Senior Leadership Team

I am absolutely honoured to be the Headteacher of Elms Bank School and College. My passion for everyone reaching their potential despite anyone’s barriers is a fundamental part of who I am. My interest and commitment to working with our most vulnerable began when I was training to be a teacher. It was clear I would always strive to make a difference to young people’s lives; believing that education is the key to unlock a true individual’s contribution to the world.

I have 26 years of experience working across all phases of education and in a variety of teaching, leadership and consulting roles.

As a leadership team we have built our school on the principles of aspiration, integrity and resilience as we believe those core values are vital life skills and qualities. It is those values that drive my determination to ensure Elms Bank is a vibrant, thriving, ambitious rich tapestry of experiences for all our young people and a work place where all staff can be supported and achieve personal ambitions in their career. Elms Bank is a place where all its community can thrive and reach their amazing potential.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It is an absolute delight to be Assistant Headteacher at Elms Bank and I thoroughly enjoy working with our amazing students and families. In my role I oversee the provision of our students and will always strive to work with the team across school and college, to break down barriers to learning, so that all pupils are able to achieve their full potential. In my role as SENCO I am committed to getting things right for each and every one of our students in order to support them as much as possible throughout their time at Elms Bank.

Before joining the team at Elms Bank I gathered a wealth of teaching and leadership experience in a range of primary schools, having previously worked supporting other SENCOs across Bury and other authorities.

I am proud of our school, our staff and our remarkable pupils and am dedicated to making sure that we continue to make a positive difference to the lives of everyone associated with the Elms Bank community.

I work as an Assistant Headteacher at Elms Bank School, paired with supporting the OakLP Outreach team in supporting to upskill colleagues in the local area, to ensure outstanding SEN provision for all learners in Bury. I really do have the best job in the world! Within both of my roles I have the opportunity to work with the most driven, determined and aspirational colleagues who truly aspire to ensure the best outcomes for all students. Working with other colleagues across the authority allows myself a front row seat at witnessing a collaborative approach to pushing the standards high for all SEN learners, I have worked to ensure professionals are given opportunities to share services and opportunities for all our learners.

I have worked at Elms Bank for 9 years and have vast experience of working with young people with SEND. I have taken on a number of roles at Elms Bank including; AHT Progress and Curriculum, responsibility for Mathematics, Continual Professional Development and 2nd in Department for Complex Needs.  As part of my own development, I have completed both NPQML and NPQSL training.

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!

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.

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. 

I am the Assistant Headteacher for Data and Progress at Elms Bank School and College. I have strategic responsibility for leading our whole school data system in order to monitor and evaluate the progress of all our students alongside overseeing the range of exam bodies used across both school and college.  

Throughout my 18-year teaching career I have worked in a number of different educational settings and held numerous positions of responsibility, this has prepared me to support our students to achieve to their full potential. I take great pride in ensuring we are always offering qualifications and accreditation that meets the needs of our learners.