Cherry Oak 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
Gary Coffey Executive Headteacher Federation of Cherry Oak School and Victoria School (together with Victoria College). Responsible for the strategic direction of the Federation and the operational and day to day running of Victoria school.
Welcome to Cherry Oak School where you will find lots of useful information about Cherry Oak School, the work we do, our rich and creative curriculum and the exciting opportunities we provide for our amazing students.
Cherry Oak is a special day school for pupils aged 4 to 11 years who have special education needs and/or disabilities arising from cognition and learning difficulties including severe learning difficulties and speech, communication and language difficulties.
We are part of a hard Federation with Victoria School which gives us many opportunities for collaborative work and sharing of good practice. Victoria School is a community special school for students aged 2 to 19 years with a range of learning difficulties, including complex health needs and severe and profound disabilities.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
4 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Physical Education
- Extra Curricular
- Attachment Aware Schools
- Trauma Informed Schools
Awards
2 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Basic Skills Quality MarkLiteracy and numeracy
- Healthy SchoolsHealth and wellbeing
Key facts
- URN
- 103626
- Type
- Community special school
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Selly Oak
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Governing body (13 current, 2 former)
Special schools governing body.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clare Mills | Chair of Governors | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Adam Mohamed Shirwa | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Ms Elizabeth Mary Chambers | Governor | Elected by parents | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Lesley Jackson | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Ms Gillian Mary Hill | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Ms Helen Mary Schneider | Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Sadie Leean Bolton | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Martin Carpenter | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Susan Margaret McCorkindale | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr David Julian Budden | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Ann Marie Ellis | Governor | Appointed by LA | since 2022 · until 2026 ends 2026 |
| Mrs Lisa Wootton | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2022 · until 2026 ends 2026 |
| Mr Gary Coffey | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2021 |
| Penelope Jane Cornish Former | Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · term ended 2026 |
| Mr John Pemberton Former | Governor | Elected by parents | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
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