Staffing & Governing Body

Paul began his teaching career in 2004 working in a mainstream school in Thanet. By 2006 he became a head of department and then onto the School’s leadership team by 2010 overseeing 12 subject areas and 27 staff. 

Curriculum subjects under Paul’s leadership excelled and the attainment and achievement of students significantly improved. Paul was then used to support other local schools that required improvement.

In 2015, Paul’s son was diagnosed with Autism and therefore he decided to move his educational expertise into the SEN sector. During his time as a senior leader he has been central to the specialist sector and has since completed the National Professional Qualification of Headship (NPQH). 

Roger has worked in education for over 42 years, initially as a classroom teacher of English and Drama; then as a Head of Year; Head of English and Drama; Head of 6th Form; Assistant Head; Deputy Head and Interim Headteacher. He was Thanet’s Gifted and Talented coordinator for five years, followed by four years as G&T Advisor for Kent and a further three as an independent G&T consultant.

Roger is currently Chair of Governors at The Kemnal Academies Trust’s five primary schools in Thanet and he has been on the governing body at Simon Langton Boys Grammar in Canterbury for 15 years.

Furthermore, Roger is Chair of the Board of Directors at Westgate and Birchington Golf Club and Company Secretary of Kent Cricket Board Thanet Ltd. He has volunteered for England Hockey and Great Britain Hockey as a Hockeymaker since 2015 and he also volunteered at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the World Athletics 2017 in London.

We are very proud that Roger agreed to be our Chair of Governors.

Mickey has taught in secondary education for over 18 years. He started his career as a P.E. teacher in a mainstream setting where he taught across KS3, KS4 and KS5 before he progressed onto Head of Department. The results achieved during his ten years as department lead were outstanding. Mickey gained valuable pastoral experience as a Head of House where he led a number of successful projects to develop student progress. He moved to take on a Head of Year position and has been a Head of Year for every year group from Y7-Y11. As Head of Year 7 Mickey ran the transition from primary to secondary school for students moving from year 6 to year 7. His most recent role was Head of Year 11 where he was able to fully develop his passion for careers and destinations. Mickey has an excellent knowledge for educational data and was Raising Standards Lead in his previous school for 2 years. He has worked extensively with student behaviour, been a school pupil premium coordinator and joins us as a Designated Safeguard Lead.

Sophie started her career working in mainstream secondary schools for 14 years before spending the last 3 years in an Independent SEND provision. She qualified as a History teacher before moving on to be Head of Department, then the lead of a large Humanities faculty. During this time Sophie took in a keen interest in teaching and learning and improving the quality of education within all the settings she worked in. In 2020 she moved to a small independent SEND provision where she was a member of the Senior Leadership Team overseeing the Quality of Education and Personal Development. Sophie will be joining Life Skills Manor to oversee Quality of Education.

Craig began his teaching career in 2016 at a local mainstream school teaching PE. By 2017 Craig decided from his previous roles in schools that SEN was the route he wanted to pursue further and was successful in gaining a role in a local specialist school as Head of PE.

PE excelled under Craig’s leadership and engagement was very good across the whole school in core PE. Academic qualifications and accreditations were also very popular in PE, in addition attainment and achievement was very good.

Craig has completed the NPQML and furthermore is currently undertaking the NPQSL.

James started his career teaching English to foreign students. He went on to train as a secondary school teacher and has taught in secondary education for over 12 years. James was appointed as a Design and Technology teacher in a mainstream setting, where he taught across KS3 and KS4 and held the position of head of department. The results achieved in his 10 years as head of department were outstanding. James gained valuable pastoral experience as a year 11 form tutor, helping pupils to progress in their chosen path into further education. He has taught Design and Technology, Graphic Design, Construction and Photography. James has a keen interest in the 6R’s (recycle, reuse, refuse, reduce, rethink and repair), and his passion for photography enables him to explore his love of nature. James believes that learning different life skills enables us to have a good knowledge and understanding of a sustainable world and how to care for it and protect it. James enjoys travelling in the UK, his favourite place being Cumbria, where he loves to climb the hills and mountains and explore the valleys below.

Rachel previously worked in the office at a special needs school for 7 years, doing a variety of admin roles including admissions, EHCP’s, attendance, and some finance work. 

Rachel has a first aid certificate and is qualified to administer medication to pupils at school. Since joining Life Skills Manor, Rachel has joined the safeguarding team. 

Rachel will provide admin support to all staff and ensure all pupils and visitors to our school receive a warm welcome. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys running and has completed many half marathons, marathons, and an ultra-marathon.

Tanya has worked in both Primary & Secondary school settings since 2007. She has covered many roles such as Data Clerk, Finance Manager and Exams Officer. Her previous position was as Office Manager in a special independent school.

