S.E.N.D.
IN BOTH UK LOCAL AUTHORITY AND INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
Name: Jeannette Bidder
Qualifications: B.A.Honours (Durham),
P.G.C.E. (Distinction), Advanced Diploma in Teaching those with Specific Learning Difficulties.
Membership: National Association of Special Educational Needs, Mental Health Foundation, I CAN licensed tutor
Experience: three years' S.E.N. consultancy: S.E.N.D. Adviser - as the Group Head of Learning Enrichment and Inclusion - with Executive Responsibility for Safeguarding in a group of schools: three headships (independent prep schools inc a Special School), two deputy headships (local authority maintained schools), Leading Literacy Teacher for a local authority, S.E.N.C.O in secondary school, teacher and governor.
Trainer in Safeguarding role as CEOP Ambassador (National Crime Agency) and Designated Safeguarding Lead in several settings. Wide training experience for many nurseries and schools with 2 - 19 years including many independent schools and sixteen local authorities in the England.
Originally from Bolton in Lancashire, I have worked for, in or across thirteen schools in the UK (a mix of local authority and independent schools for pupils in Nursery to Sixth Form). As a Leading Literacy Teacher for Lancashire Authority, I was lucky enough to share and develop a huge range of expertise across very different communities including training skills.
Headships of mainstream preps in Liverpool and Wimbledon, followed by a registered Special School for Specific Learning Difficulties in East Sussex, have all been a privilege, an area of self-development and challenges!
Managing and inspiring educational excellence is a passion of mine with provision for enabling those with special educational needs in mind: being a school governor in different settings and active member of many Senior Leadership Teams has been SO very rewarding. Recently, as Group Head of Learning Enrichment and Inclusion for six independent schools (with executive responsibility for safeguarding), I travel and work with many super teams of primary and secondary school phases.
I passionately believe that enabling appropriate and effective Special Educational Needs provision - removing barriers to learning that engages pupils and achieves progress - as well as effective Safeguarding, are vital for education and schools to best serve children and young people. My work requires collaboration with therapists, educationalists and specialist schools so that I am able to draw upon a wide network of experts including legal representatives, if required.
Completing my Advanced Diploma in Teaching Children with Specific Learning Difficulties was helpful: recently gaining the National Crime Agency's Ambassador Certificate in Child Exploitation & Online Protection (C.E.O.P.), has been important in my development. These build upon my Post Graduate Certificate in Education with Distinction (P.G.C.E.) and B.A. Honours degree from the University of Durham.
I offer an informal S.E.N.D. Hub
for Parents and Schools:
www.facebook.com/sendandsafeguarding/