I came to Forest Moor after working with children with different special educational needs such as autism, ADHD, selective mutism etc whilst working with these childrens I realised that I had a passion for working with children with SEN needs and SEMH needs.

I started at Forest Moor through an agency and they suggested that Forest Moor would be a good fit for me, I said I would rather go into an SEMH setting than SEN and they gave me Forest Moor.

I worked at a nursery for two years prior to starting at Forest Moor, 1 year I was working and doing my college course at the same time.

I have progressed to where I am now through various training and building my relationships with all the students.I have moved from working at a nursery and doing placement in primary schools to being a GTA at Forest Moor and being in a variety of classrooms, from then I have changed my position to care team.

My plans in the future is to go down a pastoral route and to explore safeguarding more. I believe Forest Moor can help me with this as they provide accurate training and also offer external support to get people when they want to be.

Up until 2019 I had been in sales all of my career but there was always something missing. I made the choice to go back into education and started by studying Health Sciences at Harrogate College. I then went to study a Bachelors Degree in Sports Development and Mental Health at Leeds Beckett University with the idea that I could either become a coach or get involved in teaching and help support young adults with sport and mental health. Once I had graduated however, opportunities were very hard to find so I broadened my searches for employment. I was contacted by an agency representing Forest Moor School who gave me the chance to go there on a 12 week temporary basis. I was eager to do something to further my development and thought I could come here for 12 weeks while I found a coaching position elsewhere.

However, things didn’t work out like that.

Instead, I fell in love with the job and the staff at Forest Moor. Having had an extremely difficult childhood myself, I found that I could relate to and understand the young people at this school and that I could also help them in ways that others possibly couldn’t. My plans now have changed, and I now can only see my future lying here with Forest Moor. Having made the switch to becoming a permanent member of staff, and now with my imminent move to the care team, I feel that this is just the beginning of something that could last a long time. Instead of seeing myself elsewhere, I now hope to be able to develop myself further down along the pastoral route within Forest Moor with the ultimate aim to be in a position where I can most effectively care and help young people who cross my path so that they can have a better life than I had at their age.

Forest Moor has one of the most dedicated, committed and caring teams of people I have ever found in any workplace. Not only is it a joy to work with such hard working colleagues, but also comforting and reassuring to know there are people just like me that struggle daily with normal things but that it is still possible to make a massive difference in the lives of others.

I joined an agency as I was looking for a job that related to my Psychology degree. I
knew I wanted to work in a school but I wasn’t looking for a job in a mainstream
school.

My agency lined up some schools to look around, mainly SEN schools which
I liked them but I didn’t love the environments/feel of the other schools. I had a trial day at
Forest Moor and really enjoyed it. There was a lot going on but the environment was
friendly and the staff were lovely and very supportive.

I started as a GTA on agency and knew I wanted to stay so did temp to perm. I
discussed personal development and after spending some time in the school,
realised I was interested in going down a teaching route.

Shortly after, I was given the opportunity to move up to KS4 to experience time in the role as an ATA, taking on some teaching responsibilities. I spoke with members of SLT about my future and we discussed the Teacher Apprenticeship. The apprenticeship would allow me to
become a qualified teacher whilst staying at Forest Moor – learning on the job.

I am now about to start my journey on becoming a qualified teacher. The experience I have gained from being a GTA and an ATA has prepared me for this, as well as the strong support network of staff at Forest Moor. Once I have finished my apprenticeship, I hope to continue on my teaching journey at Forest Moor.

I chose SEN due to my brother having special needs and not being treated very well many years ago in the mainstream. I wanted to make a difference to this situation and a career in SEN was the way I chose to do this.

I specifically chose Forest Moor as when I came here as an agency TA in KS 2 I could instantly see the potential in the school and the dedication of the staff. I was lucky enough to secure a teaching post at Forest Moor not long after starting and have since become a permanent teacher in KS 3 with a teaching and learning responsibility around exams and qualifications.