Tanya’s current roles at Life Skills Manor are MIS Administrator and Exams Officer.

She has also taught dance in schools as an extra-curricular activity. Dance is one of her passions, she attended stage school and gained teaching qualifications in many genres, which include Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz & Acro.

Sally has worked in Education since 2004. Beginning her journey as a teaching assistant, she progressed to a higher-level teaching assistant before taking her first teaching post in 2015. 

For the previous 3 years, Sally has taught in a specialist school. Her desire to work with students with Special Educational Needs, particularly autism continued to flourish.  

Being passionate about fostering independence in learners whilst equipping students with the vital life skills they need moving forward is at the forefront of Sally’s teaching.  

Sally is part of the safeguarding team. She will guide and nurture all the children who attend Life Skills Manor.

Kat has over 12 years of experience in education settings. When living in Brazil, her experience of teaching was in an English Language school where she taught English as a second language. Being creative has helped her teach all different age groups by using diverse and innovative ways. 

After moving back to England, Kat took interest in supporting more vulnerable children and moved into a special needs setting. This has equipped her with nearly six years of experience where she has supported and taught a diverse group of students with Autism, ADHD, learning disabilities and speech impairments. Her differentiated skills have allowed her to meet the needs of every student.

Kat’s years of experience have taught her the value of patience and encouragement in a school setting. She has a committed approach to teaching and drive to help students improve.

Joanne has worked in retail and as a manager within the NHS. 
She qualified as a Personal Trainer and sports therapist, which lead to her becoming a tutor for Fitness Instructors and qualifying as a post 16 lecturer. 
From there Joanne worked as a Duty Manager at a sports centre. 
Joanne also worked in a junior school with year 6 students, covering PE and art lessons and coached the school netball team, which led her to gain a BA (Hons) in childhood studies. 
Joanne then spent 6 years teaching English GCSE at Broadstairs College, followed by 3 years at an SEMH school where she was the English lead. 
Joanne has played hockey up to 5 years ago, when she retired. She loves sport, gardening, walking her two dogs and riding her scooter (most weekends) and travelling to scooter rallies around the country. This year Joanne plans to ride to Ypres to visit the Menin Gate. 

Hayley has worked as primary school teacher and senior leader in Kent for 23 years before moving to Life Skills Manor for Autism.  She is passionate about ensuring all children learn to read, write and make confident use of spoken language.  She is keen to share and develop her knowledge and experience in this specialist setting and to ensure that all children acquire the skills they need to live a fulfilled life in society.

Hayley is a mum (and taxi service!) to Bethany and Oliver.  When she is not ferrying her children around, she enjoys running, swimming and reading.  She has completed two marathons and has not ruled out a third! 

Nolan White believes strongly in inclusion and equal opportunity for all, especially when it comes to education. This is his 24th year of teaching PE and his 6th year of teaching in Kent. 

Nolan was a Head of Year and Head of Outdoor Education at a school near Sherwood Forest just outside Nottingham from 2000 – 2018. He has been a GCSE Moderator for the PE practical unit throughout the Midlands and now in Kent. It is during his time of living on the edge of the Peak District that he fell in love with the outdoors, becoming experienced and qualified as a coach in many different disciplines such as kayaking/canoeing, mountain biking and mountaineering. 

Nolan is an Officer in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and is a Supervisor and Assessor for Kent Duke of Edinburgh. He is excited with his new appointment and challenges at Life Skills Manor School.

Brad has completed a degree in childhood studies. After spending a period of time working at Laleham Gap School(3 years), Brad pursued a career within the police force. Although a rewarding job, Brad preferred working within the SEN sector and now wants to pursue a career in SEN teaching. Brad has started his Teacher Training with Maths as his specialist subject.

Brad is passionate about sport and how inclusive sport can be for everyone. His favourite sport is football, which he plays regularly outside of work. Further to this, when not at work Brad loves to spend time with family and his dog (Thor).

Kim has been working with young people for 18 years, starting her career working for The Children's Society and a Sure Start Centre. She has worked in special education for the past 5 years and is passionate about providing excellent pastoral care and championing the young LGBTQ+ community.

Kim is a trained Thrive practitioner and is dedicated to achieving great outcomes for the young people she works with, through a variety of tailored interventions.

She enjoys sea swimming, beach combing and spending time at her beach hut with her children in her spare time.

Rob is a psychotherapist, qualified to work with children, young people and families. He has several years' experience working with children and families in different settings. In recent years, Rob has worked with children who have been affected by domestic violence and abuse.

Rob is passionate about helping all children achieve their full potential. He believes therapy can play a big part in this. Within 1-1 therapy, we can create a safe containing space, where individuals can safely explore their issues and begin to gain an understanding of themselves. Creating such safety and building a positive working relationship with all young people is at the centre of Rob's approach to therapy.

