Professionals associated with the Centre

Below are the details of a few of the professionals associated with the Centre

This is a new page and more names are being added each day

 

 

Bernadette McLean

Principal

BA MA DipEd DipRSA(SpLD), NLP Mast.Pract Cert (ANLP)

Caroline Bark

Course Tutor

B.Sc (Hons) Pyschology, P.G.C.E.,  OCR Dip SpLD

 

Peter Brooks

Educational Psychologist

M.Sc. P.G.C.E. C.Psychol. A.F.B.Ps.S.

Julie Button

Senior Tutor/Independent Specialist Teacher

B.Ed., Cert Ed., OCR Diploma SpLD., SpLDAPC

 

Marlene Caplan

Course Tutor, Specialist Teacher

B.A. (Hons), Ph.D. (Psych), OCR Dip SpLD

 

Kathy Contaris

Educational Psychologist

BA (Hons), PGCE, M Ed, MSc, C Psychol

 

Patsy Kershaw

Chartered Educational Psychologist

B.Ed; Dip.SEN; Dip.Psych; B.Sc (Hons); M.Sc; C. Psychol.

Jasmine Murray

Chartered Educational Psychologist

MSc (Ed. Psych), MA. Ed., B.Ed (Hons), Dip.Ed., Dip.Psy, C. Psychol

 

Sarah Murray

Independent Speech and Language Therapist

B.Sc., M.Sc., OCR Dip SpLD

Veronica Patterson

Educational Psychologist

MSc(Ed Psych) Dip.Psych, Dip.RSA(SpLD) BEd, AMBDA, C Psychol

Jeanne Reilly

Independent Speech and Language Therapist

DipCST, Reg MRCSLT, Cert Ad Ed

Julia Rowlandson

Tutor

BA Hons English, Primary PGCE, Dip.RSA(SpLD), AMDA

Norlina Sexton

Specialist Teacher

BSc, OCR Dip SpLD

 

Sue Stathers

Specialist Teacher

BA  RSA Dip SpLD

Beverley Williams

Head of Training

OCR Diploma in SpLD

Louise Williams

Occupational Therapist

Dip COT SROT

Yvonne Whitestone

Head of Education

Dip RSA

 

 

 

 

 

Bernadette McLean

BA MA DipEd DipRSA(SpLD), NLP Mast.Pract Cert (ANLP)

Principal

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Bernadette McLean started her career  as a teacher of English at secondary school. She has a BA Degree in English and a Masters Degree in Medieval Language and Literature as well as a Diploma in Education.

 

She has assessed and taught dyslexics at primary, secondary and adult level in both state and independent schools.  She was awarded the RSA Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties (Distinction) and became a tutor on the OCR Courses run by HADC.In 1987 she was appointed Principal of Frensham Tuition and became Assistant Director in 1991, Academic Director in 2000, Joint Principal (Internal Operations) in 2005 and Principal in August 2006.

 

Bernadette has trained in Instrumental Enrichment, is qualified as a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner and is involved in In-Service and Study Skills Courses in primary, secondary, further and higher education. Bernadette is an External Verifier for OCR (the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examination Board) and is a member of the British Dyslexia Accreditation Board.  She regularly contributes to regional, national and international Conferences.  She is co-author of The Helen Arkell Spelling Test and the Adult Computerised Self Assessment. Recently, she has served on the DfES Working Group 2005 which reviewed the assessment of SpLDs in Higher Education. She is now a serving member on the National Committee for Standards in SpLD Assessment, Training and Practice.

 

Caroline Bark

B.Sc (Hons) Pyschology, P.G.C.E.,  OCR Dip SpLD

Tutor

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Caroline works part time for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre as a Tutor on the Diploma Course. She has also delivered courses on our Summer School programme. She has an Honours degree in Pyschology from University College London and qualified as a teacher in 1996.  Caroline has worked in several primary schools where she has held a range of managerial posts including that of SENCo.

 

Caroline now works as a specialist teacher, assessing and supporting learners across the age range.  She is involved in delivering in-service courses and is a tutor on the OCR Diploma course.

 

Peter Brooks

M.Sc. P.G.C.E. C.Psychol. A.F.B.Ps.S.

Educational Psychologist

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Peter Brooks is a fully qualified Educational Psychologist and is recognised as a Chartered Psychologist and Member of the Division of Child and Educational Psychology of the British Psychological Society.  He is a member of the Association of Educational Psychologists.  He has B.Sc. (Honours) Degrees from Surrey University and Birkbeck College, London, a P.G.C.E. (training in teaching) from Brunel University, and an M.Sc. in Psychology of Education from the Institute of Education, London, which includes professional and clinical training.

