Valley Road Academy
Academy converter primary school in Sunderland (Sunderland).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
'Success for All' Excellence through Aspiration Everyone at Valley Road believes in 'Success for All'. We have high expectations and work hard to make sure everyone feels welcome, safe, valued and included. Relationships are the heart of the school; we listen, treat each other equally with respect and tolerance, and form one big, diverse family.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
3 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Gymnastics
- Swimming
- Tennis
Awards
1 awardiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- UNICEF Rights Respecting SchoolsChildren's rights
Key facts
- URN
- 144221
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2018
Governing body (7 current, 1 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.1 governor is linked to a profile (all confirmed).
Governors marked “Confirmed same person” have exactly the same forename and surname as the only officer of that name at the school’s own academy trust company on the Companies House register, so we treat them as the same person. The governance record itself comes from DfE.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms Sarah Hindmarch | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Gavin Willis | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Ms Nicola McElwee | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Laura Brown | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr James Taylor | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2022 · until 2030 |
| Mr Neil Macdonald Clyde Confirmed same person | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2022 · until 2030 |
| Mrs Rebekah Bowman | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2022 |
| Mr Richard Offiong Former | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2025 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record