SEND Casework Award - Steering group

We are forming a professional steering group for the SEND Casework Award, and are looking for members to contribute to the strategic development of the programme.

We believe with your professional experience and participation in the award, you would offer valuable insight around casework. We would therefore like to invite you to join our steering group.

We are interested to hear from current and previous candidates, assessors, and other parties who may have a vested interested in casework, to provide insight, feedback and support strategic development of the award.

The fine details of the group are yet to be decided, but we are able to share the group will:

Meet every 3 months online
Approximately require 2 hours per meeting
Have strategic input to the shape and development of the award

This event is suitable for Local Authority Case Workers.

Meet your trainer

Sam McFarlane

Education Officer

Sam has had varied career in education, holding several SENDCO posts across mainstream schools and a pupil referral unit; going on to work as a local authority SEND advisory teacher, where she supported schools and early years settings with the development and implementation of SEND provision for children and young people. Later Sam went on to lead the Learning Support Team with Nottingham City Council; whilst also lecturing at Grosseteste University on the subject of SEND, and training teachers in specialist assessment. Sam is a dyslexia specialist teacher/ assessor, and has a special interest in Specific Learning Difficulties. More recently, Sam has worked with adults supporting identification and accessibility in the workplace.

Meet your trainer

Zoe Mather

Education Officer

From starting out her working life as a design engineer, Zoe re-trained and worked as a secondary maths teacher for over 20 years in the Northeast of England. Spending roughly half her career in mainstream and half in specialist settings, she has delivered the national curriculum from P-levels to A-levels to a wide variety of learners. Having worked for nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs) for the past 4 and a half years, her specialism is supporting learners through recognising barriers, and she is passionate about learning being accessible for all. Since working with EdTech designers as part of the Lego® Accelerator Program, her interest in AI and its application for learners with SEND has been a personal focus for her work with nasen.