Meet our Governing Body – Our Governor Pen Portraits
Janet Matthews – Chair of Governors
My name is Janet and I am the Chair of Governors. I attended Florence Melly myself and after my eldest daughter and son had been in the school a few years a vacancy became available on the governor body and I applied to become a parent governor in 2014. I really enjoyed being a governor and when my parent governor term came to an end, with the backing of the full governing body, I became a co-opted governor in 2018. After receiving a lot of help and support when Ben (who has significant special educational needs) started in the Nursery, I really wanted to be able to help the school move forward and support and challenge the staff. I have a particular interest in Safeguarding and SEND, I am an active member of PATCH and I really enjoy volunteering in the school library. I am married to David, who is a chef and we have 3 children…Ava, Ben and Chloe, who have all attended Flo Melly.
Angela Wilson – Parent Governor/Vice Chair of Governors
My name is Angela Wilson Gotham and I am Vice Chair of the Governors and also a parent governor. I became a governor to hopefully play an active role in our fantastic school which I also attended as a child too. I hope that my professional skills (I work for a nuclear regulator) and desire to collaborate with others makes me a good choice for this role.
Aaron Leach – Headteacher
My name is Aaron Leach and I am the proud Headteacher of Florence Melly Community Primary School. I live in West Kirby with my partner, Anna, and two wonderful children, Seren and Hari. I have worked in our school for thirteen years and really feel part of this community. I initially came to the school as a student teacher and was lucky to secure a teaching post in Year 5 a couple of years later. Since then I have held multiple positions, progressing to finally leading this amazing school, realising a a long-term DREAM of mine! I have experience of teaching across the phases from EYFS to upper Key Stage 2 and have worked in requires improvement, good and outstanding schools. I am also a Governor at West Kirby Primary School where my son attends and at another local primary school in North Liverpool.
James McDonald – Co-opted Governor
My name is James. I am the SEND Governor. I was a Headteacher in Liverpool for 9 years and worked across both Primary and Secondary Schools citywide supporting with Leadership, Behaviour, SEND and AEP related issues. I now work as an Educational Consultant specialising in those areas. As a previous Headteacher, I am an experienced Governing Body member. I think Florence Melly is a great school. I admire its community feel and the care they give its students, families and staff. I am proud to be able to support the Governing Body and help the school continue to improve.
Jamie Long – Co-opted Governor
Carl Gilbertson – Co-opted Governor
My name is Carl Gilbertson and I am a co-opted Governor at Florence Melly Community Primary School, with specific responsibility for Pupil Premium. I have fifteen years experience as a Governor and was co-opted onto our board in 2017. I am also a Governor at Wellesbourne Primary School, Archbishop Beck Catholic College and St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in Liverpool City Centre, where I myself attended. Professionally I hold a number of directorships, most notably I am the Managing Director of MGL, the leading provider of IT support to schools across the North West. I am a qualified accountant and have been previously awarded Merseyside’s Business person of the Year. I am a fellow of the National Association of Digital Citizens (NADC) and have undertaken a number of speaking engagements on behalf of the National Education Science and Technology Agency (NESTA). I am also an ambassador for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Away from business and education, I have been a season ticket holder at Anfield for 35 years.
My name is Stu, co-opted onto Florence Melly’s board in 2021 and I am also a Trustee at West Derby High School. I am married to Alisha, and we have 4 children; Libby, Thomas & Elsa, all Florence Melly graduates and flourishing in secondary education. Ayda currently attends Florence Melly. Professionally I have over 20 years’ experience in financial services. I have extensive relationship management experience dealing with businesses of all sizes and stages of growth. In my current role I work in a team that provides non-financial business support for small to medium sized enterprises nationally whilst maximising commercial & growth expectations. I originally expressed an interest in becoming a governor as I am keen to build a stronger understanding of the education system and build a deeper relationship with the school whilst adding as much value to the school and the wider community as possible.
