Hope Tree School is overseen by an Advisory Board. The Advisory Board includes professionals whose expertise makes them an invaluable source of advice to the school management team. Currently the Advisory Board consists of a Speech and Language Therapist, an Occupational Therapist, a teacher and education researcher, and a Human Resources specialist. Opportunities for parents and community members to be part of the Advisory Board will become available during the first year of the school opening.

Mags Kirk

I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from the University of Manchester in 2003. After a long time working in the paediatric team of an NHS Speech and Language Therapy team I set up my own independent practice ‘Two Can Talk’ in 2012. Two Can Talk now employs many Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists. We work throughout Suffolk and Cambridgeshire providing high quality services to babies, children and young adults.
I get enormous satisfaction in seeing the positive changes in the people I work with and the improvements in their communication skills. I am delighted to be a part of the Hope Tree School advisory board because this will mean I can help even more children to aim high and achieve so much more than was ever thought possible.

Sarah Van de Weyer

In 1995, I qualified in Occupational Therapy and have worked as a
paediatric occupational therapist since 1996, full time for 10 years in schools for the NHS, then in parallel for the NHS and independently, and since 2012 as an independent practitioner.

My specialisms are in the fields of sensory processing, auditory processing and DCD/dyspraxia: Sensory Integration Therapy and Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests certified, trained in auditory processing assessments and to an advanced level in five different auditory stimulation techniques including bone conduction.
 
In 2006 I gained an MSc in Health Studies at the University of East Anglia, which gave me the opportunity to conduct research into the effectiveness, including the cost effectiveness, of the different therapies available for children with DCD /Dyspraxia, Auditory Processing Disorders, ADHD and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. The outcome was that if there were no therapy, the children did not change, but if there were therapy, the children’s behaviour and health improved significantly.
 
I regularly lead Dyspraxia UK training courses for occupational therapists and teaching staff on the assessment of motor skills, sensory processing profiles and auditory processing abilities.

Becky Trollope

I am a qualified primary school teacher, having trained and taught in a school which used continuous provision. I continued my interest in play-based provision whilst delivering individualised programmes of education to SEN pupils, and completed research into the use of continuous provision in schools across England. I am currently working towards completing a PhD which focuses on the academic and holistic impacts of increased pupil agency in the primary classroom.

Alison Grant

I have worked in HR for over 20 years in various industries. I currently work in Life Sciences working for a company that has recently launched a successful product in the US and continues to advance what is possible in cancer therapy. I live in Papworth Everard and have 2 children. My youngest child has struggled throughout his academic years and the extra support he received made a huge difference, but it was clear that sometimes this was not enough. I am very proud and feel privileged to be part of the Advisory Board at Hope Tree School as I know that this be life changing for many.