The Members

Members have key roles and responsibilities under company law, their role is similar to shareholders of a limited company – although they have no financial interest in the school.  They help to ensure effective governance by holding the Board of Trustees accountable.

Members have an oversight role, limited and distinct from that of the Trustees (see below).  Responsibility to conduct the Trust’s business sits with the Trustees and Members are ‘eyes on and hands off’.

The Trustees

The Trustees make up the Trust Board and are the directors of the company and trustees of the charity.  The Trust Board is the decision-making body and is accountable and responsible for the Academy.

The Trust Board has three core functions:

1. Ensuring clarity of the vision, ethos and strategic direction.
2. Holding the Executive Leaders to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the effective and efficient performance management of staff.
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure that its money is well spent.

Trustees are sometimes referred to as Governors and the Trust Board as the Full Governing Body.

Gill Turner is Chair of Trustees and Chair of the Steering Committee.  Gill’s son attended Birchwood and she was elected as a parent trustee in 2018.  Gill’s professional background is as a Chartered Accountant and Tax Adviser, with more than twenty years’ experience of working in advisory roles.  Gill aims to support the school in ensuring access and opportunity for all students.

Ruth Bamlett is the English Link and is Chair of Curriculum Committee. She has a background in primary education as a Headteacher.

Jason Boyce is a parent governor and sits on the Estates and Finance Committee.

Chris Emery is appointed by parents and is an IT consultant in the finance sector. He is Chair of the Estates Committee.

Matthew Free is appointed by parents and is an HR consultant. He is a member of the Personnel Committee.

Lucie Gallagher is a co-opted Community Governor and joined the Board of Trustees in September 2022. She sits on the Personnel Committee. She has three sons and has a background in Primary education. Lucie has been a teacher, museum curator and was previously a Governor at a local primary school.

Catherine Gater is Vice Chair of Trustees. Catherine trained as a scientist and has a background in project management and equality and diversity. Catherine has been a governor for 8 years and has 2 sons who have both attended Birchwood. Catherine particularly enjoys working with the school to achieve an inclusive and supportive educational environment.

Sam Griffin is Principal of Birchwood and is an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees.

Jane Mansfield has been a governor for almost 2 years and was previously a governor at a local primary school. She chairs the Personnel Committee and has a son in year 11. She has a background in corporate banking and corporate risk management.

Ross Noblett is appointed by staff and is a member of the Curriculum Committee.

John Oglesby joined Birchwood’s Governing Body in September 2021 as a Parent Governor and is currently Chair of the Finance and Estates Committee. Having previously been the Chair of Governors at Manuden Primary School for 8 years. He lives in Berden with his wife and 2 teenage sons. By day, John is a qualified accountant working for Abcam plc but, in the evenings and at weekends, you can often find him on stage as an active member of Clavering’s and Newport’s Amateur Dramatics groups.

Karen Poole is a Parent Governor, sits on the Curriculum Committees and was previously a governor at a local primary school. Karen has two sons at Birchwood, and has worked at Tesco for over 25 years with roles including commercial, customer marketing, product development and programme management.

Claire Pressland is appointed by staff and is a member of the Curriculum Committee.

Leigh Lloyd Warren is a member of the Personnel Committee and has a background in accountancy and the construction industry.

Jim Winter is a member of the Personnel Committee and has expertise in personnel in a business setting. Jim is married with two grown up daughters and lives in Bishops Stortford and is currently UK Regional Director for the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI), a professional body for the financial services sector. Jim has spent some 30 years in financial services, including roles at Lloyds Bank, AIG and Canada Life. He has run, managed, coached and developed several teams of people in his career, ranging in size from 10 – 150 individuals, as well as delivering regular training sessions on personal development.

Connor Wyatt is a local resident and an adoptive parent. Professionally he is a Chartered Accountant specialising in Corporate International Tax. He is Chair of the Audit Committee.

Finance and Estates

• John Oglesby (Chair of Finance)
• Chris Emery (Chair of Estates)
• Catherine Gater
• Gill Turner
• Connor Wyatt
• Sam Griffin (AO, SLT)
• Charles Gilbank (SLT Serving; Estates)
• Deryk Bull  (SLT Service; Finance)

Personnel

• Jane Mansfield (Chair)
• Matthew Free
• Jim Winter
• Lucie Gallagher
• Leigh Lloyd Warren
• Sam Griffin

Curriculum

• Ruth Bamlett (Chair)
• Claire Pressland
• Ross Noblett (Staff Governor)
• Gill Turner
• Karen Poole
• Jane Mitchell (Staff Governor)
• Jason Boyce
• Sam Griffin (AO; SLT)

Audit and Risk

• Connor Wyatt (Chair)
• Gill Turner
• Ruth Bamlett
• Catherine Gater
• Jane Mansfield
• John Oglesby
• Chris Emery
• Sam Griffin (AO; SLT)
• Deryk Bull (CFO)

Steering

• Gill Turner (Chair of Trustees)
• Catherine Gater (Vice Chair of Trustees)
• John Oglesby (Chair of Finance)
• Jane Mansfield (Vice Chair; Chair of Personnel)
• Chris Emery (Chair of Estates)
• Ruth Bamlett (Chair of Curriculum)
• Connor Wyatt (Chair of Audit and Risk)
• Sam Griffin (SLT Serving)
• Charles Gilbank (SLT)
• Jolene Jacobson (SLT)

 

 

• Detached Playing Field Sub-Committee
• Curriculum Committee 23-24
• F&E Committee 23-24
• Personnel_Terms_of_Reference_2022 – Copy
• Steering Committee 23-24
• Terms of Reference Audit Committee 2023-24 final

Please note that the Terms of Reference for the current academic year have to be approved by the relevant committee before they can be posted here.

There are regular elections for members of the Governing Body of Birchwood High School. Information will be posted here when there are elections due to take place.

Under Regulation 13 of the School Governance (Procedures) ( England ) Regulations 2003 , governing bodies must make their main meeting minutes available for inspection by any interested person.  It has been decided that in the spirit of this requirement and of open communication, we will publish these minutes on our website.  This will be done after their formal approval at a subsequent full meeting. They are a facsimile of the paper versions held on file by the school.

• Trustee Meetings – Year ended 31 August 2023

Governor Register of Business Interests 2023

Board of Trustee Attendance During the Academic Year 2019-20

Board of Trustee Attendance During the Academic Year 2020-21

Board of Trustees FGB Meeting Attendance During the Academic Year 2021-22

Legacy Membership

The section below is a record of the membership of the Governing Body before the change to Members and Trustees in 2021/22