International Women's Day: Sarah talks Neurodiversity
March 12, 2025Posted by:
Sarah Jones
Sarah shares her inspirational journey and work in the neurodiversity field over the last 20 years.
I’m Sarah the National Neurodiversity Manager in Prison Education for PeoplePlus and part of the EDI Committee and Accessibility Focus Group Lead.
I have dedicated the majority of my career to working in the neurodiversity field, to ensure that those with neurodiverse needs and disabilities are well catered for, have equitable access and can achieve at the same rate as their peers.
My passion for neurodiversity and inclusion began from a young age. I was always someone that wanted to help and support others. I remember at primary school I was asked to buddy up with one of my fellow classmates. She had received a diagnosis of Dyslexia and her confidence in her own ability was at rock bottom. Over the course of the academic year, I took additional time to work with her to develop her reading skills and confidence. Even then, that’s when I knew I wanted to pursue a career where I could make a difference to the lives of others.
I am from a working-class background and was the first in my family to go to university. I worked hard to achieve my degree in Geography and subsequent PGCE in Secondary Education, which allowed me to work in the field of teaching and focus on building a career around making a difference to others.
As soon as I started in my role as a teacher, I naturally found myself investing time in working with learners that had special educational needs and disabilities. I was promoted to the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) a few years into my career. As SENCO, I had the privilege to collaborate with other teachers, social workers, and specialist teams to create a personalised package of support aligned to need. I look back and am proud that I helped so many children progress through school and navigate the challenges they faced. I became an advocate for the learner and the family that surrounded them. It was such a rewarding role.
I think one child I worked with will always stick in my head…. Mr O. Mr O was permanently excluded at aged 5 and had been placed in specialist provision for the majority of his primary schooling. His Mum came to see me when he was in Year 6 to ascertain if we could meet his needs. I took one hell of a risk that day….. I could see potential in the boy and spent the following few months planning a detailed transition plan in order to meet the range of complex needs he had. Mr O was placed in the nurture group and received ongoing support from me and the team around him for the next 5 years at secondary school. He went from strength to strength and flourished with the right approach and staff support. This was a boy who had been written off from an early age. He went on to obtain a degree and a successful career in medicine and his mum still writes to me each year to tell me what he is up to. Every year she tells me I changed his life and helped him be the success he is today.
I have met so many neurodiverse learners over the years that have told me that when they were younger, they were told that they wouldn’t be able to achieve or amount to anything. I have always stressed it is important for them to believe anything is possible, with the right support you can get from a to b and achieve. We just take different routes to get there.
I continued with roles in the neurodiversity field as Deputy Head within a Complex Needs school and as a specialist teacher for young people with Autism within a Local Authority.
In 2019 I moved into a role within prison education. I had spent 18 years working with neurodiverse children and now it was time to work with neurodiverse adults in the prison sector.
My current role gives me strategic responsibility for neurodiversity across the 22 prison education teams. I work with some truly inspiring teams that make a difference to the lives of neurodiverse individuals every day. I strive day in day out to provide the very best neurodiverse provision for the individuals we work with.
I look back over my career and am proud of what I have achieved. I have juggled working full time with raising two children throughout my career, which has helped to shape who I am today.
PeoplePlus have allowed me to flourish over the last 5 years and continue to develop my work within the field of neurodiversity. My continued work with the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee and Accessibility Focus group also allows me to continue to drive change across the whole organisation.
If I could sit down and have a coffee with my younger self, I would tell my younger self that you should seize any opportunities that come your way and not worry about whether it is the right thing to do at that time or phase in your life.
Not to be intimidated by what life has to offer you. Take a chance and see what happens. If it’s harder than you thought, you learnt something from the experience.
Have the courage take the leap! Life is too short.
Make time for the people that really matter in your life.
March 12, 2025Posted by:
