Kath

I am a qualified secondary teacher with more than 20 years’ experience in education, combining classroom teaching with extensive pastoral, wellbeing and safeguarding work. My teaching specialisms are Drama and Health & Social Care, and I have experience supporting students through GCSE and post-16 education. Throughout my career, I have differentiated teaching for young people with a wide range of abilities and additional needs, using creative, practical and accessible approaches to increase participation, communication, confidence and engagement.

I have extensive experience supporting young people with SEND and additional needs, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, PDA profiles, emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), speech and language needs, SEMH, anxiety and trauma. I recognise that a diagnosis does not define a young person or automatically tell us how they learn. I therefore take an individualised approach, getting to know the young person, identifying their strengths and barriers to learning, and adapting my communication, expectations and teaching accordingly.

As Student Wellbeing Lead, I established and developed a school Wellbeing Hub and provided targeted one-to-one support for young people experiencing difficulties with emotional wellbeing, attendance, communication and engagement with education. My work included supporting students with SEND and SEMH, coordinating safeguarding referrals, working closely with parents and carers, and collaborating with school colleagues and external professionals. I also designed and delivered wellbeing workshops and contributed to developing trauma-informed practice across the school.

Building trusting relationships is central to my practice, particularly when working with young people who have become anxious about or disengaged from education. As a Head of Year, for example, I supported an autistic Year 11 student with significant anxiety who had stopped attending school. I made regular home visits, providing individual tutoring, revision and emotional support, while working closely with her family to establish realistic goals. Rather than expecting an immediate return to school, we worked towards enabling her to attend her GCSE examinations; she ultimately attended all of her examinations and achieved sufficient GCSE passes to progress to college.

My practice is strongly informed by trauma-informed, relational, restorative and solution-focused approaches. When a young person is struggling, I try to understand what may be communicated through their behaviour rather than simply focusing on compliance or academic output. As Student Wellbeing Lead, I supported a Year 10 student experiencing trauma and at significant risk of school avoidance by helping to coordinate counselling, a bespoke timetable, regular one-to-one mentoring and wellbeing support. Through a consistent, low-demand approach and close collaboration with her parent, her attendance and engagement gradually improved and she was able to complete her Year 10 mock examinations.

I am also experienced in adapting learning for students who find conventional classroom expectations challenging. When teaching a student with autism and a PDA profile, I found that increasing demands was counterproductive, so I provided greater autonomy, broke learning into manageable stages, used clear scaffolding and offered choices about how tasks could be approached. As trust developed and the student experienced a greater sense of control over her learning, her engagement improved and she successfully completed the course. This experience reinforced my belief that adapting teaching does not mean lowering expectations; it means finding an accessible and appropriate route through which an individual learner can succeed.

Alongside my teaching and SEND experience, I bring strong safeguarding, mentoring and multi-agency working skills. I have worked as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, supported young people and families through complex safeguarding and mental health concerns, and collaborated with external services to coordinate appropriate support. I also hold a Senior Mental Health Lead qualification and have contributed to research into implementing trauma-informed practice in secondary schools. Ultimately, my aim as a tutor is not simply to help a young person complete academic work, but to help them feel understood, recognise their strengths, rebuild confidence and develop greater independence and a more positive relationship with learning.

My teaching philosophy is centred on the individual young person. I believe that before meaningful learning can take place, a student needs to feel safe, understood and respected. I therefore begin by building a trusting relationship and getting to know the young person’s strengths, interests, communication style and barriers to learning. I do not assume that a diagnosis tells me how a student will learn; two young people with the same diagnosis may need very different approaches. I like my teaching to be flexible, engaging and achievable while still maintaining appropriate expectations. I break learning into manageable steps, provide clear structure and scaffolding, and adapt the pace and level of demand according to the student’s readiness to engage. Where appropriate, I offer meaningful choices and greater autonomy so that the young person has a sense of control over their learning. My experience supporting a student with autism and a PDA profile reinforced for me that adapting teaching does not mean lowering expectations; it means finding an accessible route through which the individual can succeed.

My strategies are strongly informed by trauma-informed, relational, restorative and solution-focused practice. I try to look beyond behaviour and consider what a young person may be communicating through anxiety, avoidance, disengagement or difficulty completing a task. Strategies I use include low-demand approaches where appropriate, predictable routines, manageable goals, one-to-one mentoring, positive reinforcement, creative and practical activities, opportunities for choice, and regular reflection on what is and is not working. I am also prepared to adjust a plan during a session if a young person’s emotional state or readiness to learn has changed.

I believe progress should be viewed broadly. Academic achievement is important, but for some young people, initially attending a session, communicating with a tutor, attempting a task or beginning to believe that they can succeed may represent significant progress. My experience supporting students with anxiety, trauma and EBSA has taught me the importance of realistic, incremental goals. By recognising these smaller successes, I aim to help young people gradually develop confidence, resilience, independence and readiness to learn.

For me, a good tutor combines warmth and patience with purpose and high expectations. They listen carefully, remain curious about the individual rather than making assumptions, and are willing to change their approach when something is not working. They also communicate constructively with parents, carers and other professionals while keeping the young person’s needs and voice at the centre. Ultimately, I want students to experience tutoring as a positive partnership in which they feel understood and capable, and through which they can rebuild confidence, engage with learning and become increasingly independent.

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – awarded 2004

• PGCE in Drama, Middlesex University – 2003–2004

• BA (Hons) Performing Arts – First Class, De Montfort University – 1997–2000

• Senior Mental Health Lead Qualification – 2024

• Safeguarding / Child Protection Training – extensive safeguarding experience, including working as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) and managing safeguarding referrals.

• Prevent Training – safeguarding/Prevent expertise, including delivering Prevent Strategy training to staff.

• Trauma-Informed Practice – professional development and applied practice, including co-researching Implementing Trauma-Informed Practice in Secondary Schools: An Appreciative Inquiry as part of a Professional Doctorate research project.

• SEND / SEMH Professional Development and Practice – extensive professional experience and ongoing development relating to autism, ADHD, dyslexia, PDA profiles, EBSA, speech and language needs, SEMH, anxiety and trauma.

• Restorative Practice and Solution-Focused Approaches – developed and applied throughout pastoral, wellbeing and mentoring roles.

• Coaching and Mentoring Training/Practice – extensive experience of structured coaching, mentoring and reflective practice, including as Professional Coordinating Mentor for ITT and NQTs.

• Mental Health, Wellbeing and Trauma-Informed CPD – ongoing professional development through the Student Wellbeing Lead role, including collaboration with external professionals and delivery of wellbeing and trauma-informed CPD to colleagues.

• Examiner and Moderator Experience – Drama, Performing Arts and Health & Social Care.

• Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy - An approach for Children and Young People - delivered by Dr Maria Linehan