SEND Reform Conference

Rona has taught pupils of all ages in state and independent, day and residential, mainstream and special schools. She is a Past President of NAHT and continues to be involved in their work. She is the SEND Governor at two special schools and a Fellow of UCL’s Centre for Inclusive Education (CIE).
Rona has written and co-authored several books, the most recent being A Guide to Best Practice in Special Education, Health and Social Care – Making the system work to meet the needs of children, young people and their families, which is due to be published by Routledge in 2023.

Jess Asato is the Member of Parliament for Lowestoft, elected in 2024, and a member of the Education Select Committee. Prior to being elected, Jess was the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the children’s charity Barnardo’s, worked for the domestic abuse charity SafeLives, and was a political advisor to Tessa Jowell.

Throughout his career, André has worked in a variety of roles focused on improving outcomes and experience for children and young people with SEN and developing inclusive practice. He has been a primary school teacher, a secondary teacher, an educational psychologist, a Principal EP, senior leader in a local authority, and a Senior Director for SEN in the National Strategies.

Between 2010 and 2024, André held the position of DfE SEN and Disability Professional Adviser for the Department for Education. This involved advising ministers as well as policy leads across DfE on all matters relating to SEN and disability. He worked closely with local authorities, parent carer groups, voluntary sector, health, and schools and colleges to achieve policy goals in relation to SEN and inclusion.

For the past year, André has been working independently on a range of projects, including with local authorities, MATs, the European Agency, and the Local Government Association.

Amanda has been a teacher for over 20 years, with the latter half of her career dedicated to SEND.  Having developed practice both as a SENCO and senior leader in mainstream primary settings and at local authority level, she is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and disabilities.  She has supported a large number of schools to reflect on and refine their practice and provision for learners with SEND through CPD, SEND Review and by mentoring new SENCOs.

Amanda joined Whole School SEND in 2018 as deputy regional SEND lead for the West Midlands.  Her current role as nasen’s Head of Whole School SEND involves leading the development and delivery of the DfE’s Universal SEND Services Programme – a SEND Specific CPD programme for the school and college workforce.

Amy Smith is the Director of Education for the Inclusive Education Trust (IET), which is a Alternative Provision (AP) Trust based in Surrey. Previous to this role, Amy was Head of School at Wey Valley College (which is now part of IET) and led the school to an ‘Outstanding’ judgement in all areas in 2018. Amy has worked in the AP Sector for over 10 years in provisions across London, Cambridgeshire and Surrey in a variety of leadership roles. Most notably, Amy was one of the team who set-up the TBAP Residence as part of the DfE Social Innovations fund. The TBAP Residence worked with some of West London’s most vulnerable young people who were either on the edge of care and/or involved in the youth justice system.
Prior to working in AP, Amy led several ‘Outstanding’ Performing Arts departments in mainstream schools across London and Surrey.
Amy is also Vice-President of PRUsAP, which is the National Organisation representing Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provisions.
Amy is a practitioner who believes in a creative, therapeutic and inclusive approach to behaviour management.

Chris serves as the Technical Director at TG Escapes, managing projects with architects and applying his 13 years of industry experience. He is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and specialises in low-carbon buildings and timber construction methods. His research interests include sustainable retrofit, structurally insulated panels, and cross-laminated timber. Chris has been with TG Escapes since May 2018 and is a Certified Passivhaus Designer.

With 10 years as an experienced SENDCo and 8 as a MAT leader for SEND, Simon has developed effective SEND practice across multiple MATs and lead on SEND and MAT SEND reviews across the country.

Simon Co-chairs the MAT SEND Leaders group which he established with Dr Nicola Crossly (Liberty Trust). The group currently have over 175 MAT leaders of SEND and collaborate with Whole Education. Simon regularly presents at National conferences, is a member for Liberty Academy, sits on an advisory board for ELKLAN speech and language training provider as well as a member of the Curriculum and Assessment Quality committee / Student Advisory Group for AQA.

Lucy Stephen was the Education Today’s SENCO of The Year 2023.

Lucy has been teaching for 23 years with the last 12 of these as a SENCO and currently as Director of Learning Support at Homewood School while also leading SEND developments within the Tenterden Schools Trust.  Inclusion is a key aspect of both Homewood’s and the Trust’s work and vision.

Lucy has taught internationally including a sabbatical teaching in rural New Zealand and shorter teaching experiences in Poland and Lesotho.

