Virtual Headteacher
As the Headteacher for the Virtual School my role is to promote and champion the education for all children who are looked after, previously looked after and who have a social worker. I work closely with a number of agencies and schools to ensure that our children are given the best opportunities to succeed and thrive. I am very fortunate to lead a fantastic team of dedicated practitioners.
I have over twenty years’ experience of working in schools across the country at various different levels of management including Headteacher in primary schools, including those with SEND provision. I am passionate about continuing professional development and have almost finished completing my NPQEL.
Deputy Virtual Headteacher - Children with a Social Worker
I am responsible for the extended duties of the Virtual School as set out by the DfE to strategically champion the attendance, attainment and progress of all children who have, or have had, a social worker in the last 6 years. I provide educational advice and support to Social Care Teams at an operational and strategic level and work with colleagues in schools to support with enhancing the offer for children with social workers.
I have 18 years’ experience as a secondary and further education teacher. This included 8 years as a senior leader within a large mainstream setting, with responsibilities that included Assistant Head, Designated Safeguarding Lead and Director of Sixth Form. I have extensive experience in leading strategies on Attendance, Raising Attainment for Disadvantaged Learners, Quality First Teaching, Post 16/18 Careers Education Information, Advice & Guidance. I have also recently completed a year leading on Sefton's Equality Diversity & Inclusion Strategy.
I am a qualified counsellor and member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy.
Virtual School SEND & Inclusion Lead
I am responsible for SEND and Inclusion for Cared for Children in Sefton. I ensure that that the children with EHC plans receive high quality planning and delivery of an education that meets their individual needs. Gaining the wishes, feelings and preferences of the children and young people plays a vital role in my day-to-day work and by doing this, I am able to support in meeting their needs holistically.
I have over 20 years of experience working in primary schools, all of which has centred around special educational needs. For the first thirteen years of my career, I worked in a special school for children with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties. Whilst in this setting, I taught a range of ages from 5-11 and was on the senior leadership team.
Before joining the Virtual School Team, I worked in a mainstream primary school as the Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion (SENCO) and Designated Safeguarding Lead. I worked closely with children and their families to gain the best possible outcomes for each individual by liaising with a range of stakeholders.
Education Coordinator
I have 17 years of teaching experience from the Post-16 education sector, having worked as a Head of department and a teacher of A-Level and GCSE. In addition, I was a personal tutor and advisor supporting young people as they take their next steps into higher education, apprenticeships, and the world of work. I hold a BSc in Psychology and am deeply passionate about ensuring that every child in care has equal access to meaningful and ambitious educational opportunities. I am committed to championing children in care and their potential, breaking down barriers to success. In my role, I work closely with social care teams, careers advisors, pupils, schools, and external agencies to ensure that our young people receive the support, guidance, and provision they need and deserve to thrive.
Education Co-ordinator
As Education Coordinator for Cared For Children with Sefton Virtual School, my role is to be a champion for some of our most vulnerable young people and provide support in all aspects of education. I liaise with colleagues in schools, social care and partner agencies, as well as pupils and carers, to ensure that appropriate provision and support is in place to promote academic achievement and outcomes, delivered through a robust Personal Education Plan and effective use of Pupil Premium Plus funding.
I have 30 years’ experience as a teacher, 15 years teaching in a specialist primary and secondary
EBD school and 15 years teaching all year groups, in a primary school with the additional responsibility as SENCO. I have further qualifications and extensive knowledge of Special Educational Needs and I understand the processes to offer advice and guidance to ensure that all pupils gain the educational support they need.
Education Co-ordinator
As Education Coordinator for Cared For Children with Sefton Virtual School, my role is to be a champion for some of our most vulnerable young people and provide support in all aspects of education. I liaise with colleagues in schools, social care and partner agencies, as well as pupils and carers, to ensure that appropriate provision and support is in place to promote academic achievement and outcomes, delivered through a robust Personal Education Plan and effective use of Pupil Premium Plus funding.
I have over 26 years’ experience of working in formal and informal education settings across Sefton, having worked in secondary and primary schools, youth centres, detached provision, outreach work and diversionary projects. I started my career in Sefton as a part time youth worker in 1997 and as a qualified primary teacher I worked in a resourced autism provision in mainstream primary school and Senior Learning Mentor in three Sefton secondary schools, before joining Virtual School in 2020.
I have completed the National Programme for Specialist Leaders in Behaviour and Attendance, and am also a trained Restorative Justice facilitator. I was a visiting lecturer with Edge Hill University from 2012-2015, delivering CPD on restorative approaches in schools.
Education Co-ordinator
I am an Education coordinator for the Virtual School. My role is to ensure that our Cared for Children access the education they deserve and are entitled to, giving them every opportunity to succeed. I liaise with social workers, schools and other professionals; supporting the outcomes for our Cared for Children .
