Melanie qualified as a teacher in 1990 and spent the first twenty-three years of her career working in two schools in Lewisham. Both schools had significant numbers of children with SEN and behaviour that challenges. Melanie went from being a part time teacher in 1990 to Head Teacher in 2008. In 2013 Melanie moved away from mainstream education and into SEN – a decision informed by her passionate belief that ‘every child matters’ and that a narrow focus on academic results was letting down many SEN children.Melanie began leading a unit for KS3 autistic children and grew it into a stand-alone ASC through school of twenty-five children. In 2015, Kedleston Group recruited Melanie to develop their provision for children with autism and additional needs. Starting with a unit in Hackney, children who had been out of education for years re-engaged, and some moved onto college with GCSE’s. Melanie was then able to open Kedleston’s first stand-alone ASC school. After just six months, the school’s ‘Leadership and Management’ and ‘Behaviour and Personal Development’ were judged ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED who said “Brookways School is exceptionally well led.” Parents describe the school as ‘transforming our lives’ and children say ‘Brookways is the BEST’. |