East Midlands, South Yorkshire and the Humber
Our EMSYH SEND leaders are passionate about supporting all provision across the region to be ambitious, aspirational and inclusive by design. Our connectivity and partnerships with LA's, MATs, Opportunity Areas, Teaching School Hubs, mainstream and specialist settings support the sharing of knowledge and expertise across the system.
Through CPD events, webinars, strategic support and our online resources we are passionate about supporting young people with additional needs to achieve their full potential and move onto aspirational long term outcomes.
A warm welcome into our regional community of practice and please connect with us via email or our twitter page.
Local authorities in this region
Barnsley, City of York, Derby, Derbyshire, Doncaster, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull City, Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rotherham, Rutland, Sheffield
Meet your Regional SEND Leads
Regional Lead
Emily is the Regional SEND Leader for Whole School SEND in the East Midlands South Yorkshire and Humber. She has taught in a mixture of mainstream primary and special secondary schools in various locations and roles, from class teacher through to senior leader. She strongly believes that all children deserve the best possible chance to succeed in life and is passionate about supporting teachers and leaders in making this happen.
For the latter part of Emily’s career, she has focused on working with learners with Special Educational Needs. Initially as an Assistant Headteacher within a special secondary school and then for the last 3 years as the Director of a Teaching School specialising in SEND. Through this work she has supported many schools and Local Authorities to develop their SEND provision and improve outcomes for all learners.
Emily Walker
Deputy Regional Lead
Jane Starbuck has worked as a SENCO and primary school Head Teacher and, until recently, was the Strategic Leader for Inclusion of a large partnership of schools. In April 2020 she joined Nottinghamshire County Council as the Education Improvement Adviser (SEND) and is the Deputy Regional Leader for East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Humber for Whole School SEND. Jane has a particular interest in developing a strategy-based approach to SEND provision in schools through establishing effective collaborations between schools in order to develop specialist provision, alternative provision, training and resource sharing. Jane is also a lecturer on the National SENCO Award for Nottingham Trent University.
Jane Starbuck
Deputy Regional Lead
Alistair is currently Director of SEND & Inclusion for St Martin’s and St Andrew’s Schools in Derby. Prior to this, he worked in a range of specialist schools across the East Midlands as a teacher and senior leader.
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 ( EMSYH), Co Chair of the National Network of Specialist Provision (NNSP) and is currently the Specialist lead for Oak National Academy.