I have worked in a secondary school for the last 18 years, gaining extensive experience of the challenges that Cared for Children can face. Within my career I have had various roles including Learning Mentor, Head of Year and Safeguarding officer. Throughout my career, I have maintained a child centred approach, working with children and young people to remove barriers to learning; supporting their journey to achieve the best outcomes. Prior to working in a secondary school, I obtained a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science. In addition to this, I am also a trained Designated Safeguarding Lead and Mental Health Lead.
Education Co-ordinator
As Education Coordinator for Cared For Children with Sefton Virtual School, my role is to be a champion for some of our most vulnerable young people and provide support in all aspects of education. I liaise with colleagues in schools, social care and partner agencies, as well as pupils and carers, to ensure that appropriate provision and support is in place to promote academic achievement and outcomes, delivered through a robust Personal Education Plan and effective use of Pupil Premium Plus funding.
I have over 10 years’ experience working within primary education across Sefton and have gained vast knowledge and understanding of the challenges that Cared for Children can face. During my teaching career, I have had various roles with the most recent being that of Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for Curriculum, Assessment and Behaviour. Throughout, I have maintained a child centred approach, working with children and young people to remove barriers to learning; supporting their journey to achieve the best outcomes. In addition, I am also a trained Designated Safeguarding Lead, hold a National Professional Qualification in Senior Leadership (NPQSL) and have a BA (Hons) in Politics and Sociology from The University of York.
Education Coordinator
As an education coordinator for Sefton’s Virtual School, I have a passion for improving and driving educational outcomes for our most vulnerable children. In my role, I work closely with schools, families, and partner agencies to ensure learners receive the support, opportunities, and resources they need to thrive in education.
I am fully committed to promoting inclusion, raising aspirations, and removing barriers to learning. Through collaboration, effective communication, and a student-centred approach, I help monitor progress, coordinate educational support, and champion the needs of our children. I strongly believe that every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential and I am fully committed to ensuring that our children’s voices are always at the forefront of what we do.
I have over 20 years’ experience of working with children and families, beginning my career training to be a Paediatric nurse before moving into the social care and education sector. I have held various roles working in a specialist education provision, alternative education provision and most recently working as an education liaison officer in Sefton’s MASH team. I am pleased to have joined this already established team and I hope that the skills I have developed thought-out my practice can enhance our children’s outcomes and support them in their educational journey.
Education Co-ordinator
As an Education Coordinator for the Virtual School in Sefton, it is my responsibility to ensure that our cared for students are supported in all facets of their education, providing support and guidance in their personal journey through school and post 16. I endeavour to build excellent relationships with our schools and school leaders, ensuring that the needs of our cared for young people are met.
I have over 18 years teaching experience, predominantly in secondary education, leading Pastoral and Safeguarding teams, as well as developing and embedding Pupil Premium strategies. These roles gave me valuable experience in how best to support young people from a personal and academic perspective. I take great pride in the relationships that I create with young people, built through trust and respect. As a former Designated Teacher for children in care, I found this role to be the most rewarding, hence when an opportunity arose to work with the Virtual School, I felt enthused and inspired to support the young people of Sefton.
More recently, I have founded an alternative provision, specialising in meeting the needs of young people that find difficulty in accessing mainstream education. This has been a fantastic experience, working with children and their families, to tailor curricula and learning plans to meet their individual needs.
Education Co-ordinator
I have worked with children and young people for over 20 years, with the majority of my career spent working in secondary education. During this time, I worked as a Head of Year for over 15 years and also spent more than 10 years as a Designated Safeguarding Lead.
More recently, I worked as a Deputy Manager within supported accommodation, supporting Cared for Children aged between 16-18. This gave me the opportunity to support young people beyond the school environment and gave me a much deeper understanding of some of the challenges they can face as they approach adulthood. A big part of my role was supporting young people around education, employment, independence and their plans for the future.
Building relationships with young people has always been the part of my work I enjoy the most. I believe they respond best when they feel listened to and when somebody takes the time to understand their story, what their world looks like for them and what they want for their future. Sometimes progress can start with something quite small, but having someone in their corner who believes in them and sticks with them can make a real difference.
I'm really pleased to have joined Sefton Virtual School as an Education Coordinator and I'm looking forward to getting to know our young people and using the experience I've gained across both education and supported accommodation to help them make positive progress, recognise what they're capable of and get the most from the opportunities available to them.
Support Officer
I started my position as a Virtual School Support Officer in July 2024, following a four year role working as a Project Administrator for a Facilities Management company within the Liverpool Royal University Hospital. My job role currently covers all aspects of administrative duties including financial tasks and liaising within the team to ensure that Cared For children have access to the best education possible. I hope to use my past experience to support the team in their roles of providing the highest quality of care and protection to Cared For children.