Suzanne Whiston – Headteacher
Suzanne is committed to ensuring that all students excel at Longdon Hall School by accessing a sequential, broad, personalised and aspirational curriculum which caters for their social, emotional and academic needs, whilst preparing them for the next stage in their education and life beyond school.
Suzanne has a wealth of experience and has previously been a headteacher of a Special Secondary School in Warwickshire, a Deputy Headteacher at a main stream secondary school, focussing on the quality of education and the curriculum and an Assistant Principal with responsibility for Personal Development. She has also held a variety of middle leadership roles. After qualifying as an Advanced Skills Teacher, Suzanne led and supported curriculum development at primary, secondary and special schools through her outreach work in schools in the West Midlands. Suzanne has also achieved the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and an MA.
Suzanne is committed to delivering a high standard of teaching and learning at Longdon Hall School through an ambitious curriculum which promotes the personal development of each student and meets the students’ educational, social and emotional needs.
Steph Nickless – Head of Safeguarding and Pastoral Care
Steph joined Longdon Hall School 8 years ago as a member of the Pastoral team. She was given the opportunity to develop the family support service that the school offers and has since become the safeguarding officer. Prior to working at Longdon Hall School, she was a project worker with Barnardo’s for 11 years, supporting families, children and young people who were experiencing many different challenges such as abuse, sub-stance misuse, criminality, domestic abuse and poverty.
Steph also manages our Pastoral Team, supporting them to put in place interventions to support pupils who require a greater level of pastoral input and working closely with the entire staff team to reduce the frequency of restrictive physical interventions.
Steph has worked hard to ensure all the systems and processes for Safeguarding at Longdon Hall are robust and keep all children safe. The high level of her work in this area was recognised in our most recent Ofsted inspection.
Katie Whitehouse- Deputy Headteacher
Katie has over 15 years of experience working with young people in the education sector. Following her completion of teacher training, she developed a strong passion for supporting students with special educational needs. Throughout her career, Katie has held various middle leadership roles, including responsibilities for teaching and learning, curriculum development, and pastoral care, before advancing to senior leadership as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
Dan Vaughan- Deputy Headteacher
Dan has been working in education for over 11 years. Throughout his career, he has held a range of leadership roles, including Head of Geography and Assistant Headteacher, where he has led on attainment, examinations, and assessment. He has a real passion for all things teaching and learning, with the desire and thirst to continue growing his educational knowledge.
He began his teaching journey in mainstream education, where he gained valuable experience working with young people from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. However, he has always had a passion for supporting students with additional needs and helping those who may face barriers to learning. This passion inspired him to pursue my long-held ambition of working within an SEMH setting and ultimately led him to join the team at Longdon Hall School.
He is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of all the students, families, and colleagues that he works with. He believe that strong relationships, high expectations, and a nurturing environment are key to helping young people develop confidence, resilience, and the skills they need to succeed.
He has said ” I am proud to be part of the Longdon Hall School community and look forward to supporting our students as they grow, achieve, and realise their full potential”.
Gary Pickford- Head of Center- The Ferns & Careers Lead
Gary’s teaching career started in Oxford in a mainstream secondary school before moving up to Stoke-on-Trent. This is where Gary continued to develop his passion for teaching and for supporting students, leading him to take on the roles of Head of Year, Head of Chapter and then Raising Standards Leader. Gary’s career then shifted to working specifically in SEMH and special schools and for the last six years he has held the position of Deputy Head of a SEN school and then a Head of School at a trauma informed SEMH provision.
Gary has a passion for supporting students to fulfill their true potential and works tirelessly to ensure students at The Ferns have opportunities to become successful citizens in the wider community. As Careers Lead, Gary works to ensure compliance with national careers standards. He works closely with external providers to ensure all pupils at Longdon Hall School are supported with careers learning and their post-16 decisions.
Prior to moving in to teaching, Gary worked in the Leisure industry and owned his own fitness gym and dance studio before attending Manchester Metropolitan University and gaining his teaching qualifications. Outside of school, Gary has many sporting interests including playing golf, cricket and darts. He is also an avid football watcher and supports Everton F.C, who were the first team he ever watched live.