Governors

Frank is a Barrister-at-Law (non practicing).  He is Chief Verifier and Member of the Monitoring and Verification Board of the National Training Strategy for Town and Parish Clerks; Clerk to Cawthorne Parish Council; a member of the Board of Trustees of Rural Yorkshire (formerly the Yorkshire Rural Community Council); serves as Member and Chair of the Independent Education Appeals Tribunal; is a lay member of the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council’s Audit Committee; and a lay member of the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority Audit Committee.  He has previously served as Chairman of Barnsley and District Citizens’ Advice Bureau and as a Non-Executive Director on the Trust Board of Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Frank was first appointed as a governor of the College in October 2002.  He was Vice-Chair of the Board from 2003/04 and has been Chairman of the Finance & Resources Committee since the academic year 2004/05.  He is also a member of the Governance & Search Committee, Remuneration Committee and Property Strategy Committee.  Frank was appointed Chair of Governors on 20 October 2009.

Colin took up post as College Principal on 1 October 2008.  As Principal he is an ex-officio member of the Board.

Colin’s previous post was as Vice Principal Curriculum at Newcastle College where he helped steer the college through two outstanding Ofsted inspections. Prior to Newcastle, Colin worked for 15 years in South London. He has worked in the further education sector since qualifying as a teacher in 1984.

Colin’s background as a teacher and middle manager in further education is in Skills for Life and provision for students with disabilities or learning difficulties. Since 1999, he has also worked as a part time inspector for Ofsted, the Adult Learning Inspectorate and Nord Anglia.

Colin attended Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington before studying for a first degree in Chemistry at Norwich. Since then he has completed teacher training, a post graduate diploma in social education and an MBA in college management.

Colin now sits on the following committees: Governance & Search, Finance & Resources, Property Strategy and Roles and Responsibilities of the Board

Josie is an Executive Head Teacher of the special school at Springwell and is also Head of all of the wider borough services for behaviour and in-school support and guidance within this area. She is a qualified Ofsted Inspector. Working within Barnsley since 2002 she was appointed as a governor of the College in July 2007 and was appointed Vice Chair in October 2009.  She is also a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Gus is employed as Regional Director for STEMNET in Y&H.  He has vast experience of management in complex organisations such as UK’s busiest military airfield and working in commercial management over five depots and a £4m budget. He is a qualified teacher of Business Education and has six years previous experience in advising Schools in how to incorporate ‘enterprise capabilities’ into main stream curriculum. Gus also has several years experience in collaborating with regional organisations eg RDA, LSC, LAs and professional institutions – SSC, to promote the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and associated careers.

In his current role he facilitates an Advisory Panel on Science & Technology E&T which reports to a Policy Forum led by Yorkshire Forward. He is also Advisor to the Consortium which is developing the national on-line support resource for practitioners delivering 14-19 Diplomas.  He has a significant understanding of skills needs across the Y&H region which he is able to bring to the Board. Gus was appointed to the Board in May 2009 and is a member of the Audit Committee.

In 1991 Gordon was previously Managing Director of Bespoke Precast Ltd in Sheffield, employing over 70 staff until the Company was sold in 2007. Gordon is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA).  Educated in the local area of  Penistone and at Barnsley College, Gordon has lived in the area for over 30 years giving him an in-depth knowledge of the local community, education system and the needs of young people.  He joined the Board in March 2010 and is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee and the Property Strategy Committee.

Janet has been a College employee since September 2000 and is currently a teacher in Public Services.  Before joining Barnsley College she had a career spanning 20 years within the Civil Service.  Janet was appointed as the academic staff governor in October 2007 and also serves on the Audit Committee.

Originally trained as a General Nurse, Sharon is an experienced senior manager who has worked across public, private and the voluntary sector in the area of professional, organisational and workforce development. She has worked at local, regional and national levels in a variety of sectors and organisations, particularly health and social care, cross sector adult skills and more latterly within the 14-19 education agenda in Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. As part of her personal and professional development she has been a subject specialist reviewer for the QAA, an assessor of Clinical Practice Development for Leeds University and an EFQM assessor for Northern of England Excellence Awards.

As a consequence of working regionally on strategic skill infrastructure development she has worked proactively, in partnership with regional skills investment, commissioning and delivery organisations such as Sector Skills Councils as well as FE & HE institutions. Her previous roles have included working for the NHS in the East Midlands, managing successful strategic partnerships and contracts with Universities in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. She wrote and co-edited a number or articles, chapters and books that are aimed at ensuring practitioners in health and social care can apply theory to their everyday practice.

