Stephanie

To whom it may concern I have known Stephanie Gregory for 2 years now, as she was assigned to my son as a private English Tutor. My son has Autism, ADHD and ODD and cannot handle to be in school for any length of time and has difficulty connecting with adults. I was worried about how my son would handle a tutor he hadn’t met or spoken to before but within a few sessions with Stephanie she knew how to manage and deal with my son to get him engaged. She had the natural ability to work out the best way from the start. She makes his lessons fun and exciting for him, she also could pick up when he was having a bad day and will take the time to talk to him to get to the issue that was bothering him. She has helped him progress in his education a lot and is now working on GCSE level work to get him ready for his exams next may. I cannot recommend a better person to have been picked to work alongside my son 3 afternoons a week. She is very friendly, funny and has a lot of patience.

Dear Sir/Madam, My name is Kris and I have had the pleasure of working closely with Steph. My role was a staff Mentor/ PPA cover for teachers. Steph is an amazing lady, with an infectious personality. Her ability to light up the room, when teaching was a challenge, is outstanding! Steph would go above and beyond, always with the children's needs and requirements first. Steph was very keen to run through the day and always would be in early to assist me with the working day, setting up activities and checking we had everything to hand that we may need during the day. Steph always noticed children that were struggling, whether with friendship or their work. She would discreetly speak to the child to find out what they were finding challenging and she would resolve the problem. This could be by sitting with the child and giving them some moral support and boosting their confidence, to resolving disagreements between pupils. Steph would speak in a calming, soft voice, always making the pupils feel safe and listened to. The children loved her for this! Steph would always be alert around the class, moving from child to child, checking in with them and making them feel good about themselves. Challenging behaviour is a definite strength of Stephs', her ability to be firm but fair was outstanding, always reminding the children of the expectations but also the consequences for their actions. Steph was trained to restrain if required for the more challenging children with behaviour and severe learning needs. She was very good at de-escalating heightened children by talking to them and giving them solutions to think about before their behaviour would escalate. Steph would intervene with restraint but only if needed as a last intervention. As a SEMH environment could be of a tense nature, sometimes you would come up against staff who would challenge your decisions. Steph was very good at calming situations down with staff and resolving disagreements between staff. She has a calming, caring nature which shone through greatly aimed towards staff and children. Steph always wanted to make the right decisions for the needs of the child and wouldn't be shy in saying " maybe we could try this instead" if she noticed certain children aren't responding to the tasks.Her impact on the children was outstanding, they loved her nurturing, calm, funny personality because they knew she put her heart and soul into her position and responsibilities. I can not speak highly enough about Steph, and she would be an asset to you without a doubt!