Staff Team Primary

I have worked in Brighton and Hove since 1997 and am proud to be Head of School at the Central Hub PRU. I work with a dedicated team of professionals who strive to improve the education and lives of our students. I was originally a mainstream music teacher before moving into specialist educational settings, and play music regularly in a variety of bands.

More recently I focused on PSHE and Food Technology as a teacher, with the occasional PE and activities session thrown in to keep my joints moving. I have a partner, a son and a dog – Coco, who comes to school every day to hear children read, support learning and be taken for walks.  

I am Coco and have worked at the Connected PRU since I was four months old. I am a Labradoodle and my role in the school is to work with students to help them read, cuddle them when they need a friend and be taken for walks.
I also try to help the staff with their learning and keep the Head of School happy (this is the hardest job).
I am especially good at tail wagging and begging for food. Most of the students are well trained and don’t feed me however some of the staff are soft touches, especially around key stage 4.
I love being at the PRU and often refuse to leave at the end of the day.

I joined the Central Hub in September 2019 and have the pleasure of teaching Hawks class at the PRU. After graduating, I worked in two mainstream primary schools for a combination of eight and a half years and prior to my appointment at the Central Hub, I worked at The Cedar Centre Special school for six years. I started at the Cedar Centre as a primary specialist supporting the new intake transitioning to the secondary site. I have had many roles and responsibilities in my time including lead teacher of maths and science and safeguarding lead.

I am originally from County Durham and did my teacher training in Liverpool where I also taught for 3 years. In 2001 I moved to Brighton, and have been living here ever since. I joined CHB 5 years ago and this was the first time I had worked outside of mainstream education. I feel delighted and privileged to be part of the team and I’ve never been happier working in the education sector. I love the varied curriculum that we offer the children, enriching their formal learning with forest school and other outdoor learning opportunities.

I have a love of food and I enjoy cooking and sharing skills with the children at school. I also enjoy bird watching. Again this is something that I have shared with the children and we all enjoy watching the wide range of birds that visit our feeders outside of our classroom window.

Before joining the primary team I worked in several secondary schools in Brighton. My roles included Head of Department and Assistant Head of Year. I then changed roles to become the Primary Sports Development Officer for East Brighton, working with a cluster of Brighton Primary Schools. I joined the Primary Team in 2013 working mainly with the year 5 and 6 pupils.

I decided I loved working with children after a stint in a residential, therapeutic unit in the USA and on returning to the UK, worked in children’s homes before I moved into an educational setting. After working at The Alternative Centre for Education and Homewood College, I joined the primary team four years ago. I really enjoy the many aspects of the job and feel very fortunate to work with a great team. I love building relationships with the children and supporting them in their learning and development in order to send them on with more resilience and greater self-esteem.

I have worked as a teacher in mainstream schools across the South East for fifteen years. Recently I  worked with autistic children in an SEND school where I gained valuable experience in using a range of communication techniques such as Makaton and Picture Exchange Communication. I live in Brighton with my husband,  three young children, two house rabbits and a dog called Coco. In my spare time I coach a girls' football team, love to travel, and occasionally attempt a bit of baking.