The Trustees are the people who have ultimate responsibility for the general control and management of engage in their future and ensuring that it is solvent, well run and delivers its charitable outcomes for the benefit of members.
They have a duty of prudence and a duty of care to ensure that they as individuals and the organisation itself complies with all relevant guidance and legislation.
I have worked in specialist residential education for 35 years, becoming Principal of The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form in August 2017. We are about to open a College, and a 52 week children’s home, which is incredibly exciting as we develop our reach further.
I am immensely motivated and committed to improving the lives of children and young adults, particularly those facing challenges associated with Social, Emotional and Mental Health. I also maintain the strong belief that we have a duty and responsibility to share our experience, knowledge, and ‘expertise’ beyond our schools, we should also get great joy from being part of fellow professionals’ journeys.
I am a strong believer in work-life brilliance; a fulfilment and ease in all parts of life: health, work, relationships and home.
Our Trust currently works with 100 schools in our host Local Authority, Calderdale and I am involved in regional and national work across a variety of Special Interest Groups.
I believe in a quality of life that encapsulates health, happiness and growth, learning every day and the mantra that there are no limits to success…everything is possible.
I am the Chief Executive of NASS and have held this post since 2005. I previously held policy responsibility for Non-maintained and Independent Special Schools in the Department of Education.
I started out my working life as a psychologist, working in both child and adolescent and adult mental health services. I have a number of publications on the topic of self-harm from my time as a research psychologist at Birmingham Children’s hospital. I also taught psychology and managed the community care pathway on the University of Birmingham’s social work programme.
Within NASS, I work with over 400 special schools, catering for over ten thousand children and young people with complex needs. I represent the sector in work with central and local Government and Ofsted.
I was awarded an OBE in 2023 for services to children with SEND.
With a background of working alongside pupils in both care and SEMH provisions, I subsequently spent 6 years as a specialist recruiter for Vision for Education before taking the role of Director of SEND in 2017 and overseeing the opening of new office locations and training of new recruiters throughout the country.
I am now Commercial Director at The Edwin Group, a growing collective of likeminded education support services with the desire to positively impact the lives of those working within the sector.
I have been involved with Engage in Their Future since 2016, initially as a commercial sponsor with Vision for Education and then more recently as a Trustee where I hope to use my experience of growing businesses to help Engage in Their Future to reach and support as many people as possible.
Having been an SEMH Headteacher for over 20 years, I am passionate about work within the SEMH community, and I have a wealth of experience and knowledge which I use to ensure positive outcomes for the pupils I work with.
I have worked as a specialist curriculum design lead for SSAT and have sat on a number of national bodies working to develop and improve SEND issues.
I have been involved with Engage in Their Future for many years and have been on the National Committee for the past 6 years. I have recently become one of its Trustees, where I hope I can work with others to drive the SEMH agenda to the fore and champion the needs of the young people to support them to reach their potential.
Having been a headteacher in both special (SEMH) and mainstream schools for 24 years, an Ofsted inspector for 9 years, I am now an independent Consultant – ‘Wholehearted Learning’.
I work with and support both special and mainstream schools to enable authentic inclusion and facilitate a deeper understanding around the neuroscience of learning, biology of stress.
I am a member of the Youth Justice Board, strategic oversight for education in custody, the development and opening of the first secure school and Board Champion for neurodivergence, on the advisory board for Team Teach and am a trainer for the Thrive Approach and an assessor for IQM.
I was awarded The Pride of Britain Award – Headteacher of the Year in 2013, and an OBE in 2015 for services to children with SEND.
