I have been a qualified teacher for 20 years. I originally qualified as a secondary Art teacher, however I have spent the majority of this time leading alternative education provisions working with SEN and SEMH young people. As well as being a teacher, I am also a yoga therapist specialising in mental health. I use this knowledge to support my work with young people with SEMH needs. I have experience working with primary age children through to post 16 and young adults.
My specialist experience working with young people with SEN to develop trusting and meaningful relationships enabling them to engage;
I have extensive experience building trusting and meaningful relationships with young people. I have run two alternative provisions and three specialist provisions in mainstream school for Autism and SEMH. The key to working with young people who have mental health difficulties is building a safe relationship. I do this by being warm, using humour listening carefully and responding to their energy.
My experience supporting young people with anxiety;
I have substantial experience working with you people who are experiencing anxiety. During my different roles within education I have offered 1:1 wellbeing sessions with my students to support managing anxiety, exploring relationships and enabling them to manage better in school. This is my area of specialism. I use a variety of ways to support young people to communicate; I have found using visual supports such as comic strip conversations or drawing and talking to be effective. I am experienced at being able to reflect back and interpret what they say when the young person is finding it difficult to express themselves. I also use my mind/body therapeutic experience as a way to support young people experiencing anxiety, including mindfulness, movement and relaxation into my sessions.
My experience supporting young people with SEMH/Mental Health needs;
My specialism is working with young people who have SEMH. I have run two alternative education provisions and a provision in a mainstream school for SEMH. I am a grounded person so and am able to build safe relationships with young people in which they feel seen. I have had therapeutic training, counselling skills and yoga therapy for mental health so I have in depth knowledge and understanding of mental health difficulties, with a specific emphasis on the mind body connection. I have supported many young people over the years with their mental health.
My experience working with young people with complex and/or medical needs;
Many of the young people I have worked with over the years have had a complex range of needs. I have found it is really important to take this into account that some days may be more physically challenging than others. Therefore a flexible approach is required so that I can meet the young persons needs from day to day. It is also important to see the whole person not just their medical needs, and focus on what they can do.
My experience teaching Functional Skills English and maths;
Many of the young people I have worked with have found the functional skills qualifications suit them better than GCSEs so I have experience teaching them.
My experience working with young people to boost their confidence and self-esteem;
Most of the young people I have worked with over the years have had a lack of confidence and self-esteem that significantly impacts their learning. I have extensive experience in supporting young people to develop their self-esteem. I do this by offering a nurturing approach to education that supports the young person to develop at their own pace.
My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning;
Having worked in alternative education provisions the students I have worked with have often found it difficult to engage in learning. This means that I have had to find interesting and creative ways to support them to be able to learn, working in collaboration with the young person to make the learning meaningful to them. Often this means using the young persons interests as a vehicle for learning. I really enjoy learning in an explorative way together.
My skills and experience supporting young people to develop their independence.
The focus of my work with young people is often centred on developing independence. I have worked extensively with young people with mental health difficulties, and understand the difficulty that exploring independence during adolescence can create; it has to be managed sensitively. I have supported young people to develop the confidence and skills to engage with the community for example supporting them to travel on public transport.
