Governance and Finance

Interested in being a Governor at Briarwood? Please click here. 

On behalf of the Governing Body, welcome to Briarwood School.

My name is Deborah Smith and I have been a governor at Briarwood since 2002 and Chair since 2017.

The governing board at Briarwood is made up of 12 governors, including school staff, parents and carers and members from the local community who all care passionately about the mission of Briarwood to deliver high quality education in a safe, secure and fun environment.

We meet termly in focused committees and as a full board and offer both challenge and support to senior leaders and staff, and work with school leaders to develop the vision and values of the school.

All governors give up their time freely and have volunteered for the role.  We enjoy the part we play in the life of this wonderful school and are proud to be part of its exciting future.

Name	Photo	Governor type, committee and role	Personal Statement
Deborah Smith - Chair of Governors		Community Governor, Operations (Chair), Wellbeing (Chair). Phase Link Governor – Juniors and Secondary	I became a governor at Briarwood because my son was at the school and I wanted to support the school.  Over the years I have been involved in many areas of governance and I hope that I can bring all my experiences to my role as Chair.
Iain Mossman - Vice Chair of Governors		Community Governor, Operations committee, Phase Link Governor – Infants
Adam Bond		Parent Governor, Teaching and Learning, Named governor for Safeguarding
Helen Sproates-Davis		Community Governor, Wellbeing Committee, Named governor for Safeguarding
Jayne Turrell		Community Governor, Teaching & Learning Committee, Operations Committee. Named governor for Children in Care.
Lynne Hawkins		Community Governor, Teaching & Learning Committee	I have been working in education for 26 years now first at main stream then coming to Briarwood 21 years ago. I really enjoy my job seeing the progress the children in my class make and working with amazing colleagues who help along the way. I am a mum of two grown up children and a nanny to 4 grandchildren, soon to be 5 that keep me busy! I enjoy watching tv, shopping reading and meeting up with friends.
Nicolle Deighton		Staff Governor, Headteacher. Operations Committee	I have been working in education for 20 years now, the majority of which have been in the Special Educational Needs sector. I have been the Headteacher and later Executive Headteacher of Briarwood since 2018. Over the course of my career, I have worked with a range of pupils from age 3 right the way through to 19 across many needs. I have supported the school in its growth and development and have opened new sites and buildings in my time at Briarwood, seeing the number of pupils more than double. I am passionate about providing high quality education for all and my expertise is in school improvement and development. I have worked as a specialist leader of education and I also currently work as an Ofsted inspector as I feel that all children and young people deserve, and should receive, a high quality education.
Steve O'Callaghan		Parent Governor, Teaching and Learning Committee, Operations Committee, Link Governor - Sixth Form and Careers
Kirsty Stitfall Clerkbriarwood@bristol-schools.uk		Clerk to Governors	I have worked at Briarwood School since 2014 in a variety of support roles and am now on the Response and Interventions team, working as a Trauma and Mental Health Informed Practitioner.  I have acted as Clerk to Governors since 2015 and enjoy the broader insight into the running of the school that this gives me.  I am very proud to work at Briarwood.

Financial Information

The schools financial benchmarking information can be found here.

Local Government Transparency Code (2015)

Briarwood School is a Local Authority Maintained Community School in Bristol. It is a Special School for pupils aged 4 - 19 years of age and is located over 3 sites. The Local Authority is able to reclaim VAT where applicable.

Local Authority Maintained Schools have to follow the Financial Regulations for Schools with Delegated Budgets guidance which states that purchases made in the name of the Local Authority are subject to the Local Government Transparency code (2015). 

The Code specifies that Schools must publish basic details of contracts worth over £5,000 on a quarterly basis and should include basic information related to the commissioned activity, purchase ordesr, framework agreement or any other legally enforceable agreement with a value over £5,000.

The following tables detail Briarwood School's purchases, contracts and ITTs over £5,000.

2024-25 Purchases Over £5,000