Senior Leadership Team

I became Principal of the William Henry Smith School in August 2017, and have held   various active roles for over 30 years across education and care over this time. I have a love for learning, and believe strongly that we live and learn every day...there are no limits to success, every event, every interaction is an opportunity to grow and learn from our experiences.  

I have an absolute passion and drive to help support and improve the lives of children and young adults, specifically those needs associated with social, emotional and mental health challenges. Developing the skills of our staff team to enable them to be outstanding reflective practitioners, and supporting families are key to the success and impact of our work.   

Health, happiness and growth is at the heart of our practice.

As Principal of the school, my wider responsibilities include Local, Regional and National Representation, Governance, Self-Evaluation, Improvement and Quality Assurance, and School to School support.

I believe it is vital to have a strong focus on positive behaviour support…a commitment to inclusion, choice, participation and equality of opportunity. We know that quality of life can be improved through proactive planning strategies…focussing on the development of values, relationships and skill building.   

I maintain a strong principle that beyond our school drive lies our duty and responsibility as a specialist provision to provide support through sharing knowledge, experience and expertise, particularly in the fields of mental health and well-being, special educational need, and residential care. We therefore provide needs-led bespoke support to local mainstreams through a wide range of CPD opportunities, and behaviour and mental health and wellbeing surgeries.

The school is the lead organisation for Calderdale’s Specialist Cluster, and working alongside 4 specialist schools, we are reaching out to 96% of schools across the borough. Our work impacts beyond our local reach, and we are proactive regionally and nationally; we have also enjoyed presenting internationally. I am the co-chair of Engage, a national association supporting school leaders and organisations across the country. I am also the North East of England Teaching and Learning lead for NASS (The National Association for Independent and Non-maintained Special Schools). With a driver to improve the service to those experiencing social, emotional and mental health challenges, these organisations provide a platform for learning with and alongside each other, a collective voice and networked peer support.

I am married with two sons. I enjoy walking, eating out and discovering the history and traditions behind Europe’s cities.  I am extremely focused and passionate about mental health and physical well-being, and its relationship with Work/Life brilliance, and the benefits to our Quality of Life. I spend a significant part of the week exercising, and I thoroughly enjoy the challenge and rewards associated with Power Lifting, Olympic Lifting and Boxing. I am currently preparing for the National Coal Race, and for competition Power Lifting. I have a love for reading, reading to increase my knowledge, and for the benefit of pleasure, becoming all consumed in fiction, an opportunity to escape and watch a character interact with the world.

Sue

I am passionate about driving forward positive change, whilst providing support for our sector as a whole. I love the reward of working in such an inspiring and fulfilling environment and I relish nothing more than a challenge.

I am responsible for the school's quality, efficiencies and effectiveness of resources including the finances and ensuring that the school makes the best possible use of the resources available. I also ensure that processes and systems are implemented,  embedded and effective. Alongside this I am also responsible for personnel management, premises management, IT, administration and all matters within the management of the school which are supportive to, but do not involve, the teaching function, together with the responsibility for risk management and data management. I have a lead role in data recording and management within the school.

Prior to working at the school, I qualified as an accountant and then later worked as a Fraud Investigator for West Yorkshire Police. I hold a Master’s Degree in Financial Investigation and Financial Crime and have completed my Diploma and Advanced Diploma in School Business Management, NPQSL, and IOSH. I am a Certified Microsoft Office Specialist and have my EU GDPR certificate. I am currently studying a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership, and studying to be a Chartered Manager with the CMI.

I sit on the board of trustees for the National Association of Non-Maintained Special Schools (NASS).  I am also Chair of the East Calderdale Learning Community School Business Managers Network, and the Calderdale School Business Manager Representative for the Calderdale Services for Schools Strategic Board.

I am always committed to all I do. I am a fiercely independent critical thinker. I relish and enjoy challenges and like to think through threats as opportunities and look for successful routes. I challenge all of my teams to look to solutions, as opposed to problems, and enjoy the journey through these.

I have two young boys and as a family we enjoy going on holiday both abroad and in our touring caravan and seeing new places. We love being outside and active, and rarely sit still! I enjoy all sports such as skiing, cycling, football, walking and I am a Formula One fan.

Caroline

I am Deputy Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead for the school with leadership responsibilities for Therapeutic, Family & Health Services; Family Partnership & Engagement; Residential & Pastoral Care and our on-site Post 16 provision.  I am very keen to develop and improve our residential provision, and to develop satellite provisions within our local community, reaching out to more children and young adults, and supporting families.

I have nearly 30 years’ experience of working within education and have worked at the school for the past 24 years after initially starting on a voluntary basis whilst with Barnsley LA. I am qualified to Level 5 in Leadership and Management, and a Registered ILM Manager.

