About Me
Mission Statement
I believe in the power of individuals and organisations to create impactful, positive changes to systems that are not always serving as they should with the guidance and expertise that they need. My mission statement is to:
- Enable, inform and empower the process of positive change for the greater good of neurodivergent and disabled people be it individual, organisational or systemically through my work.
- To be part of authentic and meaningful communication that can enable the necessary paradigm shift to further understanding, creating powerful, long-term benefits for all.
- Intersectionality work: To respond proactively in a rights driven way to all ‘protected characteristics’ in the Equality act 2010 as they come up in my work with integrity, care and empowerment.
- To meet people, educational settings and organisations where they are at, with warmth, good humour and without judgement.
My lived and professional journey to date
I have over 30 years of successful lived and professional experience working with children, families, young people, communities, and organisations to bring about equitable and dynamic change for the greater good.
Positionality Statement: I am a mixed race disabled and ND (neurodivergent) single female parent of a disabled and ND male child who has an EHCP and EOTAS (education other than at school) package in place. I am from North London and have lived there most of my life (Islington and Hackney) but have also lived extensively in south west and north England, South Wales, India, New York and Sydney.
This valuable lived experience enables me to have an ongoing depth and breadth of understanding of others living in similar circumstances.
I grew up as an undiagnosed neurodivergent child with an eclectic, sometimes wonderful and at times, traumatic experience of the school system. I experienced attending state, home-school, Steiner and an international private boarding school as well as long term EBSA (emotionally based school avoidance) as a young teenager.
While studying my first degree in my early twenties, some of my Specific learning difficulties (SpLDs) were finally picked up and I was clinically diagnosed with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia (now known as developmental coordination disorder: DCD) and then, much later I was clinically diagnosed through the NHS with autism and finally ADHD. I also live with co- occurring health conditions that are common to late diagnosed women in particular which according to the equality act 2010 make me ‘disabled’. I have a deep understanding and compassion alongside my knowledge base that I bring to the table.
I have direct lived and professional experience (SENDCO, advocate, trainer, mother, speaker, change-maker and consultant) navigating the Autism/ADHD NHS and private diagnostic pathway, sensory integration conditions, Tourette’s, speech and language assessment pathways, EHCP, SEND tribunals, school tribunals, the educational ombudsman and EOTAS process, the PDA (pathological demand avoidance profile of autism) pathway, co-occurring conditions (both mental and physical) and setting up and running OFSTED registered home based childcare, a nursery, a preschool as well as many years working in a range of settings such as children in care, young people leaving care, youth offending institutes, disabled care homes, schools and children’s homes where I learnt so much about inequality, the impact and bias of equity, racism, ableism, homophobia, ageism and more. Having also experienced much of this myself growing up, I made a decision to be the change I wanted to see in the world.
As part of my work, inspired and driven by the needs of my son and his peers who had similar experiences, I have founded and am the director for a registered ‘not-for-profit’ organisation called ‘Neuroverse Community’ delivering equitable community based education to local families and young people who are neurodivergent, disabled and unable to attend school and other educational settings due to the lack of educational equity available to them. To further respond to unmet need I have created a neuroinclusive holistic educational pedagogy called ‘The Freedom Approach’ which is a neuroinclusive, holistic pedagogy that enables delivery of equitable community based education. Myself and our small but highly skilled staff team deliver on this approach enabling young people and their parent/carer an opportunity to enjoy ‘community based learning’. The national curriculum is taught in a highly adapted and neuro-affirming way by qualified teachers enabling learning, trust, connection, sports, free play and friendship building to organically take place. We are proud to have PDAers in our groups who are able to relax, learn and have fun with their peers due to our authenticity and integrity and respect for their unique and previously unmet needs. welcome and value shared autonomy and cultivate their contributions as part of our democratic culture.
I live and breathe the convoluted, difficult, sometimes lonely and equally magical and rewarding work of translating needs and curating a highly considered environment that is also fluid and responsive to our children and young people that is underpinned by my experiences as a registered ‘Ofsted outstanding’ and national award-winning educator and provider.
I am proud to be part of systemic change in national organisations; having spoken at parliamentary review level and for member organisations, delivered talks, training and workshops for national charities, GP conferences, schools and more. I have worked at management, director, and trustee level for many years for national and local organisations in the charity, private and public sectors.
My experiences are wide ranging, with a fundamental theme of observing, respecting, and advocating for rights and supporting others to honour rights for others with humour and warmth. Some examples of my work are below:
Key qualifications & achievements
- Founder & Director of ‘Neuroverse Community’ a not-for-profit organisation delivering highly considered neuroinclusive ‘community based education’ to neurodivergent and disabled young people in Gloucestershire who are not able to attend other educational settings
- Creator of ‘The Freedom Approach‘: Neuroinclusive, holistic pedagogy currently being used at ‘Neuroverse Community’ and in 121 tuition with neurodivergent and disabled students out of school.
- Current part-time post graduate student: ‘psychodynamic psychotherapist for children, young people and families‘ with the Tavistock and Portman NHS clinic, London. This course is accredited by the British psychoanalytical Council (BPC)
- PGC (Distinction) ‘Autism’ taught by Dr Luke Beardon at Sheffield Hallam University
- PGDIP (Merit): Working with Children, Young People & Families: A Psychoanalytic Observational Approach, Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust.
- Founding and successful running for eight years of ‘Maisie Poppins’ home childcare, nursery and preschool, resulting in several national and local awards and trail blazing children’s learning outside, apprenticeship schemes, nutrition, and a holistic whole-setting approach and, ultimately, the creation of ‘The early Years Ecosystem’ model and running the settings diligently through the Covid pandemic.
- BA Honours: English & Theatre Studies, London Metropolitan University.
- Qualified Educator – Level 3 Diploma in Early Years Education & Care.
- Accredited Forest School Leader – Level 3 Diploma in Forest School leadership.
- Qualified Baby Massage Instructor – Level 3 Diploma.
- Trained ‘Solihull Approach’ (Now called ‘togetherness’) Parenting course facilitator.
- Brought together asylum-seeking children with decision makers in the same space in the town hall to hear their experiences through poetry and spoken word.
- Created the first youth-led national strategy to understand and reduce gun, knife, and gang crime in the UK leading to statutory legislation change.
- First home childcare provision to launch a successful apprenticeship/SEND apprenticeship scheme and co-write the guidance with the local authority.
- Consultancy and training commissioned by London Borough of Hackney Education Trust and Outstanding Contribution Award.
- Training on PDA autism for schools in order to improve experiences for autistic children with PDA.
- Director of a large children’s charity where I was able to raise thousands of pounds and utilise it to oversee an adventure playground and graffiti project and intergenerational gangs resolution project in Central London.
- Ladder for London Award Winner.
- Speaker at Parliamentary Review.
- Hackney Apprentice Employer Quality Award.
- First early years provider in the UK to achieve ‘Food for Life’ Soil Association Award and quality mark. Soil Association baby food judge.
- First Early Years ‘Sugar Smart’ Ambassador Award (Hackney).
- National Newcomer Award (Early Years, nursery world).
- Set up and successfully managed England’s first children’s rights & participation service on behalf of ‘Action for children’ in South London.
Featured in and commissioned by:
Trustee for...