Michaela Wright – Co-opted Governor
My name is Michaela and I am part of a large close extended family, wife, proud Mum to my two grown up daughters; Hannah 32 who works and lives in New Zealand and Evie, who has just graduated from Kingston University London and is about to start her chosen career. Cooking and sharing family time is what we love to do. I also love being outdoors with nature and encouraging others to do the same. I am an experienced practitioner with 32 years of experience working with children and families. I have worked as a Parent Support Advisor with Local Authority Extended Services, with families and children from diverse communities, in schools and children centres. I have created and delivered various health and wellbeing projects for schools in Liverpool Authority. On leaving school I originally trained as a Chef at catering college and worked in the hospitality industry for 12 Years. Good food and nutrition has always been at the heart of my passions. In 1993, I started teaching children and families and alongside this lectured in Child Health & Development. In 2015 I realised my dream and started my small business, Apple of my Eye Food Education Company, which now teaches children the amazing world of food. I am passionate about giving children lots of different types of opportunities to succeed and learn new skills in school and the wider community. I teach Food & Nutrition every week at Florence Melly, run the School Nutrition Action Group (SNAG) and deliver after-school cookery clubs. Being part of the Florence Melly family is a great opportunity to be part of an exceptional school with dedicated and staff where the children who attend have a wide variety of quality learning experiences and a governing body that seeks the best outcome for every child.
Hannah Earle – Co-opted Governor
Hello, my name is Julie Boyne and I became a co-opted Governor onto Florence Melly’s board in 2025. I have two grown up children, Jennie and Phil and a granddaughter, Madison, who is a pupil at Florence Melly. I went to University as a ‘mature student’ of 24 when Jennie and Phil were toddlers – on reflection it was lucky I had the energy of youth on my side, in spite of how the college described me. Spending time with my friends and family is my main joy in life, along with music, cooking and supporting LFC. I have been a HR professional for 23 years, after being an IT Trainer. My IT skills remain in the 1990’s for the most part. I am a HR Business Partner at the University of Liverpool, with particular expertise in developing management skills, supporting culture change and employee relations. During Covid, I achieved my highest accolade to date during our department Xmas party (on Zoom) of ‘Cutest interruptions on a Zooms call 2020’. Maddie was 18 months old at the time. I wanted to become a Governor to be involved in the community and because I love children and want to be involved in whatever way I can in supporting the high standards and the warm and caring environment of the school.
Rose Findell – Staff Governor
My name is Rose Findell. I am the Staff Governor and SENCo. I live with my two sons and our two cats. I’m passionate about tennis: watching and playing and I love walking, especially in the countryside. I’m a practising Christian and a Coeliac. I believe life is very precious and I love to laugh and make the most out of every day. I’ve been at Florence Melly nearly 21 years now and it’s definitely my second family.
Christina O’Keefe – Associate Member/Deputy Headteacher
My name is Christina O’Keefe and I am Deputy Headteacher and SENCo at Florence Melly. I moved here 18 months ago from St Vincent’s, where I had worked for 13 years. I live with my husband and our two adopted children. My specialism is SEND and I am working hard to make our fantastic school as inclusive as possible. I love reading and I’m dedicated to ensuring that all of our pupils learn not only to read…but to love reading too! I grew up and went to school locally so I strive to be a role model for our pupils, showing that DREAMS really can come true.
Nikki Bear – Associate Member/Assistant Headteacher
My name is Nikki Bear and I have been part of the Flo Melly family for 12 years. I began this journey as an NQT and now I am an Assistant Headteacher for the Quality of Education. I have raised standards in all year groups I have worked in, promoting high expectations and bringing innovative ideas to the classroom. I am very passionate about providing our pupils with high quality teaching, allowing them to gain essential skills as well as memorable experiences, that will help shape their future. My aim as an Assistant Headteacher is to empower our pupils to dream big, flourish and to reach their full potential.
Elaine Dobinson-Evans – Clerk to the Governing Body
Check out what our Governing Body have been up to recently…
