Alison Walsh

Alison is a local primary school Headteacher with 32 years’ experience in education across Birmingham and Walsall.

Her third headship returned her to Walsall where she is passionate about improving life chances of young people. She has had extensive roles in school improvement and leadership, working collaboratively with other local schools.

Alison is passionate about safeguarding pupils and ensuring the most disadvantaged pupils are given the best start. She became a trustee of Joseph Leckie to gain experience of another phase of education. Outside work Alison enjoys reading , is an avid fan of The Beatles and also enjoys visiting her caravan in the Peak District with her dog, Hey Jude.

John Owen

John is Subject Leader at the University of Wolverhampton for the Secondary Initial Teacher Education Computing courses. Within secondary schools John has held roles including, Head of ICT and Business Studies/Economics, oversight of all IT and pastoral roles. Other former roles include lead tutor for Teach First Computer Science/ICT for the West Midlands. John has been a National Strategies Consultant and ICT Advisor for a local authority leading a team of primary and secondary consultants; chaired the WMNet teaching and Learning Group; the e-Safety Group, and sat on the Management Board. He has also been a developer and assessor for 360 Safe e-Safety mark and an ICT Mark assessor. Special interests include e-safety and teaching pedagogies. John was involved in developing a unit for the ICT National Strategies and working as a lead developer with an examination board for a Teaching qualification aimed at developing computing skills among trained teachers. He has extensive experience of training and supporting qualified teachers and support staff. John is a Computing at School (CAS) Community Leader for Walsall and a Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency (CEOP) Education Ambassador. His hobbies include walking and fishing.

Dr Mike Rickhuss

Dr Mike Rickhuss currently works at the University of Wolverhampton – Walsall Campus where he is the subject leader for secondary mathematics teacher training. Prior to being employed in higher education, Mike worked for several years as a local authority mathematics advisor in two West Midlands authorities. Mike started his professional career in teaching as a secondary school mathematician eventually leaving the classroom as a deputy headteacher. He has been the chair of governors in three secondary schools and has worked as a consultant for a number of national organisations involved with mathematics education. Mike has a keen interest in classical music and as a player of woodwind instruments he is involved as a performer with a number of local ensembles who give charity concerts around the region.

Ann Gough

Ann is now retired following a long career in public service. She was previously the CEO of Wolverhampton YMCA, a consultant at Wolverhampton City College and the CEO of the Students’ Union at Wolverhampton University. For several years she has been a Justice of the Peace on the Black Country Bench and has worked as a presiding Justice, appraiser and mentor. She has been a governor of a secondary school in Wolverhampton for 15 years including 5 years as a chair of governors. Ann is a keen dog walker and a volunteer reader at a primary school near to where she lives. She wishes to become a trustee to support the development and growth of schools. In her application form, Ann states that she brings strategic, leadership, budgeting skills, experience of pupil disciplinary panels and a strong understanding of safeguarding. She also brings compassion and a passion for enabling young people to thrive and grow in all areas of their lives.

Nasiya Tahir

Nasiya holds a BA (Hons) in Cultural Studies  and English (2004) and an MA in Communication Studies (2006) both from Sheffield Hallam University. After 20 years in further and higher education including roles in the UK as Head of Department for English and Maths, centre manager for six sites and companywide academic lead as well as working in two reputable universities in the Middle East as as an international teaching and learning supervisor, she has now turned her interest in social justice into a career leading quality improvements in offender education. A champion of life-long learning from an early age and speaking five languages, she has supported language learning within her local community. She completed a CELTA course in 2013 to further enhance her teaching skills in this specialism. 

Nasiya is highly organised, flexible and an avid reader and lover of cars. She keeps up with current affairs and has a keen interest in education, pedagogy, social justice and social mobility and is currently studying towards a verification and assessment qualification whilst working full time.

Amit Ram

Amit holds a senior role at Deutsche Bank where he is involved in change management and transformation. His areas of specialism include business design and analysis, processes and efficiency. He believes this gives him skills he can bring to the role. Amit also owns his own events company. He has young children who attend a school in Walsall.

Avtar Singh

Avtar is a graduate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He has worked for Deutsche Bank for over 13 years. His current role is a Quality Assurance Officer, based in Birmingham. Avtar is very keen to volunteer, share his skills and give something back to his local community.

Javid Ram

More information coming soon...

Fr. Mark McIntyre

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