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Meet the Specialists
nasen is proud to shine the spotlight on our Education Team.
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With over 25 years of experience in the education sector Michael has a wealth of experience to bring to nasen to support other SENCOs and education professionals within the sector. During his career he has worked in primary schools, both in England and abroad. During that time, he had various roles including SENCO, equal opportunities lead, ICT lead and deputy head teacher. Michael then broadened his experience by working for a Local Authority as an advisory teacher for SEND.
Michael Surr
Zoe began her career on the Graduate Teaching Programme in 2000 as a secondary maths teacher. She then furthered her practice across several secondary schools holding roles including outreach and SENCO.
Her most recent post before joining nasen, was as Assessment and Achievement Lead as part of the SLT of an autism-specific all-through special school.
Zoe Mather
Anna changed career to retrain as a teacher in 2012, quickly developing a particular passion for supporting children with SEND and their families.
She went on to work as a SENCO and SEND Lead in several primary schools across the West Midlands, gaining experience across local-authority-maintained schools and within multi-academy trusts. Before joining nasen, Anna led a Communication and Interaction hub provision, working between specialist and mainstream settings to support children with a range of additional needs. Anna also has a particular interest in animal assisted therapies, outdoor learning and Forest School, and how these are of benefit to learners with SEND.
Anna Speke
Ffion began working in education in 2005, where she quickly developed a keen interest in neurodiversity and inclusion.
She has found her teaching, leadership and SENCO roles incredibly fulfilling and has enjoyed working across a broad range of education settings, including primary, secondary, FE and HE institutions. Her most recent roles before joining nasen were as secondary SENCO for a large M.A.T. and as SENCO, Inclusion Manager and Mental Health Lead in a primary school. Her particular interests include supporting sensory differences, and female presentation of Autism, ADHD and ADD.
Ffion Robinson
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.
