Our affiliated and experienced team members are here to help.
Claire Thurlby is a Director and the Lead Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Consultant, with over 25 years’ experience in education.
She began her career as a mainstream teacher before specialising early on in supporting children and young people with additional needs. Over the years, she has held a range of roles including Special Needs Teacher, SEND Coordinator, Specialist Advisory Teacher for the Local Education Authority Cognition and Learning Team, and Head of Learning Support at a leading Prep School in Cambridge, where she remained for 12 years. During this time, she also served as the National IAPS Advisor for Special Educational Needs for six years, working with prep schools across the country.
Claire is an experienced trainer, advisor, and writer. She is the former editor of the Learning Development section of Broadsheets magazine, published by SATIPS, and regularly contributes to professional discussions and projects which focus on inclusive education.
She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, achieving a Distinction for her dissertation on optimum parenting approaches to supporting children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Claire has a deep passion for understanding neurodivergence across the lifespan and is delighted to be part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team that uniquely integrates clinical and educational expertise and which services all neurodiversity for all ages, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
Becky qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2005. She worked with deaf children and adults for 10 years, learned British Sign Language (Level 3) and published and presented research on cochlear implants.
Her second decade of Speech and Language experience has been in private practice with a focus on neurodiversity. She trains early years professionals to develop their ability to support neurodivergent children in educational settings and supports young neurodivergent people to understand their own neurodiversity, both in her clinic and in local community settings including Guides.
As an ADOS trained clinician, she offers autism assessments for children.
Kirsten has had a keen interest in dyslexia since qualifying as a teacher over 20 years ago. After five years in the classroom —teaching a Year 3 class and Mathematics to Year 6 — she went on to complete specialist qualifications in supporting learners with specific learning difficulties. She then joined the learning support department of a local school, where she has spent the past 15 years working with neurodiverse students across literacy, numeracy, and study skills.
In addition to teaching neurodiverse learners, Kirsten has supported parents in understanding how best to help their children at home. She also offers guidance on interpreting assessments from a range of professionals, including educational psychologists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists. She regularly collaborates with class teachers to adapt teaching methods and create inclusive classroom environments.
Kirsten is passionate about helping learners recognise their strengths and develop strategies to confidently navigate school life. While dyslexia first sparked her interest in neurodiversity, her expertise has since expanded to include ADHD and ASD.
Alongside her work with children and families, Kirsten is also an independent assessor for SpLD (dyslexia) and holds a current Assessment Practising Certificate (PATOSS).