Helen believes that people should come first and endeavours to understand the individual pupils, parents and staff she works with in order to support them to overcome any challenges to learning and accessing the workplace and the school community. She aims to continuously reflect in creative and innovative ways on the working practices across the trust so that as much time as possible is spent on working with people; this is whilst maintaining the highest standards of practice in regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and other statutory requirements.

Helen takes the lead in equality, diversity and inclusion, inc. SEND, across TTLT. She started her teaching career in 1994 and undertook the NASENCo in 2001 during its first round; since then she has worked in several London boroughs focusing on developing effective SEND practice. During her time in Newham, she has had extensive experience working with pupils on the autistic spectrum and supporting their families. In the past, she oversaw the running of an ASD Resource Provision and for many years was the SENCo at Kensington Primary School. She has been part of the successful leadership teams of several schools throughout their improvement journeys. She now draws on her many years of experience to deliver Autism Educational Trust training, support other SENCOs to develop the SEND practice and ensure equality, diversity and inclusion within our schools.

Helen has received the Pearson National Teaching Silver Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education and is an assessor for the Inclusion Quality Mark.