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BSA webinar – Neurodiversity: Supporting successful transitions in boarding schools
- Date: April 26, 2023
- Time: 14:00 – 16:00
- Cost: Full Member – £100, Affiliate Member- £150, Non-member – £200
- Audience: Head, SLT, Inclusion Lead, Head of Boarding, Teaching and Boarding staff
- Platform: Zoom
The aim of this half day seminar is to provide an opportunity to consider the importance of and best practice when supporting pupils around transition points such as joining or leaving the school or within the school when moving boarding house.
We will hear directly from pupils and school staff about adjustments and proactive work that has made a positive impact.
Attending this webinar will help delegates increase their knowledge and understanding of the importance of proactive work around transition points and the impact this can have on a pupil’s life. Delegates will hear about a range of practical strategies, to adopt, adapt or use and will leave with the understanding and confidence to build on current practice.
Zoe Beezer, Educational Consultant, zoebeezer.com
Zoe Beezer MDG (Master of the Dyslexia Guild with Level 7 Postgraduate Certificate in Dyslexia/ SpLD conferring qualified teacher and assessor status), QTS, LLM, BA Hons
Zoe runs her own business in educational consultancy and assessment (zoebeezer.com); she carries out SpLD assessments, advises parents and advocates for them, provides training services, as well as offering tutoring and coaching.
Prior to doing this she was the Assistant Head of Inclusion and Well-being at an independent secondary school; a role which included leadership of the learning support department and SENDCo of the school. Other roles have included being SENDCo and Head of Learning Support at an independent all-through school (6 weeks to 18 years), as well being Head of Learning Support at an academically selective grammar school. Zoe has also been Head of Pastoral Care (Girls). She has extensive experience of working with parents, schools and external agencies to meet the needs of neurodivergent pupils.
Zoe gained qualified teacher status in 2001 and has taught in a range of settings from mainstream to independent schools, and from primary age to university lecturing.
Zoe is a qualified Specialist Assessor and regularly undertakes private assessments of pupils with suspected literacy related SpLDs and dyslexia. She is also a qualified Specialist Literacy Intervention and Dyslexia teacher and Level 1 Accredited Executive Functions Coach.
Prior to devoting her career to special educational needs Zoe specialised as a Criminal Law Solicitor and Litigator. She holds a Masters in Criminal Law Litigation (LLM).
Zoe is the mother of four children (two girls and identical twin boys); one of her children has Inattentive ADHD and ASC, and another has Combined Type ADHD – she has ongoing experience of how to parent a neurodivergent child.
Zoe is currently using the experience she has gained during her teaching career, as well as being a parent of neurodivergent children, to co-author a book for parents of children with ADHD.
Lauren Harris Jones, Head of Boarding and Futures, Hereford Cathedral School
In her last role Lauren was Head of Sixth Form and Tutor in Elizabeth Boarding House at King Edwards School Witley. She has been working in co-educational international schools since 2003 and recently completed her NPQSL on reflection activities and metacognition as a support to students’ academic subjects. Lauren is currently building on previous research about the use of games in education to write about the amount of time secondary school boarders should be left unsupervised to ‘play’ and the amount of non-contact time that should be allocated as structured ‘compulsory fun’.
Dr Penny Turnbull, Assistant Director (Projects and Systems), University of St Andrews
Dr Penny Turnbull is Assistant Director, Projects and Systems. She leads the University’s ‘Transitions in’ working group and has chaired the Orientation Committee since 2015, coordinating orientation and induction activities across the institution. Until recently she managed the wardennial service providing pastoral support and advice to more than 3000 students living in university accommodation. Penny comes from a background of corporate risk management, crisis response and emergency planning both in the UK and the United States and has a particular interest in personal resilience and wellbeing.