East of England
We would like to introduce ourselves as the regional team for the East of England. Our role is to work in collaboration with all stakeholders to promote and celebrate the great SEND practice across the region.
At the moment in the East we are working to develop professional networks that will support schools in prioritising SEND working in partnership with families, children and young people. There is so much expertise already in schools and communities that we want to share for the benefit of all.
Using this knowledge we will support teachers, SENCOs and Leadership teams by growing the community of practice, enabling professionals to prioritise SEND and create positive changes for these young people and families.
We invite parents, carers, leaders and practitioners to contact us by joining the Whole School SEND community and sharing good practice.
Meet your Regional SEND Leads
Regional SEND Lead
Alistair is the Workforce Development Lead at Eden Academy. Prior to this, he worked in a range of specialist and mainstream schools across the East Midlands as a teacher, senior leader and Director of Inclusion. As an experienced Specialist Leader of Education and School / Multi-Academy Trust reviewer Alistair has supported many schools and colleagues to develop their SEND provision and improve outcomes for young people with additional needs. A big passion for Alistair is raising aspiration for the amazing young people we work with and he is currently working with a range of national partners to support pathways to employment and participation in elite sports. Alistair is a member of the regional team for Whole School SEND, Co Chair of the National Network of Specialist Provision (NNSP), Specialist lead for Oak National Academy and most recently sat on the ERG for the DfE Enrichment Framework.
Alistair Crawford
Deputy Regional SEND Lead
Since her career change from accountancy to teaching in 2004, Laura has always worked closely with children and young people with SEND and their families. She has 15 years of experience working in area special schools progressing to senior leadership. She was then able to transfer her skills wider by becoming a senior specialist teacher and a SEND reviewer for the Opportunity Area. As an academy Trustee, she remained involved with curriculum and financial developments for one of the academies. She has shaped her career through dedication to SEND research and innovation. She has led SEND change at schools and steered strategic conversations across Fenland and East Cambridgeshire with 50+ leadership teams. Continuous academic study has enhanced her knowledge which she has disseminated to keep inclusive practice at the forefront of leaders' minds. She has managed many projects throughout her career; embedding a whole school nurture approach (2021), social mobility inclusion (2019), a Cluster Development Project (2013) and an Autism Inclusion Development Project (2012). She has also recently published her book, Supporting Children with Complex Needs, as part of the nasen Spotlight Series.
Laura Mills
Deputy Regional SEND Lead
Heba is a Churchill Fellow and Assistant Headteacher and Inclusion & Research Leader at Mayflower Primary School, an outstanding and highly inclusive primary school in the heart of the East End of London. Heba is passionate about innovative strategies to promote inclusive education in schools, and has led several research projects in special educational needs. Most recently, together with Professor Laura Crane (University of Birmingham, Autism Centre for Education and Research), Heba led a whole school study on the use of flexible seating, the biggest global study of its kind. Heba is a PhD candidate at University College London (UCL), exploring family-school partnerships of autistic children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She has a special interest in autism and is also an associate at UCL's Group for Research in Relationships and Neurodiversity (GRRAND).
Heba Al-Jayoosi
Local authorities in this region
- Bedford
- Cambridgeshire
- Central Bedfordshire
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Luton
- Norfolk
- Peterborough
- Southend-on-Sea
- Suffolk
- Thurrock