South East
The role of WSS is to support school in prioritising SEN. The expertise lies within the system and by sharing best practice, working with others and building on existing strengths, we want to unlock the knowledge for the benefit of all children and their families. We want to ensure that children and young people, along with their parents/carers, are at the centre of any provision.
In the South East, we want to work in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure that SEND is seen as part of the wider school improvement agenda and not an add on. We would like to invite all leaders and practitioners to get in contact and work with us to develop a collaborative, meaningful and strong community of practice that directly impacts the outcomes for children and young people with SEND across our region.
Local authorities in this region
- Bracknell Forest
- Brighton and Hove
- Buckinghamshire
- East Sussex
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Kent
- Medway
- Milton Keynes
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- Reading
- Slough
- Southampton
- Surrey
- West Berkshire
- West Sussex
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- Wokingham
Meet your Regional SEND Leads
Regional SEND Lead
Katherine is the Director of Inclusion for River Learning Trust and Project Director for the Education Endowment Fund’s Whole School SEND Review Trial. She was a Lead Author on Teacher Handbook: SEND.
Katherine is an experienced teacher and school leader, with fifteen years experience teaching in both primary and secondary schools as a class teacher, Qualified Teacher of the Deaf and Autism Resource Base Teacher. She is also an experienced SENCO; she has led SEND provision in primary and secondary schools in England and America. Over the past ten years, Katherine has developed particular expertise in working with leadership teams to develop school-wide systems, establishing shared and inclusive visions for the education of children and young people with SEND.
Katherine Walsh
Deputy Regional SEND Lead
Clare is Head of Southampton Inclusion Partnership and Outreach Service, based at Springwell Special School in Southampton. She holds an MSc in Specific Learning Difficulties from the University of Southampton and an MA Ed in Special Needs and Inclusion from the University of Winchester. Clare is also Director of SEND for the HISP Learning Partnership and provides coaching, training and strategic support for SEND improvement across a range of schools within and beyond Southampton.
Clare Belli
Deputy Regional SEND Lead
Until July 2023, Tina was the Head of an Outstanding all age special school for children and young people with severe and profound learning difficulties including those with an additional diagnosis of autism. Tina held this post for over 30 years, during which time the school expanded its roll by 90%.
Tina trained at Birmingham University and holds a Master’s Degree in Childhood Autism, and has spent all of her career working within the special education field. Tina was a National Leader of Education until her retirement from Headship. Tina continues to work as a member of the South East Regional SEND team for Whole School SEND (nasen). Aside from Special Educational Needs, Tina's particular interests are school improvement including ethical leadership and leadership development at all levels including governance. Tina firmly believes in the power of coaching as a supportive professional development tool for colleagues.
Tina Harvey OBE
Deputy Regional SEND Lead
Becky is the Trust SEND Lead for GLF Schools a large MAT of primary and secondary schools. Becky is an SLE and was previously Headteacher of a special school for children with autism in North London. She has experience as both a primary and secondary SENCO. Becky leads the SENCO networks across her Trust and works closely with the strategic leads for Maths, English and Early Years, facilitating exchanges of good practice between schools across 7 local authorities. Becky has experience of designing and implementing SEND-specialist CPD programmes. and developed a Teaching and Learning Policy based around current research on Cognitive Load Therapy. Becky has a sound knowledge of SEND practice, policies and research and is dedicated to improving education for children and young people with SEND.
