Katherine’s teaching career began in mainstream primary school where she developed her passion for supporting children ‘to be the best they could’, helping them to reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives. This passion drove her to look more closely at the education of children who had additional needs leading to her becoming involved in teaching children with special needs and autism.

“I was keen to explore the best strategies for helping children with ASD to become more independent, learn key functional and educational skills, participate in a wider range of experiences and enjoy their time in school”.

Katherine later became an Assistant Head specialising in Inclusion and Safeguarding and from there moved on to becoming a Primary Advisor in Special Educational Needs and Safeguarding for a federation of schools.

“I was delighted to join Eagle House Group, starting as Deputy Head of Education, and  becoming Head of Education”.

Lorraine thoroughly enjoys teaching and has brought a broad wealth of experience to compliment our Senior Leadership team. Prior to working in the special education sector, she spent 5 years in a mainstream school as the SENCO.

Lorraine has worked in special education for the last 8 years, specifically with non-verbal students with complex needs as well as autism spectrum disorders, ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder.

Lorraine has a good knowledge of PODD, PECS symbols and Makaton signing. “I have always enjoyed my time in the classroom and am enjoying working with the great Leadership team, teachers, therapists and support staff at Eagle House School”.

Yvonne has been working at Eagle House Group since 2009; starting as deputy head teacher at our primary school in Mitcham and then subsequently at our secondary school in Sutton.

“I started working with children with autism over 25 years ago when I was a welfare assistant in a specialist school in West London. From there, my interest and passion for working with this intriguing group of children blossomed”.

After qualifying as a teacher, Yvonne started her career working in mainstream primary schools. During this time she recognised that she was drawn to children with autism, but within the mainstream environment, she felt that her ability to make a difference was limited so joined us at Eagle House Group.

“I am proud to be a member of a dedicated team that values the uniqueness of each pupil and is committed in striving towards all children and young people being able to meet their full potential during their time with us”.

Amina is sharing the senior speech & language therapist role and has been at Eagle HouseSchool (Mitcham) for a significant period of time now. Amina graduated in 2010 from City

University then spent 6 years working in Early Childhood Intervention, in regional Australia and Melbourne, developing her skills working with children aged 0-6 with complex needs, Down Syndrome, autism and global developmental delay. Amina has experience in working with the NHS but has a special interest in autism and social communication difficulties. She enjoys the parent workshops and working with children to develop functional language and communication skills, building on the strengths of the children be it through visual support, alternative augmentative communication (AAC) and/or verbal language.

Jessica has worked as a paediatric Occupational Therapist in special educational provisions for five years, and now specialises in autism. She is completing her training to become a Sensory Integration practitioner and has a particular interest in sensory-based therapy.

Jessica is passionate about developing children and young people’s independence skills in order to support them on their journey to become confident, happy adults, who are active members of their communities.

In her spare time, Jessica volunteers at a Special Needs dog therapy charity with her dog Coco.

Sophie has over 10 years’ experience working with children with autism in schools and homes; supporting pupils, teachers and parents. Her focus has been on developing communication and social skills, as well as prerequisite skills to learning in learners of varying abilities.  She has also supported teachers and parents in managing challenging behaviour. She completed her Masters in Autism and qualified as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst in 2017. In her role, she supports class teams, along with the Assistant Psychologists, in implementing the school’s Positive Behaviour Support policy and in addressing the causes of challenging behaviour in pupils.  The multidisciplinary approach at Eagle House School, as well as the joint curriculum planning between the CA Team and teachers, are vital in supporting this process.

After studying at Oxford University, Adele pursued a career in the fashion industry. After leaving work to have a family, she became involved in autism when her daughter was diagnosed as having ASD at the age of four.

“We were very lucky that Nell started at Eagle House aged five and we benefited from the expertise and support of the school. Nell’s twin brother and older brother really appreciated the sibling support offered and the regular workshops and coffee mornings allowed me to learn about different approaches and techniques for dealing with an autistic child, as well as meeting other parents in the same situation.”

When returning to work, Adele was keen to take on a role that would involve giving other families like her own, the support and information needed to help them make the best decisions for their child with autism. “I was delighted to be given the opportunity to work at Eagle House Group and feel that the experiences I have been through as the parent of a severely autistic child really inform my approach to the role of Parent Liaison Officer – whether offering practical advice or giving parents information on where to find further support.”

The health and education systems can seem really daunting for the family of a child with autism. By offering advice to families in selecting a school and helping them through the SEN process, Adele wants to make them feel supported and well informed when making important choices for their children.