How long have you worked with children who have SEND?
I have worked with SEND children and young people for two years at The Harbour, where we provide young people aged 11-18 with the time, space and the support they need to learn outside of school.
I have also been director of the Self-Managed Learning College at Brighton for two years.
How did you come to have this role?
My background is in academia, where I taught and developed teacher training programmes, and conducted research into the Learning Sciences. I was exposed to the phenomenon of emotional based school avoidance (EBSA) in secondary schools and especially with neurodivergent young people, seven years ago. This led me to focus my research on evidence-based, neuro-affirmative approaches to education, which naturally integrated with my areas of expertise in social learning, democratic education and self-directed learning.
After several years of research, I launched The Harbour, which now supports 18 young people with SEND at our Oxford centre, in addition to helping schools, and a soon-to-be-opened programme for a hybrid learning community.
What strategies do you use at The Harbour?
We employ a combination of three pedagogies: Consent-based Education, Democratic Learning Communities and Self-Managed Learning.
Self-Managed Learning is an evidence-based approach, developed in the 1970s by Dr Ian Cunningham, to support young people in exploring what and how they want to learn to reach their goals. It focuses on developing skills such as self-regulated learning, reflection, executive functioning and collaboration. Consent-based education and democratic practices provide the social framework in which young people find their voice and enjoy a safe, inclusive and supportive community.
What have you done in your role that makes you feel proud of your own work, or that of your team?
For us, it is almost a daily reward when we see the transformation that young people undergo, recovering their mental health, self-esteem and joy of learning. When we hear from parents that we ‘gave them their young person back’, we know that we are doing something right!
How do you relax when you’re not working?
I love to read, hike and cook. It all gets an extra meaning when done with my family.
If you hadn’t gone into teaching, what might you have done instead?
I was a software engineer and a data scientist for years before going into education. I still utilise those skills in my current professional capacity, but nothing can replace the happiness that working with young people brings me.
If you had 10 minutes with the education secretary what advice would you give her, or what problem would you ask her to address?
I would invite her to meet with our young people at The Harbour; they would use their 10 minutes better than I could. She would then see that many young people can only find safety, and reach their potential, outside of school.
