Local Governors
Our Governors
Mr Jeremy Sutcliffe
LGB Chair/Co-Opted Governor
Jeremy has been a LA Governor since 2009, and is a retired Deputy Headteacher. Jeremy served on Oldham Borough Council for 13 years representing Chadderton North, and has lived in the same square mile of Werneth all his life. He is Chair of Governors at Burnley Brow; a local Primary School, a Governor/Trustee at Oldham Hulme Grammar School and was previously a Governor of Radclyffe and North Chadderton Schools. Jeremy brings an unmatched and highly valued local knowledge to Kingfisher’s Local Governing Board.
His interests include photography, local heritage and military modelling. He is also Secretary of the Oldham Area Civic Society.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Jacqui Wennington
LGB Vice Chair/Co-opted Governor
Jacqui has been the Headteacher at Springwood Primary School since January 2016 and worked at the school since January 2012. Jacqui has a passion for SEN with a Masters in Autism.
Jacqui has 3 teenage sons who all love any outdoor activities so as a family, they go to the Lake District as often as they can.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Mr Sam Lord
Staff Governor
Sam has been a teacher at Kingfisher Special School since 2017, having previously taught in mainstream settings. Sam’s interests include yoga, travelling and good food. Most of Sam’s free time is spent with his family and his beloved miniature dachshund, Betty.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Sue Caine
Executive Principal
Sue is the Executive Principal for Kingfisher Special School and Halcyon Way School. She was Head of School at Kingfisher originally, prior to the opening of Halcyon Way.
Sue leads the Special School Leadership Team across both schools to ensure that all children are receiving the best possible learning opportunities and that staff have the skills they need to engage the children in their learning. She is a Deputy Safeguarding Lead and works closely with the Pastoral Team to make sure that families are included in all aspects of their child’s learning journey whilst at school.
Sue is passionate about ensuring that all children at both schools receive the best possible learning opportunities that can be offered. This means that the schools never standstill – the leadership team and staff are always working towards giving the best possible outcomes for the children.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Janet Wray
Safeguarding Governor / Co-opted Governor
Janet is a Registered Nurse with past experience of working with children and families both through her role as a Nurse, but formerly as an active Brownie and Rainbow leader.
Janet has been a Parent Governor, during the time her two children were at primary school and enjoyed contributing to school life and activity.
As an Oldham resident, Janet is keen to contribute to this fantastic school where there is so much on offer for the children.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Karen Taylor
Clerk to the Local Governing Board
(Trust Central Team)
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Shelly Mulholland
Parent Governor
Hi my name is Shelley Mulholland.
I live in Oldham and have two children 3 and one years old . My eldest currently attends Kingfisher Special School, where she is doing incredibly well there.
My hobbies include swimming, going on walks with the family and meeting up with friends when I have the time.
The role as a parent governor is definitely a new experience for me, I am excited to learn about the school and see in what ways I can help and learn new skills
Andy Tushingham
Parent Governor
I live in Oldham and have 3 children, all with additional needs and attend specialist provisions. My youngest child currently attends Kingfisher Special School.
My hobbies include walking, reading biographies and sports in a spectator capacity.
As a family we enjoy weekend visits to the trampoline park and going to the beach whilst on holiday.
The role of parent governor is a new challenge for me. I am enthusiastic to learn more about the school, whilst helping to maintain/improve standards and learn new skills at the same time.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Rebecca Fletcher
Co-opted Governor
Rebecca is a Consultant in Public Health in Oldham with a focus on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Rebecca is looking forward to contributing in the role of governor in order to support this wonderful school in its work.
To contact me please email info@kingfisher.school or write to the school.
Governor Visits
The Local Governing Board has delegated responsibility from Kingfisher Learning Trust for a variety of areas including Teaching and Learning and Pupil Outcomes. Because Governing Boards have a statutory responsibility to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school and its curriculum, Governors need to know what progress is being made towards objectives set out in the School Improvement Plan (SIP); visiting classrooms can help to support this process. Ofsted inspections assume that Governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the school. This depends on Governors assessing performance data presented to them by the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) in the context of an understanding of what happens in the classroom. It is also important to Ofsted that the Governing Board makes an impact on school improvement, supported by visiting school to see it in operation; being aware of standards and progress are important aspects of this crucial role.
Governors are encouraged to visit school regularly, not to assess standards but to visit lessons in order to:
