I've worked as a dyslexia specialist since 2007. From 2007 to 2012, I taught English full-time and worked one-to-one with dyslexic learners outside school hours - postgraduate and undergraduate students through DSA funding, and younger learners privately. After my children were born I took an extended maternity leave, from 2012 to 2016. Since 2016 I've worked one-to-one exclusively. Great Expectations Education came into being in 2016.

I'm now also a Level 5 Dyscalculia Specialist and a Morrells Handwriting Practitioner. I've held accreditation as a trainer for Reading and Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome.

Why I work with home-educating and flexi-schooling families

I've been a home educator and a flexi schooler myself. What that means in practice is that my tuition fits a home-ed week or a flexi pattern rather than assuming a five-day school timetable. My consultations don't presume school is the central frame. The resources in The Anvil are made to be used at home, on their own, not to fill a gap left by school provision.

If you're home-educating because school stopped working, or because you chose it from the start, or because you're flexi-schooling and need specialist input that fits around the school days - you'll find I take all three starting points seriously.

Why I do this work the way I do

I'm parent to four children with SEND, including autism, dyslexia, and Williams Syndrome. That's not the qualification - the qualifications are the qualifications - but it does shape how I work. I know what it's like to be told to bring your child to a meeting when you haven't slept properly in a week. I know what an EHCP draft looks like at 11pm. And I know what it's like to be the parent who keeps explaining the same thing to a new professional - and then to wonder whether you're being unreasonable for asking the same question for the fourth time.

So when families come to me after years of frustration with systems, I aim not to add more frustration. I work practically, I write things down so you don't have to remember them, and I'm honest about what I can and can't do.

The wider work

Tuition and consultation are the core of the business. They're not all of what I do. I coordinate a local support group for parents of children who have additional needs, I have served as a school governor, and sit on the Professional Advisory Panel for the Williams Syndrome Foundation.

I also research. The Wordhord covers word origins, the Compendium pulls together resources for parents and carers navigating SEND. This site is where all of that lives.

Where to go next

What you need depends on where you're at. The Forge is the umbrella for the consultations, the resources, and the book grading - tuition sits alongside them. Some routes:

If you're looking for specialist tuition - the Chimney-Corner page sets out what I offer.

If you'd like to talk something through - Before the Fire is where consultations live.

There are three Zoom offerings and two messaging tiers, depending on what you need.

If you'd like resources to use at home or in the classroom - The Anvil is the shop.

Phonics, morphology, English vocabulary, French and German vocabulary, and resources for handwriting. Parents, SENCos and MFL teachers use them in roughly equal numbers.

If you're looking for information rather than a service - The Compendium pulls together resources for parents and carers, from EHCPs to assistive technology to home-education-specific guidance.

If you'd like a specific book graded - the Bramble-Bush is the book grading service. Useful for parents and teachers checking whether a book matches a reader's current decoding level.

If you want a place to start that costs nothing - the Wordhord is free. That's the start I'd point most people toward.

If you'd like to hear from me occasionally - ‘The Hearth is my newsletter’. Monthly-ish.