Amanda Nicholson
CEO
In my role as CEO I sit on the LAB as a Governor with specific responsibility for SEND. I am also the CEO of the King’s Academy Trust. I have led Oakwood Academy through academy conversion in 2012, outstanding Ofsted inspections in 2013 and 2017, opened a 6th form and lowered our age range so we can facilitate smoother transition to secondary education. I became a National Leader of Education in 2015 and Oakwood was designated a National Teaching School in 2016. We are now working hard to train the next generation of SEND teachers and undertake school to school support in a variety of settings.
My specialism is education, especially SEND, but I work across mainstream in both primary and secondary. I have led my schools through 3 outstanding Ofsted inspections and I am a trained Ofsted Inspector.
I have worked in special education for over 20 years. Although I have had many different roles within schools, my specialism is in the pastoral care of children and young people and working teachers to support and engage with pupils with complex learning difficulties and disabilities.
Over this time, I have developed and maintained provision within schools to support pupils’ social, emotional, behavioural and mental health needs and put in place, facilities and alternative education programmes for children with complex needs which has enabled these pupils to fully engage in learning and school life.
My current role as COO, involves with closely with the head teachers of the schools within Trust on all operational matters, including, HR, Health & Safety, Project Management, Site Management and ICT.
Lisa Southwood
Headteacher
I have dedicated my career to education for over two decades, beginning in 2001 after qualifying as a teacher. My journey started in a Mainstream Primary School in Salford, where I taught within KS2 for the first three years of my teaching career.
In 2004, I joined Oakwood Academy as a Year 7 teacher and quickly discovered my passion for SEND. This passion led me to the role of Head of Year, where I focused on building strong relationships with students and guiding their academic and personal growth.
In 2014, I became part of the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to the strategic vision and development of the school. In 2020, I was honoured to be appointed as Headteacher at Oakwood Academy, where I am committed to fostering a positive and inclusive environment for both students and staff.
Most notably, in January 2024, Oakwood Academy was rated Outstanding by Ofsted. This is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our entire school community. Leading Oakwood Academy continues to be a deeply rewarding experience, and I remain dedicated to ensuring every student has the opportunity to thrive.
Darren has been working at Oakwood Academy since 2009 and he is the Deputy Head Teacher. He started the school as a Newly Qualified Teacher and has held roles including; Head of PE, Director of Teaching and Learning and Assistant Headteacher.
His passion and drive comes from seeing the unique personal development that young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities have made in Physical Education and across practical subject areas.
During the last few years, Darren has worked successfully with the Youth Sport Trust on various projects to raise the profile of inclusion in Physical Education across the UK and abroad. More recently he has become a Specialist Leader in Education (SLE) and had experiences working collaboratively with other schools and local authorities regarding teaching and learning and SEND including completing SEND reviews.
I began my career in education as a mainstream primary teacher, working across a range of inner-city schools. I was, and still am, so passionate about removing barriers to learning, being fully inclusive for all pupils and families that I work with. I loved my time in mainstream and developed a knowledge for teaching pupils, who for a variety of reasons, had more complex learning needs. I began to thrive teaching pupils who presented with SEND and SEMH needs - this would then become a skill I would use later on in my career.
After gaining an increased passion for teaching pupils with SEND I began working at Oakwood Academy in 2018. During my time at Oakwood, I have worked in a variety of teaching and learning roles including being Head of Provision at our Designated Provision before becoming Assistant Headteacher at Oakwood Academy. Amongst these roles I have also worked across other schools in our Trust, primarily developing other Designated Provisions and working on supporting complex SEND needs through a robust, ambitious and comprehensive curriculum.
During this time in my career, I was able to further strengthen my knowledge and understanding of autism and SEMH, and the strategies needed to support these pupils in the classroom including effective curriculum adaptations. Now working as Assistant Headteacher, I contribute to the strategic vision for teaching and learning across the school, using all of the prior skills I have gained.
I am proud and honoured to work at Oakwood Academy, continuing to work with a range of professionals, parents, teaching staff, and of course our amazing pupils.
I have been working at Oakwood Academy for the last 21 years. I started my career at Oakwood as a TA supporting students within the classrooms. I soon found a passion for supporting young people with SEND and through working with amazing and inspirational staff I then completed my HLTA. This gave me experience of teaching KS3 and 4 for four years. I progressed onto the role of Transition Advisor, this jobs ensured all students had the opportunity of continuing their education after year 11 at Oakwood.
While working as the transition advisor I completed a BA Honours Degree in Teaching Learning and Mentoring at night school. I then complete the Assessment only route and qualified as an English teacher.
Through my teaching / transition role I worked with the students as they moved through the school, I saw how they gained confidence in their abilities and developed their academic careers very successfully. Unfortunately, there wasn’t always the provision suitable to build on the amazing work that had been put in by Oakwood when the students left in year 11. To make sure the students continued to progress successfully I suggested to the Head teacher the possibility of Oakwood having its own Sixth Form. From this conversation we quickly established out own Sixth Form which has grown from strength to strength. Starting with twelve students in September 2012, we have now grown to over 66 students to date.
Due to the growth of the Sixth Form we have now successfully relocated to the heart of Media City where we are able to build on the work experience and employability opportunities in one of the most popular locations in the country.
We are continuing to grow to offer a five-day provision, a range of vocational qualification, work experience and academic qualifications to 100 students.
I have been working at Oakwood Academy since 2007, initially supporting students in a 1:1 classroom setting. This experience sparked my dedication to inclusive education and laid the foundation for my career. Throughout my time at Oakwood, I have taken on various roles, but my passion for Physical Education has always been central. It was in this area that I completed my teacher training through Oakwood and qualified as a teacher in 2017. Since then, I have embraced the role of Head of PE, working to promote positive physical opportunities and outcomes for all students.
More recently, I’ve developed my role further by mentoring Early Career Teachers (ECTs), a responsibility I value greatly for the opportunity to support new educators in their own professional journeys.
In 2023, I was honoured to begin my role on the Senior Leadership Team as Teacher Development and Pupil Enhancement Lead. In this role, I am dedicated to advancing teaching excellence and ensuring that each student has the opportunity to succeed and thrive at Oakwood Academy.
I have been working at Oakwood Academy since 2012. I completed my teacher training placement in 2011 at Oakwood and found my passion for teaching pupils with SEND and working directly with students who required tailored approaches to learning. Starting out as a newly qualified teacher (NQT), I developed a passion for ensuring that all students, regardless of their challenges, could access quality education. It was here I saw the importance of education in building confidence and self-worth among SEND students. After gaining several years of teaching experience, I was appointed Head of lower school, a role that added a significant pastoral dimension to my work.
As Head of Lower school, I became the main support point for students transitioning from primary to secondary school, a critical time in their educational journey. As part of this role I was responsible for the pastoral care of pupils in year 5, 6, and 7. This meant I helped support with rewards, behaviour, safeguarding and attendance. I also co-ordinated the transition of pupils from primary to secondary school. As a school the smooth transition of our pupils is very important, the move to a new school presents a whole set of new challenges and can feel a lit bit daunting and exciting at the same time. During this period, I completed my SENCO qualification to become Lower school SENCO and lead on annual reviews and support parents/carers with the annual review process not just within Oakwood but attending reviews and supporting SENCOS at other primary school settings.
More recently I was honoured to join the senior leadership team as Pupil Inclusion Lead continuing my role as Head of Lower School and overseeing behaviour and attendance across the whole school.
