Experience Working with Young People with Anxiety
Anxiety is present in the majority of students I work with, whether as a diagnosed condition or as a natural response to years of feeling misunderstood, behind, or out of place in educational settings. My approach is designed to reduce anxiety. I create predictable, calm, and low-pressure learning environments where students know what to expect and feel in control of their experience.
Through my experience, I have developed a strong understanding of how anxiety manifests in young people, how avoidance behaviours develop, and how feeling safe and calm in their environment can begin to shift long-standing patterns. I focus on building trust, celebrating small wins, making tasks manageable, and giving students experiences of genuine competence, which is the most powerful antidote to learning-related anxiety.
Where appropriate, I also teach practical self-regulation strategies, helping students understand their own nervous systems and develop tools they can use independently beyond our sessions.
Experience Working with Young People with ADHD
I have worked with many young people with ADHD across both school and private settings, and I have a thorough understanding of how ADHD affects attention, working memory, emotional regulation, motivation, and executive function. My sessions are structured to work with the ADHD brain rather than against it. I use short, focused tasks, varied and energising activities, movement breaks where helpful, and material that connects to the student’s genuine interests.
From my experience, there is much more to ADHD than what is described in the DSM. Almost all children I know with ADHD are sensitive and compassionate, and I use praise, positive framing, and celebration of effort and progress. I also help students understand their own ADHD and develop personalised strategies for focus and self-regulation.
My experience working with young people with Autism
I have worked with autistic young people for over eight years in specialist provisions and for the past five years in private tutoring. I have a deep understanding of how autistic students process information, manage sensory experiences and navigate social demands, and I adapt my teaching accordingly.
I use visual supports, clear and direct language, and predictable lesson structures to reduce anxiety and cognitive load. I allow generous processing time and never pressurise students to respond quickly. I understand that what can appear to be challenging behaviour is almost always driven by overwhelm, sensory difficulty or anxiety rather than defiance, and I respond with curiosity and calm rather than consequence.
I incorporate special interests as central tools in my teaching, not as rewards or additions, but as the genuine scaffolding through which learning happens. A student who loves trains, animals or a particular video game will find those interests woven throughout our sessions. I believe autistic students thrive when their unique ways of experiencing the world are understood, respected and valued.
My experience working with young people with PDA
I have 15 years of experience supporting children with a PDA profile, both as a classroom teacher and as a private tutor. Working with PDA students has fundamentally shaped my approach to teaching. I have developed expertise in collaborative, demand-reduced approaches that prioritise autonomy, choice, and psychological safety above all else.
I understand that the anxiety driving demand avoidance creates behaviours that can seem challenging, but are in fact a child’s way of preserving their autonomy. My practice focuses on respecting this drive while maintaining consistent, firm boundaries. I reframe requests, offer choices, follow the student’s lead, and find indirect routes into learning—for example, rather than instructing a student to sit, I might ask which chair they prefer, or rather than setting a task directly, I might wonder aloud about something interesting and see where their curiosity leads.
Rapport and trust are the foundation of all my work with PDA students. As students gradually feel safe and understood, they engage more readily with learning. I am patient, flexible, and genuinely interested in each student as a person. I have also attended numerous professional courses on PDA to ensure my approaches are informed, effective, and respectful of each child’s unique needs.
Experience Working with Young People with Dyslexia
I have extensive experience supporting students with dyslexia across primary and secondary age ranges. I use practical supports such as yellow overlays, yellow paper, and large, clear fonts. I take a patient and understanding approach, ensuring that students feel confident and capable while accessing learning in ways that suit their needs.
My experience working with young people with working memory difficulties
Working memory difficulties affect many of the students I work with, whether as a standalone profile or as part of a broader neurodivergent presentation. I use a range of evidence-informed techniques to support working memory in practice: breaking instructions into single steps, using visual supports and written prompts, chunking information into manageable units and regularly reviewing and consolidating prior learning.
I also use mnemonic devices, acronyms and visual memory tools to help students encode and retrieve information more reliably.
My experience supporting young people with study skills and executive functioning skills
Supporting students to develop effective study skills and executive functioning strategies is central to my practice. Many of the young people I work with have neurodivergent profiles that affect planning, organisation, task initiation and time management, and I address these directly rather than assuming they will develop without support.
I help students build personalised strategies for focus and self-regulation, breaking tasks into manageable steps, using visual prompts and structured routines to reduce cognitive load. I draw on my understanding of ADHD, working memory difficulties and anxiety to tailor approaches to each student’s specific profile. I teach students to understand their own processing and attention styles, so that the strategies they develop are ones they can apply independently and adapt as their needs change.
My aim is always to equip students with tools that extend beyond our sessions, building genuine confidence in their ability to manage their own learning over time.
Experience Teaching Primary Maths and English (Mainstream and Functional Skills)
I teach Maths and English across Key Stages 1 to 3. I use interactive, interest-led approaches and connect abstract concepts to real-world contexts that feel relevant to each student.
I have 10 years of experience teaching Functional Skills qualifications from Entry 1 to Level 3. These qualifications are particularly well suited to students who find exam conditions overwhelming or who are working towards practical independence rather than academic progression. I also prepare students for SATs and support catch-up across primary literacy and numeracy.
Experience Teaching Community Support and Outside Activities
I understand the value of learning that extends beyond the classroom and incorporate real-world contexts, community awareness, and life skills into my tutoring wherever appropriate. As a classroom teacher at a SEN school, I led weekly visits to supermarkets to develop practical life skills, as well as regular trips into the wider community to support learning in context. For example, students visiting London to explore the Tower of London enriched their understanding of Tudor history, connecting classroom content to real-world experiences.
I have also been solely responsible for organising residential trips, including planning, risk assessments, and supervision. I believe that learning outside the classroom is learning inside the classroom, and I use these opportunities to build independence, confidence, and curiosity alongside academic knowledge.
Experience Developing Confidence and Self-Esteem
Building genuine confidence is central to my work. Many students I support have developed negative beliefs about their abilities, and I help them challenge these by creating real experiences of success and competence. My teaching experience and counselling training give me a strong understanding of how self-esteem develops and enable me to guide students in recognising their strengths, celebrating progress, and developing a balanced, compassionate view of themselves. My aim is always to help students become more confident, better able to regulate their emotions, advocate for their needs, and trust in their own capabilities.
My specialist experience providing engaging sessions to inspire a love of learning
I believe that every young person has the capacity to be curious, to be interested and to experience the satisfaction of understanding something new. My sessions are designed to tap into that capacity by making learning feel relevant, enjoyable and genuinely connected to each student’s world.
I use a wide range of teaching techniques across visual, kinaesthetic and auditory modalities, and I assess understanding through quizzes, games and conversation as well as more formal approaches. I incorporate each student’s special interests as a central learning tool: if a student loves cats, cats will feature heavily in their Maths problems, their English writing prompts and their PSHE discussions.
My skills and experience supporting young people to develop their independence
Supporting young people to develop independence is an important part of my work. I help students build practical life skills, confidence, and the ability to make decisions for themselves. This may include developing organisation and study skills, managing their time, communicating their needs clearly, and gradually taking more responsibility for their learning. Through patient guidance and encouragement, I help students recognise their capabilities and develop the confidence to navigate challenges more independently both in education and in everyday life.
