Meet the Governors
Brookland Schools' Governors
Creating opportunities, supporting aspiration, striving for excellence
The Role of the Governing Body
The role of the governing body is to support the Headteacher and staff in ensuring that our 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 actual day to day running of the school is the responsibility of our headteacher. 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
- Strategic (which is made up of all chairs of all other committees)
Brookland Schools’ Governing Body
At Brookland there is one federated (combined) governing body for both the Infant and Junior schools. It is made up of four staff governors (three of who are co-opted); the two head teachers; six parent governors, three from the Infant and Nursery School and three from the Junior School; one local authority governors and five additional co-opted governors. From time to time we may also appoint associate governors to perform specific roles or functions e.g. finance or data analysis.
We have collated the information about the diversity of our school's Governing Body, but have chosen not to publish it.
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.
For information on becoming a School Governor, please read the Welcome Pack for New Governors (see link at foot of this page).
List of Current Governors
Below is a list of current governors at Brookland:
| Name | Category of Governor | Appointed By | Date of appointment | Term of Office Ends | Committees |
| Laura Pincus |
Co-opted (Chair) |
Governing Body |
(24/03/2012) 13/03/2024 |
12/03/2028 |
HT performance (Chair) |
|
James Clare |
Co-opted (Vice Chair) |
Governing Body |
(27/09/2018) 27/09/2022 |
26/09/2026 |
Finance, Personnel, HT performance, Strategy |
|
Michael Farhi |
Co-opted |
Governing Body |
(27/09/2018) 27/09/2022 |
26/09/2026 |
Finance, Premises |
|
Lisa Weinbrenn |
Co-opted |
Governing Body |
(11/02/2019) 11/02/2023 |
10/02/2027 |
Safeguarding (Chair), Strategy |
Brenda McCafferty |
Headteacher |
N/A | 01/09/2013 | Ongoing | Finance, Premises, Curriculum, Personnel, Safeguarding, Strategy |
| Jenny Aylen | Headteacher | N/A | 01/09/2014 | Ongoing | Finance, Premises, Curriculum, Personnel, Safeguarding, Strategy |
| Jenny Catley | Staff | Infant Staff |
(15/03/2017) 05/02/2025 |
04/02/2029 | Safeguarding, Curriculum |
| Farnoush Bikdeli | Co-opted Staff | Governing Body |
09/10/2024 |
08/10/2028 | Safeguarding |
| David Lee | Co-opted | Governing Body | 03/10/2023 | 02/10/2027 | Curriculum |
| Nicholas Astaire | Co-opted | Governing Body | 21/03/2023 | 20/3/2027 | Premises (chair), Strategy |
|
Daniella Jackson |
Co-opted |
Governing Body |
24/01/2024 |
23/01/2028 |
Personnel |
|
Aimee Lipton |
Co-Opted Staff |
Governing Body |
26/11/2021 |
25/11/2025 |
Curriculum |
|
Gabi Symons |
Co-Opted staff |
Governing Body |
24/01/2024 |
23/01/2028 |
Curriculum |
|
Kate Blumhof |
Parent |
Junior Parents |
15/03/2022 |
14/03/2026 |
Finance (chair), Strategy, HT Performance |
|
Sapna Shah |
Associate Member |
London Borough of Barnet |
24/01/2024 |
23/01/2028 |
Finance, (with voting rights) |
|
Judith Bernstein |
Co-opted |
Governing Body |
27/03/2023 |
26/03/2027 |
Safeguarding, Personnel |
|
Jeff Harris |
Co-opted |
Governing Body |
16/05/2023 |
15/05/2027 |
Personnel (chair), Finance, Strategy |
|
Samantha Jayasekera-Heffer |
Parent |
Infant Parents |
16/05/2023 |
15/05/2027 |
Curriculum (chair), Safeguarding, Strategy |
|
Lucy Tobin |
Local Authority |
Appointed by Barnet |
15/05/2024 |
14/05/2028 |
Premises, Curriculum |
| Karen Gubbay | Associate Member | Governing Body | 31/08/2025 | 30/08/2029 |
Curriculum, Safeguarding
|
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 Ends | Committees | |
|
Marcelle Jennings |
Co-Opted Staff |
Governing Body 12/01/2022 |
24/01/2024 | Curriculum | |
| Carol Frankl | Associate member |
Governing Body 06/02/2019 |
2/7/24 | Safeguarding | |
| Claire Rosen | Associate member |
Governing Body 21/03/2023 |
10/07/2025
|
Personnel |
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 1 |
| Laura Pincus | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Brenda McCafferty | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Jenny Aylen | Governor at 'Christ College' | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Farnoush Bikdeli | Governor at 'Christ College' | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Aimee Lipton | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Jenny Catley | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| James Clare |
Chair of Governors at 'Harris Academy, St John's Wood' Partner at Deloitte LLP |
4 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| David Lee |
Assistant Headteacher at Christ College |
5 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Michael Farhi | Nothing to declare | 4 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Nicholas Astaire | Nothing to declare | 3 of 6 | 0 of 1 |
| Lisa Weinbrenn | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Daniella Jackson | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
|
Gabi Symons |
Nothing to declare | 4 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Kate Blumhof | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Judith Bernstein | Nothing to declare | 5 of 6 | 0 of 1 |
| Samantha Jayasekera-Heffer | Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) | 5 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Jeff Harris | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Lucy Tobin | Nothing to declare | 6 of 6 | 1 of 1 |
| Karen Gubbay | Nothing to declare | 1 of 1 |