Hello, my name is Karen Handford and I am Chair of Governors at Holly Hill. I have been a governor at the school since 2012 and I am also the school's finance and premises governor.

My background, before I took early retirement, is in school finance so I am able to bring some experience to this area of responsibility and I have enjoyed working with Miss Taylor and our bursar to stretch the school's finances as far as we can to benefit all our children as much as possible.  I also report back to the full governing body on these matters each half term so all governors have a clear picture of Holly Hill's resources.

It has been a pleasure to see Holly Hill transform itself in recent years into the super school we see today and to have played a small part its development.

When not busy at Holly Hill, I enjoy cooking, reading and history. I am appointed by the Methodist Church and I am a member at Solihull Methodist where I am also involved with church finances and premises.

I am always ready to talk to parents and you can contact me if you wish through the school office.

I live in Rednal with my husband and daughter who attends Holly Hill.

As a mother and a former paediatric doctor, I am passionate about the wellbeing of children and would love to bring my experience to the Board and help shape a happy and healthy school.

I now do medicolegal work which allows me a better work-life balance and I love to read books, creative writing (mostly a blog nowadays) and watch anything competitive on TV in my spare time. I love how the love of books is celebrated in Holly Hill; that was a big draw for me looking around as a prospective parent.

My aim is to promote and support the Holly Hill family, from our pupils to their parents and staff. It is an honour to be an Associate Governor and I will strive to uphold Holly Hill values to the best of my ability.

I am currently a Humanities Teacher at a secondary school and sixth form in Bewdley and I am a recently appointed governor at Holly Hill.

I am excited to bring my skills from teaching in three different schools to the role of SEND and Behaviour Governor, to help ensure that Holly Hill continues to provide excellent provision for children with additional needs. Having seen the inclusive, warm and nurturing environment first-hand, I am very keen to play my part in maintaining the high-quality education at Holly Hill.

Holly Hill is a wonderful school.  It is where I started my teaching career as a student and since 2016 it has been where I have taught in numerous roles. 

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Governor I have the pleasure of shaping our continuined journey -  making our school the best place for our children and families.  Working together we can achieve great success and I aspire that for everyone who is a part of our Holly Hill community.

As well as having taught History in Higher Education since 2003, for the last decade I have held leadership roles at the University of Birmingham. As a result I have significant experience of the challenges of educational leadership and management, including regulatory restriction and compliance; budget challenges; staffing challenges; curricular development; support and wellbeing of learners.

I became a governor at Holly Hill in the summer of 2024 and look forward to using my skills and abilities for the benefit of the school. I believe that the core ethical values and spiritual practices of Christianity provide a key aspect of lifelong character education for pupils. To be able to advocate for this within the curriculum, and to support the work of Holly Hill in its mission as well as educational aims, is a genuine privilege.

I am incredibly excited to be part of the governing body at Holly Hill.

I currently work for the Methodist Church and support people in ministry roles across the Church. Prior to this role, I worked in schools in Sandwell and Birmingham and have been a deputy headteacher in a primary school and an assistant headteacher in a secondary school. In both roles, I worked as part of the leadership team to drive improvement, seeing one school move from good to outstanding and the other from inadequate to good.

For me, education is about providing the best possible start for our children and young people, ensuring we have quality of education and high standards - whilst underpinning this with nurture, care and attention to the wellbeing of all people in our community (including staff and the families we work with).

I am delighted to join the team and hope that some of the skills and knowledge I have developed over the past 15 years prove to be useful in ensuring that Holly Hill continues to be such an excellent school.

Before becoming a Minister in the Church of England, I was a teacher in local secondary schools, teaching English and Religious Education.  Before that, I taught adults with special needs from adult training centres and the old psychiatric hospitals.

I have lived in Rubery for over 40 years and have always been involved in schools at some level. Before becoming the Parish Priest of Frankley, I was on the governing body of another Anglican/ Methodist church school within my former parish.

I am looking forward to being involved as much as possible, both within the life of Holly Hill School and within the parish of Frankley generally.

https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/7192/ 

I am very excited to be joining the board of governors here at Holly Hill school. As a parent of children who have attended and are attending this wonderful school, I am excited to see what the future holds and to see how the school continues to flourish. I am a very passionate person and care deeply about children and their education.

I have worked for the NHS for over 20 years in total, I have worked in Histology for over 10 years where I am an audio typist. Before this is I was a fully qualified dental nurse and practice manager. I have also worked as a nursing assistant on a burns ward. I have always been a very caring person and love to help people where I can. 

I have lived in Rubery for 10 years but have always been a local girl born and raised in Woodgate/Bartley Green, I am very down to earth and a fun person. I look forward to my new role.

I am a Methodist Presbyter who is superintendent minister in the Birmingham Circuit.

I value children's education and wellbeing.   I also like to promote diversity in all areas of our school.

Hi, I’m Beth and I am your friendly Staff Governor. I have worked at Holly Hill for a long time now, with many opportunities to grow professionally with the support given by fellow colleagues and SLT. I’ve covered different roles within school and currently stand at class TA in year 2.

Things to know about me?

I live with my partner James, of 23 years, we have 2 teenage girls, Maisy and Madeline, 2 Fur babies Narla and Cocoa and I love my extended Holly Hill Family x