Sharon's extensive experience of working with Boards and Governing Bodies is wide and varied and covers local groups such as 11-19 Executive, BSF Programme Board, and regional groups such as Regional Work & Skills Partnership, Regional ESF Programme Board, the Regional Alliance of Sector Skills Councils and the Regional Migration and Asylum Seekers Partnership. Her passion is ensuring that all learners have equal access to as wide a range of learning opportunities as possible and that all young people are able to reach their potential

Sharon is a member of the Audit Committee.

Roya was appointed to the Board in October 2010. When Roya moved to Barnsley she began her education journey at Barnsley College where she studied English. Roya currently works for the Barnsley Black and Ethnic Minority Initiative in Barnsley and works mainly with NHS Barnsley to implement the Delivering Race Equality agenda in Mental Health care. She holds a Diploma in Social Economy and is qualified in Community and Mental Health Research from the University of Central Lancashire; with a Certificate in Race and Equality and Cultural Capability. Roya is currently studying for a foundation degree in Community Development and Regeneration from Bradford University (Northern College).

Roya is the lead officer for the BME Women’s and Children’s forum which looks to help BME communities play a better role in society in Barnsley, improving community cohesion and social inclusion. She has a creative background in art and photography, is fluent in Farsi, Arabic and English, and has significant experience of working with people from different backgrounds, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and understands their needs well.

Roya is a member of the Audit Committee.

Simon is a senior solicitor and head of the commercial property department at Atteys Solicitors. He attended Broadway Grammar School and subsequently trained as a solicitor in the town. He is also a notary public dealing with overseas transactions. He holds a part time training post with the University of Cambridge teaching notarial practice and until recently was the clerk to the General Commissioners of Income Tax.

Derek Carpenter is well known for his success in establishing leading brands in Europe as Managing Director of UK based, American owned Companies. In recent years he has concentrated on supporting and developing business in Yorkshire.

Formerly Secretary for South Yorkshire Institute of Directors and SME Ambassador for Yorkshire and the North East on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, his background is professional sales and he is a Chartered Marketer.  Derek is also an approved Business Coach for Barnsley Development Agency; he has served as a Board Director and Vice President of Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and as a Board Director of Barnsley Development Agency Limited which deals with Economic and Social needs within Barnsley. He currently serves as a Governor of Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Derek was appointed to the Board in May 2011.

Andrew is a qualified chartered accountant and since 2004 has worked at Sheffield Hallam University.  He has undertaken a number of financial roles at the University including Deputy Director of Finance and most recently as Head of Finance for the Faculty of Health & Wellbeing.

His work at the University has included supporting the transfer of the £45m contract for the training and education of Nurses and Midwives to Sheffield Hallam University from the University of Sheffield.  Andrew has supported the Faculty with strategic financial planning to ensure that students receive a high quality experience, external health stakeholder needs are met and that a sustainable financial surplus is delivered to fund new investment.

Andrew trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sheffield, and following qualification undertook roles in a number of different industry sectors including distribution and retail.

He has a first degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Sheffield and is currently studying part time for an MBA.  Andrew is also a business mentor and works with graduate start-up companies based at The Hatchery at Sheffield Hallam.

Peter has been an employee of the College since January 1992 and is currently Course Leader for the EDEXCEL BTEC Electrical and Electronic Extended Diploma Level 3.  Before joining Barnsley College Peter had a career in the Mining and Engineering industries and gained most of his qualifications at Barnsley College.

Peter was appointed as staff governor in March 2012 and has become a member of the Audit Committee. 

Michael Fletcher, or ‘Fletch’ to everyone that knows him, has worked at or for the college from 1994. Since 1996, Fletch has worked in the Performing Arts section as an agency lecturer in technical theatre and later in 2000, was appointed as technician, then technical instructor.  During this time, Fletch has also provided services and tuition for the music and media, social sciences and hair and beauty areas of the college.

Fletch currently leads on the Stage Lighting, Scenic Construction and Theatrical Make-Up classes for the small yet outstandingly successful Production Arts course, as well as providing support and co-teaching for the Variety class on the Performance pathway. In addition to teaching duties and technical support for cross-college events, Fletch acts as the venue technical manager for the college’s performance venues.

Before his college career, Fletch worked for 10 years in the performing arts industry in a wide range of roles:  from stage crew to touring circus big-top tent manager; to face painting and circus skills tutor; to a 10 foot tall on-stage drag character...  and much more.

Fletch was appointed to the board as a staff governor in March 2012, and has become a member of the Governance and Search Committee.  

Mostafa is currently studying Functional Skills and Business Administration Level 1 He has been a student at Barnsley College since  2008 and in that time has completed Entry level 3  English, and more recently English and Maths Level 1.  Mostafa  hopes to complete Business Administration at Level 2 next year.  Mostafa recently won the Contribution to College Life award at the annual Barnsley College Excellence Awards.