Rob is trained in working psychodynamically with children, and can also use systemic approaches to working with both individuals and families. Rob can incorporate CBT approaches to his work and is trained in working from a trauma-informed approach,  incorporating mindfulness and body-based approaches within his work.

Rob can work with young people presenting a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, low mood, stress, anger and emotional difficulties, and relationship and family difficulties.

Farrah's belief is that each person is unique, and to help empower them to get to where they want to be is a joy and privilege. Farrah has extensive experience of working with those who are autistic and present with bespoke sensory needs . Farrah is a natural problem solver and enjoys collaborating to come up with diverse, new, and sometimes interesting ways to allow individuals to access the occupations they desire to do. Farrah has an undergraduate degree in early childhood studies as well as a degree in Occupational Therapy and a Master’s degree in special needs and inclusion. Farrah is passionate about following  neurodiversity affirming practice principles which acknowledge that all neurotypes have unique strengths, interests, and support needs and bespoke person-centred sessions are what Farrah always aims to achieve. Farrah's interests outside of work include travelling, cooking  (particulary middle eastern food) and rambling through the countryside at weekends finding a nice coffee shop to relax in after walking her Frenchie Joey with her family. 

Carolyn is a Speech & Language Therapist (SLT) registered with the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists and governed by the Health & Care Professionals Council. She is employed by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and works at LSM 1 day/week on a Service Level Agreement (a school funded post).  Carolyn has over 7 years of experience working in clinics, mainstream and specialist nurseries and schools supporting children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). She works towards the social model of intervention and believes that communication should be functional and meaningful to the individual. Carolyn is passionate about supporting children and young people achieve their full potential in communication to aid access to curriculum and social wellbeing. She believes that learning is a key part of working with people and much of the joy that comes from speech therapy is the sharing of knowledge with children, parents and colleagues. For someone who has never been a gamer, she could tell you a lot from what she has been taught by the young people she has worked with.

In her spare time, Carolyn enjoys being active and socialising with friends and can often be found baking something (hopefully) delicious or running with her run group.

I am a mum of 2 (Dexter 8, Beaux 6) one of whom has ASC and seeing his struggle and ours as a family has made me want to learn more about autism and help others, which Is why I started working within a SEN setting. Before starting at LSM I worked in a SEN provision at Whitfield Aspen School as a TA for 2.5years working with pathways 1-3 of all different needs and abilities and taking on different courses to extend my knowledge.  

I am very passionate that all children get the help and support they deserve and will try my hardest to achieve that. 

One of the things I have enjoyed learning is Makaton which I use on a daily basis at school and at home. 

I Love being active and outdoors and In my spare time I enjoy going out for walks with my family and our dog Izzy, skiing, paddleboarding, rugby, yoga and reading.

Jon started his cheffing career at The Ivyside Hotel in Westgate. He then worked for P&O European Ferries cooking the food on cross channel trips.

He then spent the next 12 years working at The Oak Hotel in Ramsgate and was Head Chef for 6 years. He then went on to do the catering at The Royal Temple Yacht Club, which then led to him taking over The Foy Boat pub.

He left the pub to become his daughter’s carer. Last year the new owners of Baypoint Sports Club asked Jon to help out and he became Head Chef in December.

Life Skills Manor opened within Baypoint in January, and he was asked to take on the role of Cooking Instructor. He works with the pupils on a daily basis, showing them how to prepare and cook a range of healthy meals for the whole school.

Sheryl previously worked in the finance environment for over 30 years. The recent pandemic made her reflect on her career and gave her the impetus to seek a change. As a mother of two boys, Sheryl became heavily involved in their school community as a volunteer and a parent governor.  She knew the skills she had acquired, during her 4 years as a governor, would transfer into the educational environment.

Starting as a nurture assistant within a mainstream setting, Sheryl encouraged pupils helping them to achieve and overcome barriers to learning.  When the opportunity arose to join Life Skills Manor, Sheryl knew it was the position she desired as she is passionate about supporting young people to achieve their full potential, equipping them with the confidence and skills they will need to succeed.

Naturally being a positive role model who is cheerful and fun, Sheryl loves her family time spent by the seaside, on the paddleboards and always enjoys new challenges and activities with family. 

Having travelled around the world, Sheryl loved meeting people from different cultures and sharing their traditions. The life skills she learned on her travels will stay with her forever.

Josh joins the school having taught Physics and Theory of Knowledge for the last five years in Portugal. He has almost a decade's worth of experience teaching a variety of subjects at secondary level. Before this, Josh worked as a civil engineer on projects such as the Bond Street Station upgrade.

Outside of school Josh is a passionate Southampton Football Club fan, and he looks forward to seeing 'The Saints' promoted back to the Premiership this year. He enjoys playing cricket and hockey for local teams; swims in the sea; and walking his dog, Zico.

