At the age of seventeen I was sent on a work placement to a special school. During this time I had the pleasure of working closely with a seven year old girl called Chloe. I was given the task to help her achieve her target to count up to three. Within two weeks Chloe could count up to five and she could say my name. Chloe had Downs Syndrome, and up until that point I hadn’t met anyone like her before. Chloe gave me my first lessons on taking small steps, valuing each moment and remembering to laugh along the way. It was also the first time I questioned segregated education. It’s fascinating that you can live in a moment and not know how it may make a difference in your life.

For over 10 years I worked in early year’s education supporting settings to be more inclusive. I believe it is important that all children access an education that meets their needs and I hope over the years I have empowered people to seek this right. Equally, I appreciate that much of the work for more inclusive education is changing people hearts and minds, so when I first met Colin and Derek about 8 years ago, when they delivered a number of sessions to our service about the inclusive solution tools they used, I was very excited. Over the years I have used these tools with different groups of people and I hope to continue to develop my practice, as there is indeed, something very special about helping people pursue their journey to build relationships and aspire to achieving their dreams.

In 2013, I completed my Doctorate in Child, Community and Educational Psychology at the Tavistock and Portman. I work and live in South East London.