Safeguarding, Student Wellbeing, Mental Health & PSHEC

I have over ten years’ experience teaching, with nearly five of these as Head of the Religious Education and Learning for Life departments at Hitchin Girls' School and have previously co-ordinated Citizenship.

As a teacher, I am passionate about the need to support young people holistically, not just in my classroom. This has inspired me to take a lead role in developing a PSHCE curriculum which focuses on both physical and mental health. I have worked with health professionals and been on a range of training courses to help me develop whole school strategies in relation to well-being and mental health. I have also worked with a local charity Phase to develop resources which will be used nationally within schools to educate young people about mental health.

For the past two and a half years I have also been one of a team of Safeguarding Leads in school and have experience of doing safeguarding audits through my role as a governor at a local junior school. I have particular experience at dealing with and managing self-harm and complex mental health conditions within the classroom. I have run a range of CPD sessions for school staff, for PGCE trainees and at the East of England innovation in Education and Healthcare conference.

Throughout my career, I have established strong links for collaborating between colleagues and departments and lead a highly successful Religious Education department. I am a trained coach and use this to help facilitate conversations with peers and trainees to establish a mutually safe and supportive environment for discussion.