Meet The Team

Expertise / Specialism: Leadership and Management, SEND, Autism, positive behaviour management, attendance, pastoral care

Additional skills and knowledge: Outstanding Facilitator Programme (OFP), Pupil Premium Reviewer Training, NPQSL Coach, NPQML Coach

Qualifications:BA (Hons), PGCE, National SENCo Award, Leadership Pathways (NCSL), NVQ ‘Skills to Manage Medication in Schools’

I have been working for Birtenshaw as Assistant Director – Education, since August 2018. My previous 25 years in education have allowed me to gain a wide variety of experiences and roles, for example, I spent the start of my teaching career in Warwickshire where I worked as a Head of Music in a secondary mainstream school and then after a couple of years in primary mainstream decided to move into the area of Special Education. My decision at this time was driven by my initial years as a parent of a disabled child; this has had the biggest and most significant impact on myself as an educator to date; my empathy and understanding towards other parents of disabled children and young people has strengthened ever since. Once in Special Education I never looked back and have since moved from being a teacher to an Assistant Headteacher and then more recently a Deputy Headteacher. I have worked in Special Education across Bury and Bolton and have met many parents and other professionals who work with the children, young people and adults at Birtenshaw. My role at Birtenshaw is an exciting new challenge where I feel I will be able to share and develop the skills that I have built so far within the field of SEN. It is an opportunity to work alongside many other like-minded and passionate people and to shape the future and provision for all the amazing children and young people at Birtenshaw.