I am the Craven District Outreach SENCO based at The Skipton Academy. I have been a teacher for 28 years, initially I trained and worked as a languages teacher and worked in Bradford, Leeds and London. I trained to be a SENCO in 2016 and worked in secondary and specialist resourced provisions in Leeds and Bradford. As well as SENCO training, I have continued to add to my professional knowledge through leading autism in schools training, exam access arrangements training, trauma informed and attachment awareness training. I am passionate about securing the appropriate provision for all students and early identification of needs is central to this.
My current role focusses on early identification of SEN needs and applying appropriate interventions so that all students have the chance to be successful as they move through their school lives. I work on systematically applying the graduated response to SEN with primary colleagues, initially considering individual pupil needs through discussion, observation or assessment as appropriate. We then work together to make a plan which is appropriate and can be done using the resources and skills available at each school. I can support schools to implement this plan by offering training, resources, and advice and reviewing the impact of any interventions. A systematic approach to the graduated response helps schools to be able to apply for further support such as HUB involvement or EHCP assessment. I have supported several schools to gather evidence and information needed to make successful requests for EHCP assessment. As well as individual cases, I am also able to deliver whole school training. In the last academic year I supported schools with SMART target training, de-escalation training, parent forums around SEN provision in schools, an SEN coffee morning for parents and other external services.
I have access to a number of baseline assessments which I can carry out in schools or loan to schools. To develop expertise within schools I can offer training on administering these screeners and analysing testing results. Schools are then able to use this evidence to plan more precisely for individual needs within the classroom, inform SMART targets and IEPs, and show progress or where progress has stalled.
Schools can contact me directly via email or telephone for an initial discussion and to set a date for me to visit. There is no form to complete, however we do have a consent form which schools must ask parents to sign if there is any direct work with individuals:
01756 702537.