Information relating to our Local Governing Board
All our governors have voting rights except Mrs Sarah Byrne.
Governor Name | Term of office start date | Term of office end date | Type | Appointed by | Relevant Business Interests | Date Interest First Started | Links to other Educational Establishments | Personal Relationships with School Staff or other Governors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Mohammed Rizwan | 08/07/2024 | 07/07/2028 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Mr Gurdeep Singh Aulakh | 23/11/2023 | 22/11/2027 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Mr Lal Chand | 23/11/2023 | 22/11/2027 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Mrs Iona Douglas-White | 25/11/2021 | 26/11/2025 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Mrs Alexa Tanner | 31/03/2025 | 30/03/2029 | Staff | elected by school staff | None | None | None | |
Mrs Elena Stan | 31/10/2024 | 01/11/2028 | Parent | elected by parents and carers or those with parental responsibility for pupils at Merridale | Employed at Merridale as a Parent Ambassador | 01/01/2024 | None | None |
Mrs Laura Towle | 10/02/2022 | Ex-Officio | Headteacher | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Mrs Sarah Byrne | 18/10/2022 | Ex-Officio | Associate | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Miss Lauren Townsend | 03/06/2024 | 05/03/28 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | English teacher at Blue Coat C of E Academy | None | |
Ms Debbie Haynes | 08/07/2024 | 07/07/2028 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | Subject Lead for Secondary Education, English for ITT courses at Wolverhampton University | None | |
Mrs Joyty Jassal-Sandhu | 27/03/2025 | 26/03/2029 | Parent | elected by parents and carers or those with parental responsibility for pupils at Merridale | ||||
Miss Jennifer Martin | 27/03/2025 | 26/03/2029 | Parent | elected by parents and carers or those with parental responsibility for pupils at Merridale | ||||
Former Governors | ||||||||
Mrs Amanda Costello - Vice Chair | 07/10/2024 | 31/08/2025 | Co-opted | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Cllr John Reynolds | 08/10/2020 | 07/10/2024 | Local Authority | Governing Body | None | None | None | |
Mr Haseeb Ullah Khan | 01/11/2020 | 30/10/2024 | Parent | elected by parents and carers or those with parental responsibility for pupils at Merridale | None | None |
The Governing Body
Finance & Resources Committee
Mr Gurdeep Singh, Aulakh (Vice Chair, Finance and Resources)
Mrs Amanda Costello
Mrs Laura Towle
Mrs Iona Douglas-White
Mr Lal Chand
Curriculum Committee
Miss Lauren Townsend
(Chair of Curriculum)
Mr Mohammed Rizwan
Mrs Elena Stan
Mrs Alexa Tanner
Mrs Laura Towle
Ms Debbie Haynes
Appraisal Committee
3 Non Staff Governors
Annual meeting
Pay/ Personnel Committee
3 Non Staff Governors
Annual meeting
Staff Discipline Committee
3 Non Staff Governors
Meet as necessary
Pupil Discipline Committee
3 Non Staff Governors
Meet as necessary
Link Governors
SEND Link Governor:
Mrs I Douglas-White
Health and Safety Link Governor:
Mr L Chand
Safeguarding Link Governor:
Miss J Martin
E-Safety Link Governor:
Mr G Singh Aulakh
Filtering and Monitoring Link Governor:
Mr G Singh Aulakh
Attendance Governor:
Miss L Townsend
Safer Recruitment Link Governor:
Mr G Singh Aulakh
Training Governor: Ms D Haynes
Local Governing Board Meeting Dates 2025-26
Meeting Type | Start Time | Date |
|---|---|---|
Autumn Term 2025 | ||
Full Local Governing Board | 5.30pm | Thursday 9th October 2025 |
Spring Term 2026 | ||
Full Local Governing Board | 5.30pm | Thursday 29th January 2026 |
Summer Term 2026 | ||
Full Local Governing Board | 5.30pm | Thursday 11th June 2026 |
Governor Meeting Attendance 2024-2025
Y = Attended
N = Apologies accepted
X = No apologies sent
Blank = Not at Governor at the time of the meeting or not expected to attend (for example, due to declaration of a conflict of interest or not a member of the committee
Governor | FGB - 26/09/2024 | Curriculum - 10/10/2024 | Resources - 24/10/2024 | Curriculum - 27/02/2025 | Resources - 13/03/2025 | FGB - 27/03/2025 | Resources - 08/05/2025 | FGB - 26/06/2025 | Curriculum - 03/07/2025 | Extraordinary FGB - 14/07/2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sarah Byrne | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
Lal Chand | X | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
Amanda Costello | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | |||
Iona Douglas | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | |||
Debbie Haynes | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | |||
Joyty Jassal-Sandhu | Y | Y | ||||||||
Jennifer Martin | N | N | ||||||||
Mohammed Rizwan | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | |||
Gurdeep Singh | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | |||
Elena Stan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
Alexa Tanner | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | |||
Laura Towle | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Lauren Townsend | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |

