In this UCL Connect event, a panel of UCL alumni leading in SEND education shared expert insight into creating more inclusive school environments where every student can flourish on their own terms.
Over 250 UCL alumni, students and staff registered for the event, representing a diverse range of professions and experiences, including teachers, social workers, paediatricians and parents to neurodistinct children. All were keen to learn how they could better support all children to thrive in education.
The panel discussed what inclusion means in schools, how to create meaningful change in educational settings, and the importance of understanding executive functions so that children can be supported to understand their own ways of thinking and feeling.
If you missed it, you can watch the full recording below.
The event is part of our UCL Connect programme of professional and personal development events and resources, which offers UCL students and alumni the chance to tap into the rich knowledge and skills of UCL’s global community.
View more UCL Connect events
This is the topic of my work and I was thrilled to see this in the event. It was engaging, fun, and seen from different angles which enriched the conversation.
The speakers were brilliant! I got a lot of invaluable information out of the session.
Meet our speakers
Dr Brian Irvine (event chair)
Research Communication and Engagement Officer
UCL Institute of Education’s Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE)
Before taking up his current post as the Communications and Engagement Officer for the IOE’s Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Brian completed his doctoral thesis on Specialist (Autism) Mentoring in UK Higher Education at UCL, and has a background in autism mentoring, teaching and inclusion provision.
Frances Akinde (UCL PGCE Art and Design Education 2004)
Qualified SENDCo, and former headteacher of a Secondary Special School for learners with Autism and associated difficulties
Frances has over 20 years of experience working in roles across primary, secondary, alternative provision and local authority education. In 2022, after discovering that she was neurodivergent and had a hearing impairment, Frances left headship and now uses her lived experiences to offer training and support to ensure that our schools and workplaces are genuinely inclusive.
Hannah Lucy Morris (UCL MSc Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2019)
Head of Learning Support (SENDCo) at Junior Kings Canterbury
Hannah has taught in in central London schools, and now in Canterbury, Kent, both in the state and private sectors. She has contributed to initial teacher training courses, through keynotes, podcasts and Quality First Teaching strategies. Currently a SENDCo, Hannah’s work incorporates and focuses on the executive functions, and the metacognitive skills required to be a reflective learner.