           

He has worked as an Educational Psychologist for fifteen years in a local education authority.  This has involved responsibility for all children within an area and work within most sectors of special education including dyslexia/specific learning difficulties, moderate and severe learning difficulties, sensory and physical handicaps, and emotional and behaviour difficulties   He has worked fully independently since 1992.

           

Peter has lectured to many groups including London, Surrey and Southampton Universities and international conferences. 

           

He has a particular interest in dyslexia and has undertaken research with Professor M Snowling on teaching strategies and severe dyslexics.  He managed a research project at the Centre into teaching spelling to 6 to 7 year old children who were at risk of literacy failure.  This major project completed in 1998 and was funded through the Department for Education and Employment.  Current research is based at the University of Surrey with John Everatt and includes ongoing work in literacy and mathematics, and related learning.

 

Julie Button

B.Ed., Cert Ed., OCR Diploma SpLD., SpLDAPC

Senior Tutor/Independent Specialist Teacher

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Julie Button specialises in literacy and numeracy assessment and tuition. She  teaches all age ranges from primary to adult level as a freelance consultant and has been associated with the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre since 2000.

 

Julie runs her own thriving independent literacy assessment and screening consultancy and manages the OCR level 7 diploma course in SpLD for the Centre. As an affiliated professional working for HADC Julie delivers in-service training in schools and colleges and presents workshops at conferences.

 

During her 28 years in teaching, 15 of these have been directly involved in special needs provision as a specialist teacher and SENCO. Julie has continued to update her qualifications and expertise; most recently training to be an accredited study needs assessor in higher education and gaining the practising certificate in assessment.

 

 

Marlene Caplan

B.A. (Hons), Ph.D. (Psych), OCR Dip SpLD

Course Tutor, Specialist Teacher

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Marlene is a tutor on both the Diploma and Certificate Level Courses at HADC.   She holds a B.A. and Ph.D. in Child Psychology in addition to the OCR Diploma in Assessing and Teaching Learners with SpLD.

 

Her background includes work on preventive mental health initiatives to improve the social adjustment and academic performance of at-risk children.  She held appointments in the Psychology Department at Yale University in the US as well as the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the Institute of Education in the UK.  She has published several articles pertaining to her work in child development and educational interventions. 

 

Marlene teaches both primary and secondary learners and carries out Specialist Teacher Assessments for the Centre.

 

 

Kathy Contaris

BA (Hons), PGCE, M Ed, MSc, C Psychol

Educational Psychologist

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Kathy has an Honours Degree in Languages from (now) Anglia University, a Post Graduate Certificate of Education from the University of Lancaster, a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Bristol and a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Exeter.

Kathy was a teacher for 14 years, retraining as an Educational Psychologist in 1996.  More recently she worked for several years with young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties in a Child and Family Support Centre in Bristol and more latterly was Head of Learning Support at a Somerset comprehensive school. On qualifying as an Educational Psychologist, Kathy worked for the Somerset Psychological Service, where she was the Psychologist seconded to the Youth Offending Team also working as a generic Educational Psychologist in a wide range of county mainstream and special schools.

Kathy is experienced in providing in-service training in a wide range of issues to teachers, youth workers and other professionals. She is Co-Director of Procounsel, a Human Relations Consultancy and Training service, specialising in delivering training to schools and services working with children and young people.  Kathy also has her own private practice as a Chartered Educational Psychologist.

 

 

Patsy Kershaw

B.Ed; Dip.SEN; Dip.Psych; B.Sc (Hons); M.Sc; C. Psychol.

Chartered Educational Psychologist

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Patsy has an Honours Degree in Psychology from the Open University and a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Southampton. Patsy is a qualified teacher and prior to qualifying as an Educational Psychologist, she taught in both mainstream and special schools and held posts of responsibility in both. Patsy has gained considerable experience in Special Educational Needs as a teacher, an Educational Psychologist and as an Expert Witness in Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunals (SENDIST).

 

Patsy has worked as a Local Authority Educational Psychologist and has held specialisms in Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties and Severe Learning Difficulties. Patsy has also worked as a Child Psychologist in the NHS, offering assessment, consultation and therapeutic services to children and families. She has also undertaken additional training in Clinical Child Neuropsychology and is a Dynamic Assessment Practitioner.

 

Patsy is experienced in providing In Service Training to parents, teachers and other professional groups and has lectured on child development on postgraduate training courses.  She has published research in the field of children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.  She is now working as an Independent Consultant Educational Psychologist, working with both children and adults.

 

Jasmine Murray

MSc (Ed. Psych), MA. Ed., B.Ed (Hons), Dip.Ed., Dip.Psy, C. Psychol

Chartered Educational Psychologist

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Jasmine Murray is a Chartered Educational Psychologist whose professional life began as a Teacher of Deaf Children.  She gained a Bachelor of Education (Hons) degree in Multiple Handicapping Conditions from the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus) and later worked as a Primary School teacher in Britain, both in Special Needs and mainstream schools.  With Hearing Impairment being a particular interest, she worked in a school for deaf children in London and studied British Sign Language. 