Lucy has been a Specialist Leader of Education; a member of the Department of Education’s SENCO Advisory Group and a DfE/IFF Research School Panel member.  She is currently a member of the EEF’s School Engagement Reference Group.

Lucy is also actively involved with reviewing and developing SEND provision at a District and County level.  She has a keen interest and involvement in developing CPD training and support             materials for mainstream teachers and SENCos. She also contributes to Initial Teacher Training and Early Career training programmes along with involvement with Whole School SEND and NASEN.

Lucy is passionate about what can be achieved through inclusive mainstream education particularly when inclusive, ambitious and aspirational curriculums are developed along with the role nurture has to play in successful school experiences.

Lucy has also been a Governor in local Secondary School.

Cath is an experienced leader in AP and hospital education, representing the sector at the DfE, and is a key partner in the AP Research Network.

Cath is the Chair of the National Association for Hospital Education, a NLE and was a pathfinder for the Ethical Leadership Framework. She gave evidence at the All-Parliamentary Committee investigation into Alternative Provision and contributed to the recent IPPR Report, Breaking the Cycle’ and various other publications

Cath was awarded an OBE for services to children and young people in 2022 and recently she has published her first book, ‘Including learners with medical needs in school.

Amanda has been a teacher for over 20 years, with the latter half of her career dedicated to SEND.  Having developed practice both as a SENCO and senior leader in mainstream primary settings and at local authority level, she is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and disabilities.  She has supported a large number of schools to reflect on and refine their practice and provision for learners with SEND through CPD, SEND Review and by mentoring new SENCOs.

Amanda joined Whole School SEND in 2018 as deputy regional SEND lead for the West Midlands.  Her current role as nasen’s Head of Whole School SEND involves leading the development and delivery of the DfE’s Universal SEND Services Programme – a SEND Specific CPD programme for the school and college workforce.

Amy Husband is the Head of School Academic at Academy21, bringing 14 years of senior leadership experience. With extensive expertise in alternative provision and SEND, Amy is committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment where pupils can build confidence, self-belief, and achieve academic success. Her leadership roles have spanned both primary and secondary education, focusing on safeguarding, inclusion, and school improvement.

In 2020, Amy was awarded ‘Evidence Lead in Education (ELE)’ status, enabling her to consult for the Department for Education and the Education Endowment Foundation. At Academy21, she leads the academic team, ensuring a rigorous and personalised curriculum that caters to the unique needs of every student.

Having worked in schools for over a decade overseeing support for our most vulnerable pupils, I have worked for Local Authorities leading on SEND and Inclusion since the full rollout of the SEND Code of Practice in 2015. Our programme in Hertfordshire values lived experience and transferable skills, enabling us to put children first, in a challenging context. Workforce investment, reframing of culture and ways of working are central to our transformation, setting expectations from the outset alongside ambitious aspirations for all of our children. Working innovatively, we have created a system that capitalises on opportunities to do things differently, working in partnership with schools and settings to achieve this within a conflicting national context. Finding space to innovate in SEND is so important, now more than ever.

Elaine Allegretti is currently Strategic Director of Children and Adult Social Care at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in the North East of London region, since 2018. She is also the ALDCS lead for SEND a position since 2019. Prior to this she worked within Children’s Services, mainly social care, for several London Boroughs, with significant experience in multi-agency working, innovation and health and social care integration.

Sarah was elected to the regional steering group role in early 2020, and was elected as co-chair in spring 2023.

Sarah was previously the chair of her local parent carer forum in Wokingham for many years, and continues to hold a lead role within the forum.  Sarah is very active in strategic work locally, regionally, and nationally.

Sarah has two teenagers with Autism, who have vastly different needs and diagnoses.

Sarah was previously an office manager but retrained as holistic practitioner when her children were small to help support their needs.  Sarah has also been a governor at her local primary and secondary schools.

To contact Sarah, please email [email protected]

I am a parent of 2 children who are neurodiverse.  My eldest, 12 (year 8) has a diagnosis of autism and has sensory processing disorder, and my youngest has ADHD, dyslexia, and sensory needs. My youngest, 11 (year 7) , is supported via ordinary available provision and has just started secondary school.

