Katy Afford
Katy Afford
With a teaching background that includes primary, secondary and SEN provision, I am experienced in working with young people with challenging behaviour and school non-attendance. This is further strengthened by 12 years of teaching and leadership experience in an independent college within a tier 4 secure adolescent psychiatric hospital. In this specialist provision, I gained a wealth of experience and understanding of complex mental health. I have learnt how adverse life experiences contribute to poor mental health and how educational attainment can be impacted. I have worked with young people and have heard their stories, I understand the role that education can play both as a potential contributing factor, exacerbating poor mental health and as a means of rebuilding their confidence and creating hope for the future. I am trained in trauma informed practice and have worked with wide range of additional needs and challenging behaviours.
I have taught part time the last 7 years and had the opportunity to build a more holistic understanding of young people’s mental health having held roles within the local authority, Youth Offending team and within the NHS. These roles have given me enormous insight into family dynamics, safeguarding, bereavement, financial hardship and housing issues; factors which affect health and wellbeing, educational attainment and employment prospects. This insight is invaluable in understanding why many young people struggle with their mental health and school attendance and it informs my practice working with them to help young people achieve their potential.












