Priestley Smith School
Community special school in Birmingham (Birmingham).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
Priestley Smith Specialist School caters for pupils from nursery age through to the sixth form. All our pupils have significant visual impairments and approximately two thirds have additional needs such as social and emotional needs, moderate learning difficulties and medical needs.
We cater for students from Birmingham as well as from nearby local authorities including Wolverhampton, Solihull and Coventry. We also host the local authority mobility, reprographics and visual impairment technology services as well as providing an outreach service to other schools and families in conjunction with the local authority sensory support service.
In its most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was rated as Outstanding . A full copy of this inspection along with other inspections can be found here
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
2 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Cooking
- Swimming
Awards
2 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Inclusion Quality MarkInclusion
- UNICEF Rights Respecting SchoolsChildren's rights
Key facts
- URN
- 103614
- Type
- Community special school
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Erdington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Governing body (11 current, 0 former)
Special schools governing body.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Annie Bearfield | Chair of Governors | Appointed by GB/board | since 2022 · until 2029 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Julie Leavesley | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Mrs Lindsey McQueen | Governor | Parent appointed by GB/board due to no election candidates | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Lisa Coyle | Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Ms Talia Treen | Governor | Appointed by LA | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mr Yusuf Huraira | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Jennifer Collery | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Sharon Blair Burke | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr Robert Cash | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Joanna Louise Garvey | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2021 |
| Mrs Saiqa Bibi | Governor | Parent appointed by GB/board due to no election candidates | since 2021 · until 2029 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record