Professional values & approaches

In everything I do, I put relationships first and foremost. For this reason, my first meeting with you and/or your SENDCO will be one where we explore together your hopes, expectations and needs, as well as my own. In this way we will be able to find the best way for us to work effectively together from the outset.

My friendly, relaxed manner puts everyone at ease and ensures everyone has ample opportunity to tell me what they think is important and what they are hoping to achieve. I believe this is why the feedback I have received, from parents and professionals alike, throughout my years working as an EP, has been overwhelmingly positive. I’m confident that will be your experience too.

I recognise that children do not exist in isolated ‘bubbles’ of home or school. What happens at home or in the wider community can impact on life in school - and vice versa. It follows that I recognise the importance of holistic and systemic assessment, support and intervention, at both the individual student and wider school / community level. With that in mind, I do very much value and embrace opportunities to work in a multi-agency manner with yourself and allied agencies / services spanning health care, social care and the 3rd sector (charities, etc.) where applicable to students' needs.

When it comes to Special Educational Needs, I understand life is often difficult – for students, parents and professionals alike. From the outset of my involvement, I recognise that everyone involved will have already been trying to understand and meet the student’s needs to the best of their ability. I am always curiously respectful of those efforts and try, wherever possible and appropriate, to build up from that valuable foundation. Working closely with yourself and parents/carers, I adopt a welcoming, open, curious and non-judgmental approach - the same warm, friendly and caring qualities I'm sure you maintain yourself.

Where it is necessary to approach things from a different perspective and use a different approach, I explain my rationale carefully in ways that empower rather than disempower all involved. Where there are (as there are, from time to time) divergent beliefs, I aim to build new, shared ways of understanding the situation and thereby develop a cohesive, collaborative, and agreed plan of action that remains respectful to all parties.

When it comes to face-to-face work with students, I recognise that things are likely to be already difficult for them. I therefore aim to keep things as informal and relaxed for them as possible. Where I can, I favour using cards, games and other resources to supplement the information staff and parents are able to share with me. This often means I get better engagement and can gather more information that is 'richer' in nature. In turn, this enhances the advice I give. Of course, where necessary and appropriate, I am qualified and experienced in delivering formal, standardised assessments including full Cognitive Ability tests.

You will find my reports comprehensive but accessible. I pride myself on my pragmatic approach. That means my advice is sufficiently detailed to enable staff to understand and implement it with minimal additional support, whilst creating enough flexibility to accommodate different approaches or programmes that may be more familiar and/or embedded in your existing systems.

My approach is closely aligned to the SEND Code of Practice. The Assess-Plan-Do-Review cycle is central to my approach and I find (as I’m sure you will too) the review part an essential and informative part of the process. I find reviews:

give much-needed positive feedback to parents and hard-working staff when things are going well,
create valuable opportunity to revisit things/plan next steps if things aren’t going so well,
provide the evidence required by Local Authorities and statutory processes to progress further, should that be relevant and appropriate,
build parental understanding and confidence about what is happening in school, helping to maintain your setting's reputation and parental engagement.

I believe in the importance of regular planning meetings. These take up minimal amounts of your precious SENDCO time, yet provide the breathing space for you to stop, take stock and plan. These meetings are an opportunity for you to discuss the challenges of your role with a professional who understands and can give general advice and guidance to you. Whether that’s at the level of an individual student, a group of students or the whole school, this is your opportunity to reach out to me, ‘lighten the load’ and draw upon my years of experience – often without even needing to proceed to a formal EP assessment.

I recognise that EPs are a precious and scarce resource. I feel it is therefore incumbent upon me to help you maximise the benefit you get from the investment you make with me. For that reason, I am always looking for common themes and repeating patterns in both casework and discussions I undertake with you. I am a great believer in systemic methods of working as this enables me to reach out and have impact on a much wider level, often reducing the numbers of students that might otherwise require EP support. Whether it be INSET training for staff, co-delivering a new intervention (so your staff can implement it independently thereafter), workshops for staff or ‘drop-in sessions’ for staff or parents, by working together I am confident we can find the most effective solution for you and your situation.

I hope that gives you a flavour of how I work and what you can expect from me. But don't just take my word for it - why don't you head over to the Testimonials page (under the About tab) to see what others have said about my service? If you have any other questions you want to ask, please feel free to get in touch. You’ll find my contact details at the bottom of every page.