 

Jasmine later developed an interest in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning and therefore completed a Master of Arts degree in Adult Education at Goldsmiths College, University of London.  She also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology with the Open University and later studied for an MSc in Educational Psychology at University College London (UCL). 

 

She has since worked as an Educational Psychologist in a Local Education Authority (LEA) and more recently followed her interest in Specific Learning Difficulties, working as a Chartered Educational Psychologist, associated with the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre and also independently.  To further her professional development, Jasmine is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Psychology at University College London.

 

 

Sarah Murray

B.Sc., M.Sc., OCR Dip SpLD

Independent Speech and Language Therapist

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Sarah is a state registered speech and language therapist with registered membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.   Sarah is also a member of the Association for Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice.

 

Sarah qualified as a speech and language therapist from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.    She has subsequently gained an M.Sc. in Human Communication at University College London and an OCR Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties.    Sarah is also trained as a practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and has recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Special Education at Birmingham University.

Since qualifying in 1988, Sarah has worked exclusively in a range of nursery and school settings including mainstream and special schools, language and communication opportunity bases.   She has specialist experience in the areas of developmental speech and language disorders, social communication difficulties and dyslexia up to Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum.     Sarah’s particular interest is working within a collaborative framework to provide children with spoken and/ or written language difficulties wider access to the whole curriculum.   She is co-author of “Listening and Understanding in Primary Schools” and “Thinking and Speaking in Primary Schools” published by Barrington Stoke in collaboration with the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre.

 

 

Veronica Patterson

MSc(Ed Psych) Dip.Psych, Dip.RSA(SpLD) BEd, AMBDA, C Psychol

Educational Psychologist

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Veronica Patterson is a chartered educational psychologist who is also qualified in teaching dyslexic learners of all ages.  Veronica has worked as an independent consulting psychologist for the centre, and privately, for several years.  She meets with children, teenagers, students and adults to consult on their concerns, which are causing barriers to learning or studying. She has a master’s degree in educational psychology.  Previously as a local education authority educational psychologist, Veronica worked in Surrey, Swindon and Bournemouth.

 

Veronica also has many years’ experience in teaching pupils with specific learning difficulties of all ages, as well as mainstream teaching experience.  She has held posts as department and pastoral head in secondary schools.  She has run accredited courses in specific learning difficulties (dyslexia) and in language and communication, for teachers and teaching assistants to work at primary, secondary and adult level.

 

Veronica is especially aware of the need to identify specific learning difficulties at an early stage and provide appropriate support.  She has worked with parents and given multidisciplinary training in language and literacy to early years practitioners and workers from education, heath and social services, with the express intention of ensuring early intervention and forestalling later problems.  She has a special interest in the link between language and literacy.

 

 

Jeanne Reilly

DipCST, Reg MRCSLT, Cert Ad Ed

Independent Speech and Language Therapist

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Jeanne Reilly works part time for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre. She is a tutor and lecturer on courses run by the centre as well as carrying out speech and language assessments and specialist teachers assessments.

She qualified as a speech therapist from the Elizabeth Gaskell College in Manchester in 1974. She gained her Teaching Certificate in 1989 while working part time for the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA).

 

Jeanne’s main interest is children under five and primary age children who have speech, language and literacy difficulties. She has gained her experience at Fairley House School in London, the Nuffield Hearing and Speech Centre in London and Moore House School in Oxted. In 1986-7 she took a year off to undertake a lecturing tour of Australia.

 

She writes professional articles and books, and talks at conferences to teachers, and to parent groups. She has an interest in children’s books and is language advisor to the publishing company Barrington Stoke. 

 

Julia Rowlandson

Tutor

BA Hons English, Primary PGCE, Dip.RSA(SpLD), AMDA

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Julia is an Educational Consultant specialising in SpLD. She was Education Director of Barrington Stoke Publishers, having previously been their Education Editor, publishing resources for children with SpLD and CPD material for teachers

 

Previously, Julia was  Deputy Head of More House School, Frensham, a school for boys aged 9-18 years with specific learning difficulties [dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, Asperger syndrome and speech and language processing problems].

