Schools are run by a governing body working with the head teacher and senior management team to ensure pupils receive a high standard of education.

What do Governors do?

• Together with the Head teacher they are responsible for making sure our schools provide good quality education
• They provide challenge and support to headteachers, drawing on their knowledge and experience
• They make decisions together on matters such as performance, targets, school policies and school development plans
• They monitor the impact of policies and oversee school budgets and staffing
• They report on school achievements and respond to inspection recommendations
• They hear appeals from pupils and staff and consider complaints
• They ask searching questions and respect the position of headteachers as professional leaders of schools

Duties of the governing bodies in relation to special educational needs (SEND)

The Governing Body should, in co-operation with the Head teacher, determine the schools general policy and provision for children with SEND. It should establish the appropriate staffing and funding arrangements and maintain a general oversight of the schools work. The Governing Body must report to the parents annually on the schools policy on SEND. It is the role of the appointed SEND Governor to ensure that these responsibilities are being met by the Governing Body

List of Governors

Mrs Anwar-Bleem (Principal) – Ex-officio

Mr Mohammed Younis Hussain – Chair of Governors

Mr Emmerson Walgrove – Lay Chaplain

Mr Rizwan Aziz –  Governor

Mr Nasar Mohammed – Governor

Mr Peter Cusack – Staff Governor

Mrs Alison Lindup – Teacher Governor

Mrs Nageena Khan – Clerk to Governors

Code of Conduct for Iqra Academy

Register of Governor Interests

Here are statements from some of our school governors;

Chair of Governors

Mohammed Younis Hussain: ‘I joined the governing body at Iqra Academy as a parent governor. I have previous experience as a governor and I hope to bring this and my experience as Director of a local distribution company to the already dedicated professional skills mix of the governing body. I look forward to working with teachers and parents for the betterment of pupils education and achievement’.

Lay Chaplain

Emmerson Walgrove: I have lived in Bradford for a number of years and regularly attend the Parish of St Chad’s, Toller Lane. I am also a Lay Minister leading worship & administrating the Chalice at various services in the Diocese of Leeds.

I am a Director of Bradford Cyrenians which aims to provide flexible, preventative support service to vulnerable communities. I am also the Chair of Bradford & District Disabled People’s Forum (BDPF) who’s aim is to link disabled people and disability groups together to ensure that they have a stronger voice in the district.

In 2013 The Governing Body appointed Mr Emmerson Walgrove as Lay Chaplain to Iqra Academy.

“As Lay Chaplain, I have been involved with various faith assemblies with Mrs R Dunn-Birch (RE coordinator) along with making links with local faith leaders to enable them to come in to school to lead some of our assemblies”.

“I am also involved as Lay Chaplain along with various staff, pupils and governors in distributing food parcels to community groups or organisations which provide support to the homeless & vulnerable people in local community”

The main role of the Lay Chaplain is to offer pastoral support to all faiths and to all pupils, staff and parents.

Click here to read more about the Lay Chaplain’s roles and responsibilities.

Governor

Rizwan Aziz: ‘My child attends Iqra Academy. I am an IT professional and have been a governor for a number of years’.

Teacher Governor

Alison Lindup: I have been a teacher at Iqra Academy for a number of years and have experience teaching across all year groups. I became the SENDCo (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator) 2 years ago and work closely with a strong staff team other professionals, to ensure that our pupils receive the required support to make progress both academically and socially. I joined Iqra Academy’s governing body in January 2019 as a Teacher Governor.

Staff Governor

Peter Cusack: I joined the Iqra family in December 2015 as an Assistant Site Manager. My previous work experience gained consisted of 35 years in engineering, office and management roles.

I have a varied engineering skills background, starting my career an electrician and then working in the telecommunications industry for 31 years. My engineering skills for 18 years involved innovation daily due to the introduction of new technologies. This included the move away from a standard telephone line to a wide variety of digital services.

I progressed from engineer to Charge Hand, Senior Technician, Technical Officer, Technical Officer in Charge. Eventually finishing my career as a Diagnostics Centre of Excellence Team Manager.

I supervised a team of 21 highly skilled technical officers, both office based and remote workers including home workers. This involved health and safety checks, performance management and sick absence reviews.

I have experience in performance management where I held a lead role for 18 months this included introducing new performance management procedures negotiating with the unions the benefits involved. I was also the health and safety representative, reporting to the board on a monthly basis. This covered absence trends and health initiatives to assist the workforce.

I also worked with the HR department introducing a new annual leave procedure for office-based workers and performed data and trend analysis on a variety of different projects.

Some of my key skills are listed below and will be a benefit to the Iqra Academy Governing Body.

• Business – strategy and leadership
• Human resources
• Procurement/contracting services
• Data analysis
• Health and safety
• ICT knowledge
• Premises maintenance
• Project management