Senior Leadership Team
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Mrs G Parkes - Headteacher

It is a huge honour and privilege to be the Headteacher of Elms Bank School and College. Our school is an inspirational community where our students thrive and succeed as a result of the expert teaching, care and support they receive from our wonderful staff team.
I began my career as a secondary school English teacher in 2004 and worked as Head of English for several years, but it was when I became a SENCO that I truly found my vocation for promoting inclusion for all. I went on to hold various positions of leadership responsibility for SEND and Safeguarding in schools before going to work in the LA as Bury's Virtual School Headteacher, overseeing the education of all Bury's children in care and working alongside their schools to support them to succeed. My passion is to support the most vulnerable young people to overcome their barriers to learning, achieve their potential and become the amazing adults they are meant to be, and I am humbled to lead the team here at Elms Bank as we strive to ensure this for all our learners.
Mrs K Cass - Deputy Headteacher

I am a Deputy Head with strategic responsibility for Professional Development. I love my role and am driven to ensure that all Elms Bank colleagues develop their specialist skills knowledge and understanding to ensure all our students achieve their potential.
My initial 6 years of teaching was in a ‘Barrier Free’ primary school. From day one, my class included pupils with physical disabilities, hearing impairment and complex health needs, along with their support staff. This rewarding school experience led to a passion for inclusion and commitment to ensuring all pupils be enabled to achieve their potential. For the following 21 years, I have had the privilege to develop my career through working with pupils with complex needs in a range of educational settings, including hospital schools and special schools, including since 2018, Elms Bank.
Elms Bank is an inspirational school and it is a privilege to support our students and staff in achieving their goals.
Miss A Morrell - Deputy Headteacher

I am proud to be Deputy Headteacher of Elms Bank School and College. I take strategic responsibility for Engagement, which includes wellbeing, attendance, behaviour and pastoral support. I am passionate about promoting the wellbeing of our pupils through the school values, wider curriculum and child centred support.
I have 26 years’ experience, starting my career as a primary school teacher. As a primary SENCo I developed a keen interest in unlocking the potential of pupils with SEND. I moved into special education and have 19 years’ experience of teaching pupils with a wide range of needs. As a leader at Elms Bank I am committed to making a real difference to the lives of our amazing pupils as they grow into happy and successful young adults.
Mrs C Dent - Assistant Headteacher (SENCO)

It is a complete privilege to be Assistant Headteacher at Elms Bank. I absolutely love working with our special young people, supporting them to learn, develop their resilience and nurture their confidence and self-esteem.
I have worked at Elms Bank for 14 years and have vast experience of working with young people with SEND. I have taken on a number of roles at Elms Bank including the responsibility of Teaching and Learning, Continuing Professional Developing and the Induction of Early Career Teachers. I am incredibly passionate about working with teachers to improve their practice, develop their confidence and drive standards in teaching and learning. As a trained music teacher I am extremely enthusiastic for singing and lead the Elms Bank student and staff choirs…..you may have seen our Virtual Choir on TV?!
In addition to my role in school, I lead the Bury Schools Alliance Secondary Schools Direct programme. I thoroughly enjoy working alongside student teachers; providing training and supporting them on their journey to Qualified Teacher Status. Our provision is first rate and has an excellent reputation across Bury with many students taking jobs in local secondary schools.
Mrs E Farnworth - Assistant Headteacher

I am the Assistant Headteacher for Applied Learning at Elms Bank School and College. I have strategic responsibility for Careers Education Information Advice & Guidance (CEIAG), the KS5 curriculum, including the Supported Internship at Fairfield Hospital. I am passionate about improving outcomes for SEND students, and work hard to develop relationships with the community and employers to support this.
I have 14 years of teaching experience. Having taught Technology in mainstream secondary schools before moving to Elms Bank: initially joining as a teacher and progressing into my current role.
I am dedicated to ensuring our learners are successfully prepared for adulthood by strategically developing a curriculum which prepares students for employment, or prepares them for being as independent as possible as they move into adulthood.
Joanne Pagliuca - Assistant Head

It is a complete honour to be an Assistant Headteacher at Elms Bank and work with the incredible young people in our care and the talented staff team.
I have worked at Elms Bank for over 21 years and have a wide experience of supporting young people with SEND and SEMH.
My areas of responsibility are as the Head of English, and for leading the quality assurance of Teaching and Learning across the whole school and college. I am also the Induction Tutor for Early Career Teachers.
I am incredibly passionate about working with teachers to develop their confidence, knowledge, and skills as practitioners, so that they can deliver high standards of teaching and learning, enabling every student to achieve their highest potential.
Mrs R Carney - Strategic Safeguarding Lead

It’s a privilege to be the Strategic Lead for Safeguarding at Elms Bank. In my role as Strategic Lead and Safeguarding Officer I work with many of our families and wider agencies to ensure that children have the holistic support they need to reach their individual potentials. It’s an absolute pleasure to see the unique progress that our students make to become the most independent versions of themselves.
At Elms Bank we understand that our students across school and college face additional barriers in keeping themselves safe; it’s part of my role to ensure that staff have access to high-quality training and professional development to help them recognise concerns and support children to overcome these barriers.
I have a background in working for the NHS and prior to that in the voluntary sector working for a national charity, in both roles I was supporting children with learning disabilities and autism. These experiences helped me to gain an understanding of the complexities that can arise in keeping children with additional needs safe and have given me a drive to ensure that parents have the support in place which is often needed for them to continue to do the amazing job which they do!
Mrs A Jones-Hatcher - Business Manager

I am delighted to be the Business Manager at Elms Bank School and College. I am proud to lead a passionate and committed business team who thrive to support our staff and pupils to achieve excellence for all. Our vision and values are at the heart of everything we do.
I have 21 years experience working in an educational setting during which time I have held many roles including HR and Office Manager and Head of Support Staff.
I thoroughly enjoy being part of the Elms Bank family.
Ms R Maleedy - SaLT

As the Team Lead for Speech Therapy in Bury Special Schools, I work across Elms Bank sites with a dedicated team who empower children and young people to reach their communicative potential.
I have over 7 years’ experience as a Speech and Language Therapist working in special school settings. I have specialisms in the areas of Autism, Complex Needs and Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC). I feel passionately about reducing the barriers that children and young people with Speech Language and Communication Needs face and believe that every child and young person has the potential to develop with the right support and team around them.
I have seen first-hand how working collaboratively with the team at Elms Bank allows for positive meaningful outcomes for our children and young people.