Governors

Our Governors

Briar Hill Primary School is governed by an Academy Scrutiny Committee.

Our governors are:

• Janey Cooksley
  Headteacher
  Janey Cooksley

• Gareth Thomas
  DRET Appointed Governor (Chair)
  Gareth Thomas

• Odudu Assam
  Parent Governor (Vice Chair)
  Odudu Assam

  Odie was appointed a Parent Governor on 27 February 2023. He believes the school's culture and the attitude of the teachers and staff members are outstanding. Odie has a strong passion for education, especially for the younger generation and hopes by joining the ASC, he can support in providing an environment that encourages creative thinking in young minds. Odie has nearly a decade worth of experience working as a business analyst plus two years' experience working as an Enterprise Architect. Mostly delivering IT solutions to public and private sector organisations. He is a member of the Northampton Baha'i (Faith) community and supports a Children's class programme for a group of five 4 years olds. Odie is also a member of the Northampton Interfaith Forum.

• Joanne Frater
  Parent Governor
  Joanne Frater

  Joanne joined the ASC as a DRET Appointed Governor on 27 February 2023, wishing to aid the school in providing the best possible outcomes for all children. In December 2024, she took on the Parent Governor role.

  Joanne was previously a Children's day nursery manager and managed the nursery for nearly nine years.

• Angela Rock
  DRET Appointed Governor
  Angela Rock

• Jolen Grantham
  DRET Appointed Governor
  Jolen Grantham

  Jolen was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 4 June 2018. He has worked within the system as a practitioner, teacher, leader, consultant, and governor, with a track record of success in securing outstanding outcomes across primary and secondary schools. Understanding the power of education to change people's lives, Jolen is passionate about improving life opportunities for young people through education – especially in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Jolen leads governing bodies to be part of the ‘beating heart' of schools, working with leaders at all levels to champion fantastic practice taking place on the ground. He is currently the Chair in three schools - primary and secondary - and sits on the governing bodies of a further four schools in Northamptonshire – a governance journey that spans neatly a decade. During this time, Jolen has provided coaching and support to evolving governing bodies and their chairs, in the heart of sharing good practice, to support overall improvements in education within Northamptonshire and beyond.

  Jolen achieved ‘National Governor of the Year' in December 2023, and received this prestigious award in the 2023 National School Awards in recognition of his commitment to governance across the system, and with the David Ross Education Trust.

• Johanna Mothander
  DRET Appointed Governor
  Johanna Mothander

  Johanna was appointed a DRET Appointed Governor on 27 May 2022. She wanted an opportunity to apply her skills and contribute with her experience beyond her professional life. Johanna works in the professional services with a background in Consulting, with and for the public sector specifically with experience of higher-level apprenticeships. She brings experience from the business world, expertise in strategy, operations and project management, as well as expertise in work-based learning, employability skills and opening multiple routes for young people into business. Equality and diversity, opportunities for all irrespective of background. On a personal level, Johanna is a passionate skier, both downhill and cross country.

• David Holland
  DRET Appointed Governor
  David Holland

  As he wanted to play a part in ensuring our students have the best possible education and learning environment possible David joined the ASC in January 2025.

  David works for the DRET central team, focusing primarily on buildings and Health & Safety. As part of his role, David ensures the Trust's buildings are maintained to a high level, and that are environments are safe, comfortable and compliant. He is also a qualified Fire Risk Assessor.

  Outside of work, David enjoys spending quality time with his family, and engages in creative pursuits such as art and writing music when possible. David also enjoys taking long hikes with his wife, and each year they endeavour to scale a mountain.

• Amanda Scott
  DRET Appointed Governor
  Amanda Scott

• Allan Crozier
  Staff Governor
  Allan Crozier

  Allan joined the ASC at Briar Hill on 9 October 2018, after being elected by his colleagues. He has enjoyed being a governor across three DRET schools (Welton, Rockingham and Briar Hill) for five years over different roles. He originally decided to become a governor as he wanted to support the academies he worked for. Through being a governor, Allan has obtained a lot of experience of being in structured meetings and shares his insights of day to day life through a staff member's perspective. Allan is a class teacher and member of the SLT at Briar Hill Primary School. Allan's biggest passion is spending time with his family. He has three children and loves spending as much time with them and his wife as possible. On the odd occasion you may find him out on the golf course.

• Janice Marshall
  Staff Governor
  Janice Marshall

  Janice joined the ASC in February 2025 and has worked in Briar Hill's Pastoral team since 2016.

  Through her work Janice has established good relationship with all partner agents and have the community. Janice has worked hard to work with and reach out to the community, including supporting litter picks at the weekends that were set up by the housing teams to work with families around fly-tipping in the community. Over the years Janice has really enjoyed working with the families and helping them working to build a positive community. Janice applied for the position of governor as she felt that she could bring a to the table the voice of our communities and families and could help establish further links in this field.

• Teresa Elkin
  Clerk
  Teresa Elkin

  Teresa Elkin has been clerking academies within the Trust since 2014. As a former Chair of an Outstanding primary school and part of the governance teams at Northamptonshire County Council and the David Ross Education Trust, she decided to become an independent clerk to support governing bodies. Teresa also supports other maintained schools and academies in the county. Teresa's initial career was in advertising and marketing but a move into education, governance in particular ensured that she had a wide range of skills to bring to governing bodies. Teresa is an experienced governor and Chair, a governor trainer and mentor to individual governors and Chairs. Her passions and interests are the Theatre, literature and international travel.

Current Governors 

 Former Governors 

 Below is a list of governors that have served in the past 12 months. 

Contacting Us

The Governance Officer for Briar Hill Primary School is Victoria Linthwaite. Victoria can be reached at governance@dret.co.uk. 

To contact a governor, please contact the Trust Governance Team by emailing governance@dret.co.uk.

If you are looking to contact a Governor to make a complaint or share a concern, please note that as per our Complaints Policy, governors do not investigate complaints at Stage 1 or Stage 2.  This enables them to be impartial should a complaint be escalated to a Stage 3 governor panel. If you wish to make a complaint, please complete this form and your complaint will be investigated accordingly.

Scheme of Delegation

Information about the David Ross Education Trust’s scheme of delegation is available here.

Minutes of the Academy Scrutiny Committee

Should you wish to view a copy of the minutes of the ASC at this academy, please contact the Trust Governance Team (governance@dret.co.uk), who will be able to provide you with an electronic or paper copy of the minutes.

Are you interested in becoming an academy governor?

We are looking for new governors to support our academies. Our governors work closely with their academies to support the Trust’s goal of broadening the horizons of young people through a world-class education, equipping our students with the skills and experiences to become their confident, academic best, no matter what.

If you have an interest in, and commitment to, improving education and would like to make a difference within your community, please register your interest in becoming a governor by completing our governor application form. If you have any questions about a governor’s role or responsibilities please contact us at governance@dret.co.uk or review our information pack below. 

aug 2025 governor recruitment booklet.pdf

What is it like being a Governor with DRET?

To understand what it is like to be a governor with us, take a look at our testimonial booklet and videos which contain insights from serving governors.

governor testimonial booklet .pdf

 Emma Bennett 

Angela Watts 

Stephen Platten 

Garry Allen 

What training do Governors receive?