No two days are ever the same and working with the children and seeing their progression is a big highlight. The staff camaraderie is without a doubt the best I have ever experienced in over 15 years in SEN. The school could not function and would not be anywhere near as effective as it is without the high levels of dedicated staff at every level.

Ultimately I would like to be part of SLT as I feel my ideas, drive and commitment would be an asset to the school. I want the absolute best for the pupils and my colleagues and I know my presence and experience helps this become a reality.

I chose to work at Forest Moor as I had previously volunteered between year 1 and 2 of my primary education degree. I have always wanted to work in Special education, and I really enjoyed my time here as a volunteer. I came to work here when wishing to leave my previous school (a generic special needs school with a focus on ASC) and came across a job advert.

Since working at Forest Moor, I have had several opportunities to develop my career, firstly I took charge of the PSHE curriculum, then I was able to take a lead of key stages, firstly KS3 and latterly KS2. This year I have been able to develop my subject knowledge and leadership of a whole school subject – Maths – as I have been appointed Head of Maths. This is a role which I am excited to undertake as I would like the opportunity to lead a core subject across the entire school.

I plan to develop myself as a practitioner and eventually move into a SLT role. Forest Moor helps me with this by facilitating further CPD within coaching and supporting networking opportunities.

During my undergraduate degree I got to spend some time at Springwell Leeds, an SEMH school local to my university. I quickly realised that I wanted to pursue a career in an SEMH school. After completing my PGCE, where I spent more time teaching in an SEMH school, I came across Forest Moor School.

FMS stood out to me because of all the space and the varied curriculum that enriches the pupil’s education. I liked that it is encouraged for the children to experience a range of different learning environments, both on-site and off-site.
I started at Forest Moor school in September 2022 as an ECT and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my class and seeing their progression throughout the year. I have recently progressed to being the phonics and early reading lead, due to my previous experience teaching phonic across other Wellspring schools, this was a perfect step in the progression of my teaching career. With all the wealth of experience that my colleagues at Forest Moor have, I plan to use their knowledge to help me continue to progress through my second ECT year.

I first came to Forest Moor School as Therapeutic Lead. This role was to support leading therapeutic style interventions. I chose to apply after seeing the job adverts listed on the North Yorkshire website. At the time of applying I was in post as a Care Team Leader at Springwell Leeds and felt that I had exhausted all avenues for progression at Springwell Leeds as I did not want to take up a post in the Positive Regard Team.

At the time I took up a post at Forest Moor School. The school was going through the process of academisation. When I arrived I felt that the school and the students were not in a place to receive therapeutic style intentions as there was little in the way of a core offer. It was more important to ensure that the school was safe, the students felt safe in class and there was a core therapeutic offer that was directly linked to an SEHM style curriculum offer. This was my focus in the first months of employment at Forest Moor.

In July 2021 Forest Moor became part of the Wellspring Academy trust. We were supported by the trust with an Executive Vice Principal supporting the journey of school improvement. During this time I was seconded to the Senior Leadership team attending meetings and supporting school improvement. I was also being coached by the Executive Vice Principal having weekly meetings and learning how to be a leader. I worked in this seconded role, preparing data, creating Risk Assessments documentation and leading on positive Behaviour Management strategies with the staff. In April of 2022 I was asked if I would take up the post of Assistant Principal of Behaviour and Safety on a permanent basis.

I have developed my career by striving to understand – in understanding learning. Learning the different aspects of specialist SEMH provision. Creating opportunities for myself to showcase my skills as a practitioner and also as a staff trainer, without losing touch of the working realities of SEHM practice. I try not to take anything for granted. I always want someone to show me a different way. I always want someone to challenge my perspective and ideas. I take CPD seriously and look for opportunities to fill gaps in my knowledge base. I take feedback (however hard this is) from the people around me and try to reflect on my practice and improve. Recently I have completed NPQLBC – I have a degree in SEND completed 2015.

I want to continue to work with the Wellspring Academy trust by working at Forest Moor. I started this journey of improvement with Forest Moor and I feel it is not complete yet – maybe I will never feel it is complete.