“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Margaret Mead

Charles Desforges is an emeritus professor in the University of Exeter. He is a research adviser to various government bodies here and overseas. Other work involves supporting the professional development of head teachers and promoting teacher research on lesson development.

From 1998 to 2002 Charles was the Director of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme of the Economic and Social Research Council, the largest coordinated programme of social research ever mounted in the UK. Prior to that, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor in the University of Exeter and also the Director of the School of Education.

Earlier in his working life he taught school science for ten years (1963-1973). Since then he has been a university researcher focusing on classroom learning. He has published extensively in the field of teaching and learning, and was editor of the British Journal of Educational Psychology for five years. Recent publications include ‘Numeracy and Beyond’ (2000) (with Martin Hughes), ‘Teaching and Learning’ (2002) (with Richard Fox), and a report of a research review conducted for the DfES entitled ‘The impact of parental involvement on pupil achievement’. This is available on the DfES website as Research Report No. 433 (2003). Professor Desforges was awarded an OBE in 2004 for services to education.

Sheena is a qualified educational psychologist and a registered health psychologist. The first eleven years of her post-doctoral career were spent in academic research working on large scale research initiatives in health and education, principally the ESRC Economic Life Initiative, the World Values Survey, the British Social Attitudes Survey, and the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales.   

Sheena subsequently became a Project Manager for the European Commission where she designed and implemented quality standards procedures for companies participating in collaborative international initiatives, oversaw quality assurance and was responsible for co-ordinating and scheduling the partners’ deliverables and for progress reports for the EC.  

Following this Sheena became Research Manager at Relate Head Office where she provided annual organisational statistics to the CEO for the annual review and set up an in-house research department. Sheena initiated a new Research Forum to provide a locus for discussing the research needs of centres and to provide centres with basic training in research and evaluation methods, worked closely with the Media and Communications team and set up a joint Information Group which allowed Communications to have fast, easy access to the latest facts and figures and enabled more rapid response to inquiries from the press and other external sources.

To improve client services and make research accessible, relevant and responsive to current issues Sheena publishes regular updates in Relate’s newsletter. She also designed a new client record system, provided consultancy to Centres wishing to undertake research and advised on the evaluation of Relate’s new relationship education programme.  

Following Sheena’s interest in applying psychology to practice she completed professional training, then held posts as educational psychologist and senior practitioner psychologist in Warwickshire and Leicester. In Leicester Sheena became part of the multi agency BEST Plus (Behaviour and Education Support Team) initiative which took on the most challenging cases before moving to Coventry as Head of Service for its TAMHS (Targeted Mental Health in Schools) team. TAMHS provided schools with a new tier 2 mental health service delivered in the community. The work involved developing systems for reviewing young people’s mental wellbeing, setting up interventions, providing schools staff with training, and working with health, social care and CAMHS partners to create a new care pathway. TAMHS also worked closely with the police to look at how best to provide mental health support to young offenders, and with the local authority to develop a Risky Behaviours and Healthy Relationships intervention.  

Since 2018 Sheena has been in private practice, her professional qualifications are MA, MSc, DEA, PhD, AFBPsS; Chartered Psychologist.

Sheena is the Chair (West Midlands) of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)..

Suneta is an experienced Interim Head Teacher, adept at working within challenging school contexts. She is particularly skilled at maintaining staff morale whilst improving standards. Suneta has over 25 years of experience working in varying contexts of Primary Schools, including working as a headteacher, deputy head, school improvement partner, inclusion leader and SENDCo. She is a multi-award-winning coach, well-being Consultant and a DfE approved trainer for senior mental health leads.

Suneta leads an evidence-based approach to change management in which she skilfully and sensitively creates turning points for individuals, groups and whole school organisations which ultimately results in improvements. 

Her areas of expertise include:

•        School Improvement – specialising in auditing and action planning
•        1:1 Coaching for HTs/SLT
•        Whole school SEND improvement strategy advice, consultation & implementation 
•        Comprehensive knowledge of SEND law and the application of the SEND statutory framework
•        Whole school wellbeing & mental health strategy advice & consultation
•        Mediation, conflict/resolution & SEND
•        Group coaching (including facilitation of Action Learning Sets)
•        Reflective supervision 

Delivery of effective training and development is a key feature of Suneeta’s whole system approach and the cornerstone of her successful impact.

