Our Governors

Our Governors

Students enjoying their computing lesson.

The IQRA Governing Body is made up of members representing various walks of life and come from differing backgrounds. The thing we all have in common is a passion that our children should have an outstanding education.

Jamaal R. Boakye

Chair of Governors and chair of Trust, appointed to the governing body byTrust

Jamaal R. Boakye is a foundation Governor and has been in post since the school became state funded in 2009. He has no relevant business interests but is interested in education, improving lives, helping people achieve their full potential and science. He does not govern any other educational establishments and does not have any relatives connected to the school.

Sameer Koomson

Vice chair of Governors, appointed by the Trust

Sameer Koomson is a foundation Governor and has been in the post since the school became state funded in 2009. He has no relevant or pecuniary business interests. He also does not govern any other educational establishments nor have any relatives connected to the school.

Zafar Razaq

Chair of resources committee / Foundation Governor, appointed by the Trust

Zafar Razaq was appointed to the governing body while Iqra was at Gresham Road. He is a foundation Governor and has been in post since the school became state funded, in 2009.

He is very passionate about education and helping children to achieve their potential, and until recently, worked for a Children’s Charity. He is also a keen volunteer and loves working with children and young people at a supplementary school he runs on a Monday evening in Canary Wharf. ‘Becoming a governor is a great learning experience for me, and one which helps me to feel close to the school, and community and allows me to give something back.’ He has no other family members or connections relating to the school.

Nyla Ghazi

Staff Governor

Nyla joined Iqra Primary School as a teacher in 2014. She became a staff governor in 2018 and represents the views of staff to the governing body. Nyla has over 12 years teaching experience in primary and secondary schools both in the state-run and independent school sectors. She is also responsible for leading the foundation subjects in the school – Science, History, Geography, Art and DT. Nyla is currently working part-time and is a Planning Preparation and Assessment cover teacher in the school.

Zainab Olaniyan

Parent Governor

I believe that the first years of a child’s education are crucial to their later academic achievements and – just as importantly – to the development of social and other life skills. Obviously, teachers and teaching assistants are at the frontline of this work, but the Governing Body works in the background, to support staff as they implement (ever changing!) government policy in circumstances where stretching resources is often a challenge. To some extent, the Governing Body also holds the school leadership team ‘to account’ as they make strategic decisions about the future direction of the school. This means it must have a good working knowledge of the school, understanding both its strengths and where there may be room for improvement.

As a parent governor, I am part of the Governing Body mix, along with teachers, other staff and community representatives. While the Governing Body can act only as a unit, I believe that parent governors have a special role, and should always try to assess issues and decisions from the point of view of parents/carers and families. This is not the same as representing individual parent’s points of view – it is about making sure that parent/carer perspectives (however diverse) are always considered.