South West
I would like to introduce myself as the regional lead for the South West of England. I work in collaboration with all stakeholders to promote good practice for SEND across the region. The role of Whole School SEND is to support schools in prioritising SEND in conjunction with families, children and young people. There is so much expertise already in schools and communities which we want to identify and share for the benefit of all.
Whole School SEND's aim in the South West is to build our community of practice to meet the needs of children and young people with increasingly complex needs by strengthening the links between mainstream and specialist settings.
We invite parents, carers, leaders and practitioners to contact us by joining the Whole School SEND community and sharing good practice.
Local authorities in this region
Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole Borough, Scilly, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay, Wiltshire.
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Meet Your Regional Leads
Regional Lead
Emma graduated from Cambridge University in 1998 and has been a teacher in mainstream primary schools, in Alternative Provision with both Primary and Secondary. After setting up the first Key Stage 3 Nurture Class in Cornwall she became Lead SENDCo across the Multi Academy Trust, ensuring that children and young people have opportunities to engage and make the best progress possible in their learning and emotional/social development. During her career she has developed her passion to develop the creative/outdoors opportunities alongside the academic curriculum, instilling a love of learning, curiosity, and positivity. Emma is now Headteacher of Sky Primary and Eden Project Nursery, part of Kernow Learning Trust, which is a brand new school with a nurture inspired and learning beyond the classroom curriculum. The school is based in the heart of West Carclaze Garden Village, an eco development, and is a carbon net zero school.
Emma Vyvyan
Deputy Regional Lead
Libby started teaching in 2007 in South Gloucestershire. She became a SENCO in 2011 and is now Deputy Head and Head of Inclusion across a Federation of schools. Libby is passionate about supporting staff and schools to create a robust inclusive offer for all children in schools. She has led on the development of two alternative internal provisions as part of mainstream education and has worked and supported other schools to support them in the development of a similar model. Libby is also a Lead SENCO for a Cluster of 24 schools within South Gloucestershire. This involves working with a range of external services and SENCOs. She has done various outreach work and has been involved in SEND reviews of different schools.
Libby Lins
Deputy Regional Lead
Jeanette has over 25 years of experience in education and additional needs. Jeanette has extensive experience as a SENCO and Senior Leader in rural, urban and inner city schools. She has led local authority and joint venture/commissioned SEND services as well as providing school improvement support across all age phases and types of schools as a county SEND Adviser. Her current role is as Director for Inclusion with the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust and she is committed to ensuring that all children, irrespective of background or needs is able to succeed.