 

Julia has experience in Neuro-linguistic Programming, Instrumental Enrichment, Neuro-developmental delay, ARROW and Phono-Graphix. She lectures widely on “Motivating Reluctant Readers”, “The Presentation of Written Materials” and has been part of the CPD team for the new Science Learning Centres. Julia also reviews SEN books and writes articles for various publications

 

Norlina Sexton

BSc, OCR Dip SpLD

Specialist Teacher

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Norlina works part-time for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre as a specialist teacher and assistant tutor on the OCR Certificate course. She has a degree in Computer Science, and had a successful career for 15 years in the IT profession through Australia and South East Asia.  Following a career break to start a family, Norlina gained a Certificate in SpLD at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre in 2005, and Diploma in SpLD in 2006. She currently teaches and supports secondary pupils on a one-to-one basis, and is training to be a tutor for the OCR Certificate course.

 

Norlina developed an interest in specialist teaching after her own son was diagnosed with Dyslexia. She has first hand experience as a parent, teaching and developing learning strategies to promote access to the curriculum. She is also well versed dealing with the nuances of specific learning difficulties, and has a particular interest in multidisciplinary training in language and literacy throughout childhood development.

 

 

 

Sue Stathers

BA  RSA Dip SpLD

Specialist Teacher

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Susan Stathers has been associated with Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre since 1980.

She completed a degree in Psychology from Leicester University in 1963 and lived overseas for several years with her husband.   On her return she taught in many local schools both at primary and secondary level.  For ten years she was in charge of Special Needs in a local preparatory school.  

 

She completed the OCR Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties in 1995 and  became a tutor at HADC, tutoring mainly on the OCR Courses at Certificate and Diploma level, but was also been involved in Clansa, the training course for classroom assistants.   She has run several summer schools for HADC for children between the ages of 8 –12.  She currently does Teacher’s assessments.

 

Whilst living in the Middle East she was a governor of the Community School in Abu Dhabi and the Sultan’s School in Muscat, Oman.  She has been a governor at Woolmer Hill Technology College in Haslemere for twelve years and Chairman for the last five.

 

She has been Project Manager for the USA and Costa Rica for GAP Activity Projects,a year out provider for 18 year olds, and is currently Project manager for the UK South region concerned with volunteers coming to the UK from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany etc.

 

Beverley Williams

OCR Diploma in SpLD

Head of Training

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Beverley Williams is Head of Training at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre. 

Her roles include managing professional training courses, tutoring on the OCR teacher training courses, presenting In-service sessions in schools, colleges and local dyslexia associations.  She also carries out specialist tuition, literacy/numeracy specialist assessments and professional consultations.  Beverley has worked for the Helen Arkell Centre since 1998.

 

Beverley has presented workshops at conferences across the country and supported learners with specific learning difficulties at primary, secondary and adult level.

 

Beverley has a particular interest in dyscalculia and how other SpLDs impact upon mathematical skills.

 

Beverley manages the Helen Arkell Specialist Assessors (HASA) service and ensures quality control of the reports.  She also provides continuing professional development for the HASAs.

 

She has helped to design the current course for primary classroom assistants at Level 3 and has designed a Level 3 module for training in the UK and overseas.  She is currently helping to write a course for teaching assistants in further education, and managing a research project at a local secondary school.

 

Louise Williams

Dip COT SROT

Occupational Therapist

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Louise Williams is a state registered Occupational Therapist.  She holds a diploma from the College of Occupational Therapists for which she studied at the University Hospital of Wales.

 

Since qualifying in 1984, she has worked in adult neurology and, for over 10 years, in paediatrics.  She has a particular interest in children with specific learning difficulties and the implications of these difficulties on learning.  She has worked in special education where she worked closely with teaching and care staff, and with other therapists.

 

Louise has had extensive training in Neurodevelopmental therapy, and Sensory Integration therapy.

 

She assesses and treats children with motor, perceptual and sensory dysfunction.

 

Yvonne Whitestone

Dip RSA

Head of Education

Senior Tutor/Specialist Teacher

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Yvonne Whitestone is Head of Education at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre.  Her roles include managing the tuition department, tutoring on the OCR teacher training courses, presenting In-service sessions in schools, colleges and local dyslexia associations.  She provides continual professional development for specialist teachers.

 

Yvonne has run touch typing classes for all ages and has also presented several workshops at conferences across the country.  She carries out specialist tuition and designs individualised resources to support dyslexic learners.  She has been looking at the development of the Inclusion Development Programme (IDP) materials and promoting the use of the accompanying materials in schools.

 

Yvonne worked supporting learners with specific learning difficulties in primary school before studying for the RSA Diploma in Teaching Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties.  She has worked for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre since 1993 and has taught dyslexic learners at primary, secondary and adult level.  She has been involved in a project in conjunction with Xtraordinary People, assessing and teaching young dyslexics in an Inner London school.  She has recently run a project in a local school, teaching dyslexic learners and training classroom assistants to support dyslexic learners more effectively.  This work includes research into the efficacy of ICT for children with severe SpLDs.

 

She has helped to design the current course for classroom assistants at Level 3 and has also designed a module for training in the UK and overseas.

 

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