Suneta is a proud mum of three wonderful teenagers, which includes one child with significant and profound learning difficulties. She is passionate about education and inclusion for all. 

Barry has been involved in SEND in Birmingham for nearly 40 years. Barry’s daughter, Justine, had severe learning disabilities and epilepsy. Unfortunately, the epilepsy took Justine’s life when she was eight years old. She had attended Fox Hollies Special School, where Barry became involved and joined the governing body. After they lost Justine, Barry and his late wife became involved in the Shared Care Scheme in Birmingham, providing respite for parents with children with SEND. They also raised funds to buy a holiday home which we managed for Fox Hollies School and other special schools in the City.

In 2012 Barry was elected to Birmingham City Council and was a Councillor for six years. During that time he worked within Children, Social Care, Education and SEND. He was Vice-Chair of the Education and Vulnerable Children Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the whole of that time, leading on a scrutiny report into child sexual exploitation (which was an award-winning inquiry). Barry was also the City’s Looked After Children Champion, involved in all aspects of children in care.

In 2013, Barry became a key member of the Independent Management Board for supporting the delivery of expert SEND Information, Advice and Support. Barry also joined the Management Board of City of Birmingham School, the largest Pupil Referral Unit in the country, which he has chaired for the last four years.

Barry cares passionately about getting SEND provision right for children, parents and carers in the City. His personal and professional commitment has been well evidenced and has made a lasting impact on many families.

Aron has been working in education in the field of IT support since 2008. Since this time he has been part of the successful growth of Wilson Stuart School into the Education Impact Academy Trust and has worked closely with leaders during the academisation of 2 schools into the trust. He has been on the executive team of the trust since it’s formation and continues to take an active role in strategic decisions.

Concurrently, Aron was involved in the expansion and development of the Solar for Schools assessment system, the creation and management of the PDSS portal and has created and managed a number of websites and web applications over his career. This started with a strong foundation in computer science and developed into a love of all things IT and how they can benefit children and the staff who work with them.

Aron enjoys making a difference and continues to be involved wherever his skills in IT can make a difference.

Ibrahim is a highly experienced and regarded social worker and SEND advisor whose uniquely wide career spans over many years.

Ibrahim has worked across many local authorities within the UK and with many schools including mainstream, academies and private settings. He has supported with shaping the SEND practice at local level supporting colleagues, SENCOs, Social workers, Designated Safeguarding Leads and Family Support Workers around a range of areas within Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

He has worked very closely with families from the beginning of the EHCP process and supporting them right the way through to the child having specialist support in place via an EHCP alongside supporting families through tribunal cases.

Ibrahim has extensive experience of working with individuals from ages of 0-25 and their families and with all additional educational needs including: autism spectrum conditions, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, speech language and communication needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical impairment and finding creative ways to support the children and young people to ensure they receive suitable education and brighter futures.

Makesha, is a Social Work Student and Advocate for Children with Special Educational Needs.

Makesha is a passionate advocate with a deep-rooted commitment to supporting parents, children, and young people in navigating through the health and social care sector, particularly within the education sector. Currently a third-year social work student, Makesha brings a wealth of professional experience and personal insights to her work.

She has a keen focus on empowering families through collaborative working with professionals, Makesha has experience of guiding parents, children, and young people through the Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) process. She is a mother of two children with special educational needs. This firsthand understanding of the challenges faced by families with children who have unique learning requirements fuels her drive to make a meaningful impact in their lives.

Dr. Elgendy worked as a Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at CARE Fertility. She started her training in this field at Birmingham Women’s Hospital in 1996, since then she hasdevoted her career entirely to helping couples with subfertility have children through providing a high quality, safe, efficient, and effective treatment, individually tailored to patient needs. Her research on the optimization of IVF protocols to reduce risks without compromising treatment outcome has led to her being awarded an MD from The University of Birmingham in 2001. She has extensive experience in all areas of Assisted Reproduction, which has been built up over more than 20 years. She is also one of the members of the first team -world wide- to use Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation (OTC) for fertility and hormonal preservation in healthy women which could improve the quality of so many women’s life. She has developed an interest in both the clinical and the cryopreservation part of the OTC technique.

Most importantly she is a Mother of a young man, now aged 22, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Dr Elgendy has worked tirelessly through the SEND processes to secure the appropriate provision for her son. He is a remarkable young man, whose smile can light up the room. The joy he brings to his family every moment is cherished.