I have established great working relationships with two local universities who have used the school for training their 2^nd and 3^rd year Social Worker students. As the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead, I manage a team of highly trained and experienced child protection staff who work closely to ensure that children, young adults, and staff at the school feel safe and looked after.

I am also actively involved within the Calderdale Cluster Group for schools in the area, where we work together in improving standards of safeguarding and behaviour within all local special provisions.

To enhance knowledge in an ever-changing dynamic within our sector, I have trained as a Mental Health First Aider and Positive Behaviour Support coach, and integrate these approaches to help improve the life opportunities of children.

I am married with four children and have a French bulldog called Jax. I support the greatest football team in the entire universe, Barnsley FC, and I am an enthusiastic golfer trying to play off a lower handicap than I am currently.

The biggest influence on my life was my Nan, who taught me good manners cost ‘nowt’ and to treat everyone like you would like to be treated yourself.

I am Deputy Principal, with strategic responsibility for admissions, casework, LA partnerships, BEST (Bespoke Education Support and Tuition); curriculum, outcomes and destinations; family partnership, support and engagement.

I have extensive experience of teaching and learning, having worked in Special Education for over 30 years and hold a BA Hons in Education – Childhood Studies NCSL Leading from the Middle, NCSL – Diverse Leaders, Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership & Management in Education, and NPQSL. I have worked at the William Henry Smith School for 19 years and also have experience within mainstream education, teaching & learning and specialist provisions.

It is an absolute privilege to have a front row view of the Big Picture here at William Henry, whilst always keeping learning at the heart. I strongly feel that the social and emotional development of all students is paramount and that learning can only happen when children feel safe and experience a positive and nurturing environment.

Time away from work is about finding pleasure in the little things in life, by going out walking, forever ‘blowing bubbles’, cooking some tasty delights, meditation, spending quality time with family, socialising with friends and maintaining a reflective outlook. I love listening to a diverse range of music and enjoy going to live music venues. Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Cathedral have become two favourites, as live classical music and relaxation go hand in hand.

I am Vice Principal with Primary responsibility for Teaching and Learning.

I am a qualified teacher with 15 years’ of experience teaching both in mainstream and special educational settings.  After leaving University I worked in the USA on SEN summer camps spanning over 4 years which sparked my interest and passion for SEN. 

Throughout my time at WHSS, I have had responsibility for leading Science and took a lead role in developing the school farm. Drawing on my experience in mainstream primary schools and education, I was afforded the opportunity to improve the provision within school. Having a passion to ensure all students become functional readers, developments included a structured approach to the teaching of phonics throughout school.  Prior to becoming Vice Principal, I was Head of Education with SENCO responsibilities. This role has enabled me to be proactive in supporting the needs of some of our most vulnerable students. 

My own interests are coaching junior rugby at my local club Emley Moor ARLFC and keeping fit by running and going to the gym.  I am also kept busy by my two boys Barney and Rory, who enjoy rugby and cricket.  As a family we love spending time in the outdoors and seeing new places both in the UK and afar.  I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of countries whilst backpacking through South East Asia which has given me an appreciation of different cultures and beliefs.

Karl

I am the Vice Principal (Organisational and Workforce Learning and Development). With a strategic responsibility for developing, implementing and embedding our new Learning and Development strategy to ensure that our amazing staff at William Henry Smith School continue to grow within their roles and further enhance their reputation as pioneers within the field of special education, and further improve the outcomes for our students.

Whilst I am the newest member of the Senior Leadership team I bring 25 years of experience in Education across a wide range of roles and settings, including seven years as Assistant Headteacher and ten years in Education Consultancy. In particular, I have extensive experience of leading bespoke staff development programmes, creating and delivering engaging training to stakeholders at all levels, and devising and implementing colleague-led performance management systems.

I hold a BA Hons in Education Studies, have successfully completed the NCSL Future Leaders programme for aspiring Headteachers, Qualified Teacher status, and has co-written two award winning CPD products for Teachers.

My philosophy is that all young people should have access to a first-class holistic education where schools ensure that social background, or physical and mental health challenges do not become barriers to success. This has led him to this new position that I describe as my dream job.

Away from work, sport has always been an integral part of my life. I was fortunate enough to represent England at junior level in both Football and Swimming, then playing semi-professional football for 14 years before turning my focus to coaching young people. I still enjoy playing competitive cricket especially as I play in the same team as my two sons (Jack 18 and Charlie 15).

I also enjoy walking (as long as it’s in the Countryside or by the Coast), cooking (must be with a recipe!), and my guilty pleasure….are musicals!