This is his first post in the SEN sector, and he looks forward to the challenge and reward that this will bring.

Lydia studied Fine Art at university and during this time identified the relationship between different art practices and therapeutic techniques. Through maintaining interest in her own creative work and psychology, she hopes to follow a career in Art Psychotherapy.

She has previous experience working in SEN schools, working with children with a focus on non-verbal communication, sensory needs and severe and complex learning needs. This gave her an insight into the importance of integrating creativity into young people’s daily lives and the confidence it can give them to both manage everyday tasks and communicate more effectively.

Lydia also has experience in Drawing and Talking therapy, which through creating a safe space for storytelling through drawing, gives young people a feeling of control over events in their daily lives. This can be so important to students with autism and is something Lydia is excited to bring to Life Skills Manor.

She is passionate about helping young people hone their own interests and talents but outside of work, she herself enjoys running, reading, music and travel.

When my children were at school I volunteered as a support worker. I then worked in retail for many years before a taking on a new challenge as a GP receptionist for 6 years. I did some volunteering at Life Skills Manor during my time as a GP receptionist and really enjoyed working with the students in such a positive environment. This led to my current role as a Teaching Assistant where I support the main class teacher. In my free time I like getting away in the caravan with my family and watch my grandsons play football at the weekends.  

Karen has over 26 years of experience in both primary and secondary school settings, primarily supporting students in class with their English and Literacy skills from KS1 to KS4. As well as this she has been actively involved with GCSE English Language interventions, both group work and on an individual basis, planning and delivering differentiated ideas to encourage students to find a way forward and gain confidence, helping many to achieve a grade they thought would be impossible to get.

Karen has, on occasion, left education and tried other occupations, for example, a Healthcare Assistant, a business advisor for the unemployed and a Community Carer, but has always returned to her love of being a Teaching Assistant.

Karen has supported many students with additional needs, ranging from children with physical disabilities, Autism, SEMH and spent her last eighteen months in mainstream school as a Welfare Mentor in the Pastoral Support Office, delivering Wellbeing interventions and helping the students in her care overcome their barriers to learning and encouraging them back into the classroom setting.

In her spare time Karen loves being with her grandchildren, embroidery and sewing.

Siobhán spent the first half of her career working as a Radiographer, taking x-rays and scanning in a busy hospital in greater London, progressing later to a more advanced role in a specialist scanner centre for cancer patients. Siobhán is particularly proud of her patient communication skills, and enjoyed making people feel relaxed, comfortable and less anxious with procedures.

After having her first child, Siobhán chose to become a stay-at-home mum, ensuring quality time to nurture her children and feels privileged to have had this opportunity. Her second child was diagnosed as autistic at the age of seven and after years of experiencing different struggles with his education, she became passionate about the importance of a specialised provision to support these amazing young individuals to flourish and thrive into adulthood. Siobhán was excited to become part of the team at Lifeskills Manor and enjoys helping to make school a happy and engaging place for all our students.

Outside of work she enjoys, most of all, spending time with her family and going on long walks with their “crazy” Beagle. She also has a creative side with a passion for upcycling old or unused furniture.

Caitlin is a welcoming and friendly face here at Life Skills Manor. She is working as a TA in key stage 4 but has built a great rapport with all students in the school due to her supportive nature.

Caitlin has a wealth of experience, having worked in a SEND provision previously, as well as personal experiences with young people in her family. 

Caitlin is a fun and outgoing young woman and a huge animal lover. In her spare time she is a keen photographer and car enthusiast.

Laurance started working in his career in Secondary mainstream supporting KS3 pupils, moving on to be a Cover Supervisor, then finally an Instructor of BTEC Engineering.

Along with another colleague he instigated an after school ’Growing Club’ which became very popular with the pupils, showing and encouraging them to grow their own produce. 

Laurance moved from education and into the prison service, working closely with those individuals that were having to address their alcohol and drug addictions/misuse. Working closely with vulnerable adolescents, he wanted to re-establish himself in the SEND sector of education.  

His main interests lay in outdoor activities such as being an allotment holder, growing his own fruit and vegetables. He is also a keen fisherman and forager, harvesting food when available.

Marie has gained a wealth of experience working within education for 28 years. Since gaining her degree in Early Years Studies she began teaching young children within a mainstream school. More recently, Marie has worked in a nursery setting where her passion for working alongside special educational needs children truly blossomed. 

She understands the importance of supporting young children and is thoroughly excited to join the team at Life Skills Manor. Marie is committed in supporting individuals, improving learning, and mental wellbeing so young people can thrive. 

Often, Marie spends her free time between family, especially her grandchildren, and travelling with the Harley Davidson Riders Club Great Britain where her husband is the representative for our region. Marie helps fundraise for lots of local causes.