Governors
Creating Opportunities, Supporting Aspiration, Striving for Excellence
Welcome to the Governors' section. Governors are a vital part of our school. If you are interested in joining the governing body or would like to find out more information, please do not hesitate to come and talk to us.
Brookland Schools' Governing Body
At Brookland there is one combined (federated) governing body for both the Infant and Junior schools. It is made up of the two head teachers, four staff governors (three of whom are co-opted), six parent governors (four of whom are co-opted), one local authority governor and five further co-opted governors. From time to time, we also appoint associate members where appropriate.
A photograph sheet of our current governors can be found on each of the playground noticeboards.
Should you wish to contact any of them, please do so via the school office or, in the case of parent governors, feel free to approach them in the playground.
Role of the Governing Body
The role of the governing body is to support and challenge the head teachers and staff to ensure that children receive a high standard of education in a supportive and inclusive environment. In practical terms, this means making decisions with regard to a wide range of policies and tracking the progress and direction taken by the schools. The responsibility for the day-to-day running of the school is delegated to the head teacher. The full governing body meets twice a term in addition to which all governors are attached to a number of subcommittees which meet one to three times a year.
The main committees are:
- Curriculum
- Finance
- Personnel
- Premises, Health & Safety and Community
- Safeguarding and Pupil Wellbeing
- Strategy
- Head Teachers' Performance
List of Current Governors
| Name | Category of Governor | Appointed By | Term of Office Ends | Committees |
|
Laura Pincus (Chair) |
Co-opted | Governing Body |
23/03/2024 - 12/03/2028 |
Finance, Curriculum, Safeguarding, Strategy (Chair), HT Performance (Chair) |
| James Clare (Vice Chair) | Co-opted | Governing Body |
27/09/2018 - 26/09/2026 |
Finance, Personnel, Strategy, HT Performance |
| Michael Farhi | Parent | Governing Body |
27/09/2018 - 26/09/2026 |
Finance, Premises |
| Karen Gubbay | Co-opted | Governing Body |
31/08/2025 - 30/08/2029 |
SEN Link Governor |
| Brenda McCafferty | Headteacher |
N/A | Ongoing | Finance, Premises, Curriculum, Personnel, Safeguarding, Strategy |
| Jenny Aylen | Headteacher | N/A | Ongoing | Finance, Premises, Curriculum, Personnel, Safeguarding, Strategy |
| Jenny Catley | Staff | Infant Staff |
05/02/2025 - 04/02/2029 |
Safeguarding, Curriculum |
| Lisa Weinbrenn | Co-opted | Governing Body |
12/02/2019 - 10/02/2027 |
Safeguarding (Chair), Strategy |
| Farnoush Bikdeli | Co-opted Staff | Governing Body |
29/09/2024 - 28/09/2025 |
Safeguarding |
| Nick Astaire | Co-Opted | Governing Body |
21/03/2023 - 20/03/2027 |
Premises (Chair), Strategy |
|
Daniella Jackson
|
Co-Opted |
Governing Body |
19/05/2025 23/01/2028 |
Personnel (with voting rights) |
|
Gillian Delany |
Co-Opted Staff |
Governing Body |
28/01/2026 27/01/2030 |
Curriculum |
|
Gabi Symons
|
Co-Opted staff | Governing Body |
16/05/2023 15/05/2027 |
Curriculum |
| Jeff Harris | Co-opted | Governing Body |
16/05/2023 15/05/2027 |
Finance, Personnel (Chair), Strategy |
| Samantha Jayasekera-Heffer | Parent | Infant Parents |
16/05/2023 15/05/2027 |
Curriculum (Chair), Safeguarding, Strategy |
| Kate Blumhof | Parent | Governing Body |
15/03/22 14/03/26 |
Finance (Chair), Strategy, HT Performance |
| Judith Bernstein | Co-Opted | Governing Body |
27/03/2023 26/03/2027 |
Personnel, Safeguarding |
| David Lee | Co-Opted | Governing Body | 03/10/2023 02/10/2027 | Curriculum |
| Lucy Tobin | Local Authority | Appointed by Barnet |
16/05/2024 15/05/2028 |
Curriculum, Premises |
| 3 Oct 2023 to 2 Oct 2027 |
List of Governors who were members of the Governing Body during the last 12 months but have now left:
| Name | Category of Governors | Appointed By and Date of Appointment | Term of Office End | Committees |
| Claire Rosen | Associated |
Governing Body |
9/11/2017 - 8/11/2025 |
Personnel |
| Aimee Lipton | Co-opted staff | Governing Body |
26/11/2021 - 25/11/2025 |
Curriculum |
| Sapna Shah | Associated Governor | Governing Body |
16/03/2024 - 15/03/2028 |
Finance |
Information on Current Governors:
| Name | Relevant Business and Pecuniary Interests |
Meetings Attended 2024-2025 |
Meetings Attended 2025-2026 |
| Sapna Shah | Nothing to declare | 3 of 6 | 0 of 2 |
| Laura Pincus | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| Brenda McCafferty | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| Jenny Aylen | Governor at 'Christ College' | 6 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| Farnoush Bikdeli | Governor at 'Christ College' | 6 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Gillian Delany | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | |
| Jenny Catley | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| James Clare |
Chair of Governors at 'Harris Academy, St John's Wood' Partner at Deloitte LLP |
4 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| David Lee |
Assistant Headteacher at Christ College |
5 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Michael Farhi | Nothing to declare | 4 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Nicholas Astaire | Nothing to declare | 3 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Lisa Weinbrenn | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Daniella Jackson | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
|
Gabi Symons |
Nothing to declare | 4 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Kate Blumhof | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| Judith Bernstein | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Samantha Jayasekera-Heffer | Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) | 5 of 6 | 1 of 2 |
| Jeff Harris | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 2of 2 |
| Lucy Tobin | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 2 of 2 |
| Karen Gubbay | Nothing to declare | 1 of 2 |
Governor Attendance
Governor Code of Conduct
See document at the foot of this page outlining the Brookland Schools' Governors code of conduct
Becoming a Brookland Governor
If you are interested in becoming a governor, please click below for more information.