My eldest has an EHCP and has not engaged in meaningful education since October 22. She struggles with her mental health, her school was unable to meet her needs and in agreement with the Local Authority, she was taken off roll in July 2023, while they secure a more suitable setting.  She currently attends equine therapy for 1.5 hours week. I am also neurodiverse myself, with a diagnosis of ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

My background was in finance and civil litigation working in London, however since becoming a mum and knowing that something wasn’t “quite right”, not being heard, or having my concerns dismissed, I decided to educate myself to enable to me to push for the right support and advice. I enrolled and completed an Early Years Degree (child development age 0-8) with first class honours, where I spent my time researching and writing about autism and sensory processing disorder. I then studied Education research gaining a PG Cert. Most Recently have also undertaken IPSEA SEND Law Levels 1,2 and 3.

I have worked in a specialised integrated nursery and then went on to work at a moderate learning disability school, spending some of my time in a teaching role. I began volunteering for my local parent carer forum, Essex Family Forum, in 2019 for where I am now employed part time as a Strategic Development Co-ordinator (Health and Region).

I have also been appointed as Vice Chair and then the Chair of Eastern Region of Parent Carer Forums (ERPCF) before stepping down following my appointment to Director and East England representative for National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) in August 2023, where I had previously been working for them as a national representative since 2020.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-harrison-862a26211/

Josh Blackburn brings over a decade of experience in the online education sector, having led the growth of TLC LIVE from a tutoring provider supporting 50 schools to a nationwide organisation helping thousands of students each year. Under his leadership, TLC LIVE has expanded to include a fully operational online school, delivering high-quality education to learners across the country.

A passionate advocate for the role of qualified teachers, Josh champions their expertise as the cornerstone of effective education. TLC LIVE’s vision combines the best of human-led teaching with innovative delivery models to improve outcomes and reduce barriers to learning.

Before moving into education, Josh worked in the hospitality industry, including several years in high-end food buying. This background brings a unique commercial insight to his role in leading innovation within the online learning landscape.

Ellen Broomé is the Chief Executive of the British Dyslexia Association. She was previously Managing Director of CoramBAAF, the UK’s largest membership organisation for professionals involved with children and young people in care, and Coram Family and Childcare, the UK’s leading childcare charity.

She has also been Director of Children and Families at NatCen, the UK’s leading social research organisation, and Chief Executive of Family and Childcare Trust, where she worked for five years, and led the merger of into Coram in 2018. She brings 20 years of experience of strategic leadership, research, policy, advocacy and communications from previous roles including at the Children’s Society, the National Autistic Society and Parliament. Ellen is also a trustee of Leukaemia UK and BookTrust.

Heba Al-Jayoosi: Heba is the Assistant Head, and inclusion & research leader at Mayflower Primary School in Tower Hamlets, London. She is a Churchill Fellow and is also seconded to Whole School SEND (NASEN) as a regional deputy lead. Heba’s research interests lie in implementing innovative whole school adaptations for pupils with SEND, and she is currently completing a PHD at the Centre for Research in Autism Education (CRAE), UCL.

I was born in Hong Kong and went to boarding school in the UK. I did my degree in Cardiff. I worked in admin before doing teacher training on the graduate program. I have been a teacher since 2000. In that time I have been:

· A teacher teaching across Primary.
· An interventions and booster teacher.
· A support tutor in a secondary school special physical unit.
· A SENDCo in a Steiner Waldorf school, which was a different perspective.
· A home education tutor supporting GCSE English to children who couldn’t attend school for emotional reasons.
· A SENDCO at Katesgrove – this is now my 5th year. Katesgrove is a big, diverse primary school in the heart of Reading.

I have developed my neurodivergent training by reading and attending a variety of training courses aimed at parents, professionals and general interest.

I have trained as an Autism Education Trainer and go into schools in Reading delivering the training. I understand neurodiversity and SEN as a parent with children with diverse needs. I have ADHD and Autism, as does my son -although he is a high achiever. My daughter has complex needs and has just finished a special school and is now entering adulthood.

Rona has taught pupils of all ages in state and independent, day and residential, mainstream and special schools. She is a Past President of NAHT and continues to be involved in their work. She is the SEND Governor at two special schools and a Fellow of UCL’s Centre for Inclusive Education (CIE).
Rona has written and co-authored several books, the most recent being A Guide to Best Practice in Special Education, Health and Social Care – Making the system work to meet the needs of children, young people and their families, which is due to be published by Routledge in 2023.