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Mr Paul Underwood

Head Teacher

As Headteacher of St Edward’s Catholic Primary School since Sep 2020, I am also a member of the Governing Body.  Previous to this, I was Headteacher and a Governor for 14 years at both St Winefride’s in Manor Park and St Mary’s in Hornchurch.   I became a teacher in Sep 1996, following a successful career in the City of London, working as an International Sugar Trader for Tate and Lyle Sugars.

I am delighted to work with our Governors, helping to shape the strategic vision of our school and ensure that we keep improving in every aspect.  We represent the community of staff, parents/ carers and parishioners to develop our pupils as confident, happy, secure young people, willing to engage in sharing their faith, culture and beliefs.  We work closely with our partners in the Multi Academy Trust and other local schools. 

We look to create our school as a happy, caring, spiritual, respectful and hardworking environment, with the Catholicity at the heart of everything we do.  We develop the staff so that they can utilise their skills to enable the children in their care to recognise their true potential and talents. As a Catholic community, we endeavour to celebrate the successes of our children in all areas of school life, with Jesus at our heart.

Our vision for the school is that we develop the ‘whole child’ to ensure that the needs of every one of our children are met and that each child is given a wealth of experience and opportunities across the whole curriculum.

Mr Michael Laniyan

Chair of Governors, Admissions, Personnel, Performance Management, Staff Grievance- Discipline & Appeals, Finance & Premises, Governors Forum Link, Science Link, Maths Link, Assessment Link

I have been associated with St Edward’s for the past 13 years, 10 of which I have served as a Foundation Governor and the last 5 years as the chair of Governors. Like others in the board my son also attended the St Edward’s before moving onto secondary school a few years ago.

My professional skill set is Accountancy and Finance which is useful when we have Finance and Personnel committee meetings in school with the head teacher and other members of the Senior Leadership Team.

It is always a pleasure to have dealings with the different stakeholders of the school i.e. the teachers, Parents, Pupils, Other schools in the Trust, other schools in the borough, and various external organisations.

My goal has always been to give all the children of St Edward’s every opportunity for them to achieve their full potential.

Ms Michelle Jones

Vice Chair of Governors, Admissions, Personnel, Finance & Premises, Curriculum, SEND, EYFS & Safeguarding Link

"I've been affiliated with St Edwards for over 27 years as my 3 children also attended this school. I work for the local government, my background of expertise is in HR and Employee Relations so with this experience I have bought a variety of practical and strategic skills to the governing board. I have been a Foundation Governor for the last 13 years and continue to work closely with the Head teacher, teachers, parents and the wider community to continue the success and catholic ethos of St Edward’s primary school."

Mrs Erlinda De Guia

Foundation Governor, Complaints, Pupil Discipline, Staff Grievance- Discipline & Appeals. RE, Geography, History Link 

Father Angelus Houle

Ex-Officio Governor 

(Parish Priest)

"My name is Fr. Angelus and I've been the Parish Priest at Our Lady of Compassion Church and the Ex-Officio Governor at St. Edward's Catholic Primary School since September 2017. I was a member of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal for 20 years before joining the diocese of Brentwood in 2014. I enjoy seeing our children at our school Masses, our Sunday Masses, and also visiting them in their classrooms. I like to share our Catholic Christian faith with them as this is the rock on which our school is founded. Our school motto, "Following Christ we reach our goals", reminds us of the importance of learning more about Jesus and deepening our relationship with him so that we can attain our God-given goals and help this world become a better place. Falling in love with Jesus, who we profess to be the Son of God, opens our hearts to receiving the blessings we need to enjoy life and be happy no matter what life throws at us. For me, Jesus is the centre of my life and the cause of my joy."

Mrs Rowena Pandaraoan

Parent Governor, Curriculum, Finance & Premises, Reading & Writing Link

For me, being a governor is about helping schools to be more cost effective and giving children a better experience. Traditionally, I think it’s seen as an older person’s role. But being a younger governor brings with it different views and lots of energy is a key part of moving it all forward. Now that my own child attends St Edwards School, I want to make a positive difference to not just my child's future, but to other children too. I think I bring diversity to the governing board, which is important because the school is very diverse and encourages inclusion. That’s a big strength, and it’s one I want to see grow.

Mr Junior Stewart

Foundation Governor, Curriculum, Personnel, Finance & Premises

I've been affiliated with St Edwards for over ten years with my children attending the school.

I work for the local government in a maintenance position, so in terms of experience I can bring a variety of practical and strategic skills.

I have been a Foundation Governor for the last four years and one of my many aims is to continue to work closely with teachers and parents alike in growing the success and catholic ethos St Edwards is well renowned for.

Mrs Stella Adesanya 

Foundation Governor, Curriculum, Complaints, Staff/Pupil Discipline, Pupil Premium Link

My name is Stella and I’ve been a foundation governor since 2021, I have a great connection with the school because it was where one of my children attended for their primary school education. I currently work in a private housing organisation and with my good interpersonal skills, high level of literacy and numeracy, I am confident that I can assist in the development of the children as well as their people and communication skills. I like the teaching of our faith in the school and as a person born and raised in a Catholic faith, I’m extremely impressed and believe that with the hard work of the staff, the children will grow up to become great ambassadors for the school, the community and especially the church. 

Ms Yvonne Edgar

Foundation Governor, Finance & Premises, Curriculum, PE & Music Link, MFL Link

I have been a Foundation Governor for 4 years and I have a strong commitment to make sure that there are high aspirations for the children. 


As an ex - St Edward's pupil, I am proud to say that the school provided me with a fantastic foundation. My background is in Banking and Finance and I have worked in various financial institutions for many years. I bring a range of skills to the role and my aim is to continue to ensure the clarity of vision , ethos and strategic direction of St Edwards.

Mr Dominic Johnson

Staff Governor

Curriculum & Teaching, Training Link

I have been teaching for over 32 years, initially in London and for sixteen years in independent and international schools. I have been teaching at St. Edwards for the last eight years and I currently lead Writing across the school. Although I have a particular interest in E.A.L. and foreign languages, I have led most subjects over the years. I am ambitious for the children I teach and the school as a whole.

 Mr O’Halloran

Foundation Governor, Curriculum & Teaching, Finance & Premises, RE Link

My name is Mark O'Halloran and I have lived in Newham my whole life. Professionally, I'm employed as a ward manager in the NHS. I first became aware of St Edward’s school a number of years ago when my sons attended there. At St Edward’s the teaching staff played such a crucial role in my son’s upbringing and all round development, plus they enjoyed going to school so much. When my daughter was old enough to start nursery, there was clearly no choice, it had to be at St Edward’s. Watching how much care and respect the staff have for the children is incredible.

I volunteered at St Edward’s and was lucky enough to be appointed as a governor. I chose to be a governor because I wanted to play my part in the parish and I believe I have transferable skills from my nursing career that would support my role as a governor. So far, being a governor has been very rewarding with opportunities for supporting the senior leadership team and teaching teams.