Charlotte Afzal – Head of School
Charlotte has extensive experience working with children and young people with a range of emotional and social needs. Prior to joining Longdon Hall School she was Assistant Headteacher at Longdon Park School, specifically overseeing the pastoral programme and safeguarding in this Options school that specialises in supporting pupils with ASC.
As Head of School at Longdon Hall School Charlotte has been instrumental in driving forwards a range of initiatives, most notably the development of The Ferns at Longdon, our provision for pupils with high levels of anxiety. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day running of The Ferns, Charlotte has whole school responsibility for Behaviour and Attitudes and works closely with the other members of the senior leadership team on the development of Longdon Hall’s strategy for continued improvement.
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.
Rob Blyth- Deputy Head Teacher
Following a successful career in Design, Rob trained as a teacher of Art and Design in which role he worked in mainstream and secondary schools prior to moving into educational leadership positions. He worked as a senior leader in Pupil Referral Units and specialist SEMH schools prior to joining Longdon Hall School.
As Deputy Head at Longdon Hall School, Rob has oversight of and responsibility for Quality of Education. He works closely with the entire staff to ensure that the lessons delivered to our pupils are of the highest quality and that assessment and feedback are used to continually raise the standard of the educational offer of the school.
Katie Whitehouse- SENCO
Sian Hewkin- Assistant Head
Siân joined Longdon Hall School 6 years ago as a teaching assistant. Siân has worked across all key stages here and has continued her professional development completing initial teacher training in food technology and more recently, Careers Leadership. Siân has previously worked in both mainstream and alternative settings and has a passion for supporting students to successfully transition on to life after Longdon.
As Assistant Head at Longdon Hall School, Siân is responsible for Personal Development encompassing PSHE, Careers and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of pupils across the curriculum. Sian works alongside the whole staff team to ensure that students have the opportunity to enrich their school experience helping them, with equal opportunity, to achieve their potential and live happy and healthy lives as successful members of their communities.
Victoria Jenkinson Assistant Head (Behaviour & Attitudes)
Victoria is the Assistant Headteacher for Behaviour and Attitudes at Longdon Hall School. She began her teaching career in mainstream secondary education before choosing to specialise in supporting children SEND. With a wealth of experience in roles such as English teacher, literacy lead, and Head of English and Secondary Provision, Victoria brings a comprehensive understanding of education and strong, working relationships with our students at Longdon. To further enhance her pedagogy, she has achieved a specialist qualification in teaching children with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), including dyslexia, and holds a Master’s degree in Inclusion, specialising in Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH). Victoria is deeply passionate about helping children and young people communicate their thoughts and feelings in a way that ensures they receive the right support. She firmly believes that behaviour is a form of communication and works to refine the school’s approach to behaviour in a trauma-informed manner, aiming to support the emotional and social development of all students. Victoria looks forward to continuing to work alongside the leadership team to enhance the school’s approach to behaviour and wellbeing.
Details of the number of staff employed at the School and a summary of their qualifications are available on request.