Claire brings over 25 years of wide‑ranging experience across mainstream primary education, specialist provision, higher education and community leadership. Her career reflects a deep commitment to inclusive practice, wellbeing, and the creation of environments in which both children and professionals can thrive.
She spent four years living and working in Thailand, teaching at an international school in Bangkok as Head of Learning Support, SENDCo and DDSL. Prior to relocating, Claire had already built a strong leadership portfolio across the EYFS and Primary phases, always maintaining her classroom practice to ensure her leadership remained grounded in the realities of teaching and learning.
Her first period working in higher education saw her serve as an ITT mentor before becoming programme lead for the ITT School Direct route. She taught across both undergraduate and postgraduate teacher development programmes, drawing on her coaching expertise to support student wellbeing on placement and champion the teachers acting as mentors. Claire has since returned to higher education, now working alongside colleagues at Leeds Beckett University as Programme Lead for the Minds Ahead courses, where she leads on the design and delivery of programmes that develop mental health leadership across the education sector.
Claire extends her impact beyond school and university settings. She serves as a school governor, contributing strategic insight into safeguarding, inclusion and staff wellbeing. She is also a non‑executive director at ReFUSE, a community‑interest company focused on sustainable food resourcing through education, research and community support. These roles reflect her commitment to social justice, community empowerment and systemic change.
Graduating in 2021 with an MA in School Leadership of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Claire brings a nuanced understanding of the challenges of balancing professional demands with academic study and personal wellbeing. She draws on this lived experience to support students engaging in Minds Ahead programmes, offering both empathy and practical insight.
Her professional interests centre on mental health leadership, inclusive practice and the development of sustainable, wellbeing‑focused cultures in education. She is particularly passionate about supporting leaders to navigate complexity with confidence and compassion, and about equipping the workforce with the skills needed to create lasting, systemic change.
Claire is driven by a belief in the transformative power of education—not only for young people, but for the wider communities in which they live.