK and internationally. These roles have enriched her understanding of diverse educational needs and reinforced her commitment to inclusive and supportive learning environments.
Jeanny Kalala (LAC member for SEND)
Jeanny brings experience from both the NHS and youth sport, with a strong commitment to helping every child thrive academically and personally. Her background in the NHS has equipped her with leadership, problem‑solving and safeguarding awareness, while her role leading a gymnastics department has given her valuable insight into children’s confidence, wellbeing and development.
As a young governor, Jeanny offers a fresh perspective on the needs and challenges facing today’s pupils and families. She is passionate about nurturing the whole child and ensuring that school decisions support wellbeing as well as learning. Alongside her professional experience, Jeanny is also an active sportswoman, representing Croydon in the borough’s women’s football team.
Eleanor Keech (LAC member for SEND)
Eleanor lives in south-east London and has over 22 years of experience as an official in the Civil Service, including nearly ten years at the Department for Education. Through this employment, she brings an extensive amount of knowledge and experience of the education system.
Having a keen interest in schools and feeling passionate about making a difference in children’s lives, Eleanor was inspired to join school governance to extend her skillset, knowledge and experience to make a real impact to the lives of children and families, helping every child to achieve their full potential and overcome disadvantage. She looks forward to working with the school, the Local Academy Committee, parents and the wider community to help KAPS thrive.
Kate Lawton (parent-elected LAC member)
Kate graduated from Cambridge University (St John’s College) with a degree in Theology and a Masters in Social Anthropology. She is currently studying part time for a PhD.
For the past 15 years she has worked on fast paced and challenging projects across Government and the public sector in the areas of community cohesion, major infrastructure and Parliamentary planning and management. Her roles have encompassed planning, negotiating, risk, governance, stakeholder management and project controls. She has also been responsible for the development of specific areas of transport policy.
Her child is currently a pupil at Kensington Avenue Primary.
Kelly McEvoy (LAC member)
Kelly joined the KAPS Committee in 2026 and has chaired the LAC at Thomson House School (another primary school within the Wandle Learning Trust) since 2022. She studied Modern Languages at university and built a 13-year career as a Bond Trader at the Royal Bank of Scotland before becoming an Investment Consultant to corporate pension scheme trustees.
Bringing strong strategic skills and a clear commitment to accountability and inclusive education, Kelly is passionate about improving outcomes for children, families and staff, while ensuring the school remains true to its values and ambitions. Alongside her professional responsibilities, Kelly enjoys a busy family life with her husband, two children, and a young Labrador.
Fiona Robinson (LAC member for Safeguarding)
Fiona is a Social Work England registered Social Worker and experienced Service Manager with more than thirteen years’ specialist practice in child safeguarding, children’s welfare and complex assessment work. She brings to the committee a strong grounding in cross-border child protection and multi-agency collaboration, alongside well-developed skills in governance, risk oversight and child-centred decision-making.
In addition to her professional role, Fiona has a strong personal interest in health and wellbeing, particularly running and hiking, as well as spending time with family and friends.
