Our School Governors

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Mr Mike Nelson - Chair of Governors

Areas of Responsibility - Mathematics, Pupil Premium, Curriculum, Data and Assessment

Mike Nelson became a Governor in 2019.  Mike is an accountant at a reputable firm and he is married to Mrs Joanne Nelson, Assistant Headteacher at Woodside.  Together they have two small children that they enjoy spending time as a family camping and doing sports.

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Mrs Jill Berry - Vice Chair

Areas of Responsibility - Safeguarding and Child Protection, School Website, EYFS

Jill is the manager of Halton Lodge & Grange pre-school which is situated in the grounds of Woodside CP School. Jill has a long association with the pre-school having first worked there from 1995 to 2008. She left to manage a day nursery and completed a degree in Integrated Children and Young People's Practice. Jill returned to manage Halton Lodge & Grange Pre-school in 2013. She has three children and her hobbies are yoga, running and reading

 

Mr Richard Collings - Headteacher

Areas of Responsibility - Headteacher, Safer Recruitment

Richard Collings has been Headteacher at Woodside since September 2011.  He has been on the governing board in his position as Headteacher and prior to that as an associate member.  He is a graduate of Leeds University where he studied Food Science.  He later went to Crewe college to attain a post-graduate teaching qualification in 1992.  Richard first came to Woodside in the Autumn of 1992 as a student and was offered a job in 1993.  He has been at the school ever since.  Richard's interests include caravanning, walking, jogging, music and film.  He has a wife and two children.

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Mr Thomas Hall - Co-opted Governor

Areas of Responsibility - Health & Safety, Safer Recruitment (trained), Science

Tom was on the governing body for some years before becoming Chair of Governors in 2015.  Both Tom's daughter and youngest son attended Woodside, and his wife was employed as a Teaching Assistant at Woodside, therefore his relationship with the school goes back 26 years.  He also has a grandson who currently attends Woodside.

Sadly Tom's son passed away while he was a pupil at Woodside. Tom and his wife have both stated that they felt Woodside was a pivotal part in the whole process of their son's illness.  They feel that Woodside supported the whole family extremely well, including their son both in hospital and at home and that the school, teachers and governing body played an enormous part in their grieving process.

Whilst he was the Chair of Governors for Woodside, Tom stated that he quickly came to realise how passionate the team of teaching and support staff are.  He particularly noted how well they carry out the school ethos of 'every child deserves an education' and also it's mission statement of 'Educating with pride, learning together'.

Tom stepped down as Chair of Governors in 2019 but remains on the board as a Co-opted Governor.

 

Mrs Jo Nelson - Staff Governor
Areas of Responsibility - Assistant Head
Jo Nelson has been the Assistant Headteacher since September 2018. She first started working at Woodside in September 2011 as the Year 6 teacher and has remained the teacher of that class ever since. She graduated from Liverpool John Moore's University  in 2004 after completing her teaching degree. She is married with two children and in her spare time enjoys swimming and camping.

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Mrs Lisa Gerrard - Parent Governor

Areas of Responsibility - Community Development

Lisa has been a parent of children attending Woodside for a number of years and has a child who is currently in Year 3.  She has 3 children who have all attended Woodside.  Lisa also takes part in a lot of community work in Runcorn, as do her children.  

She has always been involved in activities at Woodside.  She currently helps at Breakfast Club and has volunteered her help for many school events such as school outings and fairs etc, and she is a valued member of our school.
 

Miss Danielle Hambleton - Parent Governor
Areas of Responsibility - Well-being, Behaviour, English

Danielle works as a support worker helping to improve the lives of people living with dementia.  She is a mother to 3 children. Her oldest has a previous pupil at Woodside before moving up to secondary school, but her two youngest are in Year 3 and Reception.  She joined the governing team as two of her children are autistic and so she felt she could offer personal knowledge and experience to the SEN department of the school as well as be there to help support parents who go through similar experiences with their children.  School can be difficult for children with additional needs, especially in a mainstream setting. Danielle feels that if parents work together with the school, together they make a massive positive impact.
 

Miss Claire Plumpton - Parent Governor

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