I would like to welcome you to the website of Farney Close School.

As the Chair of Governors, I feel privileged to lead – alongside the Deputy-Chair – a dedicated board of governors and directors who bring valuable opinions and expertise in business, education, adolescent counselling, care and safeguarding. Together we oversee the school’s development strategy, aims, objectives and goals following governance, legal and regulatory requirements.

We are all excited to work closely with Sara Hack, the school’s Principal, and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) members to drive the school forward during these exciting – and sometimes challenging – times.

As the Chair of Governors, it is important to me that the Board – myself included – are not only holding the SLT and employees of the school to account but also supporting them to ensure that our provision offers a quality service. As part of this process, we all make regular visits to the school, monitoring our designated areas of responsibility and taking time to speak with staff members, children, and young people to gather their views.

All of the excellent work that happens at Farney Close School would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of all the people who work at the school. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your work and the positive impact you have on the lives of the children and young people that attend our school.

I would also like to thank the parents and carers of our pupils for their support and let you know that if you ever need to make contact, we are all here for you. Finally, I would like to thank the children and young people because without pupils there is no school and without your co-operation, we cannot help you to succeed.

If you would like to contact me, please get in touch via our Clerk to the Governors at clerk@farneyclose.co.uk

Carole Johns

Company Management

The board of Directors/Governors is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of  the school, developing the school’s aims, objectives and goals in accordance with the governing document, legal and regulatory guidelines.

(Place your mouse over underlined names for more information)

Directors

• Carole Johns – Chair with Safeguarding responsibilities. Carole has worked with children and young people in several residential special schools for children with SEMH in a number of roles including Head of Care and as a Family Inclusion & Safeguarding Manager. Carole was elected as Chair of Governors in September 2021 after three years on the board. She continues to be passionate about Child Protection and Safeguarding.
• Nicki Bartholomew (Deputy Chair) I have a BA (QTS) in English and have taught across the age ranges, I took early retirement from my job as Deputy Head  at a local independent school but really missed teaching and being involved with teachers, pupils and the educational world. Consequently I became a tutor for children who were finding areas of the curriculum and school life a bit of a challenge. This only fills a small amount of time compared to teaching, so when a friend suggested that I might enjoy being a school governor that seemed the be the answer. Farney Close school impressed me with its ethos, inclusivity and broad and varied curriculum and shares many of my own personal teaching philosophies.
• Alan Smith

Governors

• Carole Johns – Chair with Safeguarding responsibilities. Carole has worked with children and young people in several residential special schools for children with SEMH in a number of roles including Head of Care and as a Family Inclusion & Safeguarding Manager. Carole was elected as Chair of Governors in September 2021 after three years on the board. She continues to be passionate about Child Protection and Safeguarding.
• Joanne Baker Joanne has been working and volunteering with children and young people for over 15 years. With a background in nursery education then moving onto schools where her passion for all children to achieve their best outcomes continues.
• Danny NegusDanny is an accomplished professional with a career spanning over 25 years’ across both corporate and civil service. Spending 20 years at Toshiba Tec in service management focused on key stakeholder engagement and outstanding service delivery serving various industries. Additionally, Danny worked his way through front line policing from Special Constable up to Special Inspector over 14 years gaining significant experience working with the public and local council authorities. Danny has high integrity and is results oriented and pragmatic with exceptional people skills, leading and supporting people through change, and maximising engagement, potential, motivation and performance.
• Helen Atkinson
• Philip Hunt I am retired after a career in the City of London in the field of Investment Fund Management. I hope that my experience of the business world will bring an outside perspective to the board of governors. My objective is to support Farney Close School to provide the most appropriate academic, vocational and emotional education possible to each and every pupil to best equip them for their adult lives.
• Zillah Webb I worked in the NHS and voluntary sector for over 30 years. My interest in psychology began with studying at A level. Exploring this interest led me to gain practical experience in a range of settings including schools and hospitals, within mainstream and specialist services. Having qualified as a clinical psychologist, I worked in child and adolescent mental health services, physical health services and services for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Later, I specialised in working with individuals with behaviours which challenge. To enhance my skills, I completed a Doctorate, focusing on the autism spectrum. I was privileged to be a member of staff teams that achieved accreditation with the National Autistic Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. This taught me, that to achieve positive outcomes for individuals, it is essential to create outstanding services. I believe this is achieved though teamwork, commitment, creativity and openness to new ideas.
• Cathy o’Connor  – Staff Governor Cathy has worked at Farney for the past 10 years as part of the admin team and specifically supporting Sara, our Principal.  She is actively involved in fundraising and event planning and enjoys being involved in the school’s development.

Governor Areas of Responsibility

National Minimum Standards, Std 3 Independent Visitor: Adrian Carver