Please find below details of how our Governing body is structured, including the names and categories for each Governor.
The Governing Body
The School’s Governing Body is proud to be part of the progress that the school is making and is highly committed to ensuring Birch Wood’s vision and ethos continue to underpin its success.
The Governing Body is a group of volunteers organised within the Education Act 2012 and the Regulations associated with that Act that came into force in 2012 and 2013.
The Governing Body has three core functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, aims, ethos and strategic direction;
- Seeking to ensure the educational performance of the School and all of its pupils; and
- Oversight of the School’s financial performance, use of resources and performance management
These functions are exercised via the Governing Body and its respective committees. These committees are:
- Behaviour, Attitudes, Health & Safety
- Quality of Education
- Finance and Staffing
The Governing Body and its Committees oversee and approve the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and within that Plan have identified particular areas of focus for evaluation and review. There are regular meetings of the committees (where members of the School’s leadership team are also present), and the full Governing Body, together with frequent meetings between members of the Governing Body and members of the School. These meetings, and these contacts, create a governors monitoring schedule of the Governing Body’s work; a full record of those meetings is maintained.
Key documents include:
- The School Evaluation
- The governors monitoring schedule
- External Validation
The Governing Body also has a number of statutory duties, for example the safeguarding of pupils, employment within the School and complaints procedures. These duties are also contained within the work of the committees and the Governing Body as a whole. The Governing Body is subject to inspection by OFSTED and the Governing Body’s performance is part of the Leadership and Management comments in subsequent reports.
The Governing Body’s work
The Governing Body and those working in and supporting Birch Wood – including students, parents as well as staff seek to build and maintain relationships based on trust and openness and a shared view of the School’s aims. Birch Wood is fortunate to have knowledgeable governors who fully understand the needs of the students and how staff seek to meet those needs. Governors have frank discussions about the School’s strategic direction, policy decisions and the development of educational practice. Governors are actively involved in reviewing and evaluating policies, progress, positive behaviour for learning, health and safety, CPD and staff performance.
The Governing Body are important a part of the School’s success through their contribution to the strategic direction of the school.
Governors Reports
Behaviour Principles
Governors’ Written Statement of Behaviour Principles
This statement was written and approved by the Governing Body. It will be reviewed every 3 years in
line with the school’s Positive Behaviour Policy.
Rationale and purpose
– This Statement has been drawn up in accordance with the Education and Inspections Act,
2006, and DfE guidance (Behaviour and Discipline in Schools, January 2016).
– This is a statement of principles, not practice: it is the responsibility of the Headteacher to
draw up the school’s behaviour policy, though these principles must be taken into account
when formulating this. The Headteacher is also asked to take account of the guidance in DfE
publication Behaviour and Discipline in Schools: a guide for Headteachers and school staff
(January 2016)
– The Behaviour Policy is publicised to staff and families on the school website.
At Birch Wood School we aim to:
– Provide an inclusive model for our understanding of behavioural needs.
– Encourage pupils to become independent, responsible, accepting and caring people with
respect for the beliefs and values of others
– Promote all aspects of each pupil’s development, preparing them to make a positive
contribution to society and to have an understanding of their rights and responsibilities as
citizens.
– Develop pupil’s social, communication and self-management skills.
Key beliefs and ethos for behaviour.
The Governors at Birch Wood School strongly believe:
– Children and young people want to behave well.
– Behaviour is a means of communication – we must ensure that all pupils are supported to
communicate their needs safely and appropriately.
– With the right support and intervention children and young people can learn to improve
their behaviour and manage well.
– All of our children have learning difficulties which impact on how they learn to behave.
– Birch Wood School is an inclusive school. All members of the school community should be
free from discrimination of any sort (as laid down in the Equality Act, 2010).
Full Advisory Board Members 2025-26
| Name | Role | Appointed |
| Sue Herlihy | Chair | 09.10.2024 – 08.10.2028 |
| Paul Saxby | Vice Chair | 10.12.2025 – 10.12.2029 |
| Janet Downes | Vice Chair | 24.03.2022 – 23.03.2026 |
| James Cromwell | Finance – Co-opted | 15.06.2023 – 25.02.2026 – (resigned – 25.02.2026) |
| Kasia Glinka | Safeguarding – Co-opted | 16.08.2023 – (resigned – 30.05.2026) |
| Lee Harries | Parent Governor | 01.11.2023 – 31.10.2027 |
| Adebowale Owoseni | Parent Governor | 01.11.2023 – 31.10.2027 |
| Phil Leaney | Executive Head | 01.01.2025 – |
| Andrew Patterson | Finance Chair – Co-opted | 12.06.2025 – 30.11.2025 – (resigned – 30.11.2025) |
| Lisa Bramall | Parent Governor – Associate | 01.09.2019 – |
| Gemma Howe | Clerk to Governors | 25.08.2025 – |
| Amy Dunstan | Staff Governor | 11.12.2025 – 11.12.2029 |
Full Governing Body Attendance 2025 Full Governing Body Attendance 2025 – 2026
| Name | 8th October 2025 | Meetings attended | Out of a possible | ||
| Sue Herlihy | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Paul Saxby | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Janet Downes | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| James Cromwell | Apologies | 0 | 1 | ||
| Kasia Glinka | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Lee Harries | Apologies | 0 | 1 | ||
| Adebowale Owoseni | Apologies | 0 | 1 | ||
| Amy Dunstan | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Phil Leaney | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Andrew Patterson | Apologies | 0 | 1 | ||
| Tom Bradley-Hewell | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Lisa Bramall | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Gemma Howe | yes | 1 | 1 |
Finance Governing Body Attendance 2025
| Name | 14th October 2025 | Meetings attended | Out of a possible | ||
| Sue Herlihy | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| James Cromwell | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Amy Fairchild | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Phil Leaney | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Andrew Patterson | yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| Gemma Howe | yes | 1 | 1 |
Full Advisory Body Attendance 2026
| Name | 25th February 2026 | 24th June 2026 | 14th October2026 | Meetings attended | Out of a possible |
| Sue Herlihy | yes | yes | 2 | 3 | |
| Paul Saxby | yes | yes | 2 | 3 | |
| Janet Downes | yes | Apologies | 1 | 3 | |
| Kasia Glinka | Apologies | (Resigned) | 0 | 3 | |
| Lee Harries | yes | Apologies | 1 | 3 | |
| Adebowale Owoseni | Apologies | yes | 1 | 3 | |
| Amy Dunstan | yes | yes | 2 | 3 | |
| Phil Leaney | yes | yes | 2 | 3 | |
| Tom Bradley-Hewell | Apologies | yes | 1 | 3 | |
| Lisa Bramall | yes | yes | 2 | 3 | |
| Gemma Howe | yes | yes` | 2 | 3 |
| Percuniary Interest Declaration | Governor | Details |
| Businesses (of which I am a partner or sole proprietor) | None Declared | |
| Company Directorships – details of all companies of which I am a director | None Declared | |
| Membership of professional bodies, membership organisations, public bodies or special interest groups of which I am a member and have a position of general control or management | None Declared | |
| Gifts or hospitality offered to you by external bodies while acting in your position as a governor/trustee and whether this was declined or accepted in the last 12 months | None Declared | |
| Contracts offered by you for the supply of goods and/or services to the trust/school | None Declared | |
| Other conflicts | None Declared |