Expert Support Tailored to Your Setting’s Needs – If you need something more tailored to your setting, that isn’t covered on our list, our expert advisers can visit your school to conduct a thorough audit and/ or provide consultancy on most issues that are relevant to your setting. Get in touch to find out more – [email protected]

Jo Perrin - Interim School Support Lead,  Adviser, Services For Education

Jo Perrin is a seasoned Education Adviser with a strong background in safeguarding. She has held key roles as a Designated Safeguarding Lead and pastoral lead in the education sector. Facilitating training to enhance the knowledge and skills of professionals working directly with children and young people is her passion.

With a wealth of experience in teaching PSHE and expertise in childhood trauma from her time as a foster carer, Jo is dedicated to supporting organisations that work with children and vulnerable adults on safeguarding issues. She is actively involved in professional safeguarding groups in the West Midlands and is currently collaborating on a research project with colleagues from the University of Birmingham and the NHS focusing on FGM awareness within communities. Jo’s has worked as a West Midlands' Adviser for national PSHE resources, presented at the Sex Education Forum National Members' Event and authored an advertorial for PSM magazine and an article for SEND magazine.

Jo's expertise extends to training on topics such as Safer Recruitment and Mental Health at Work. She is also a facilitator for the nationally recognised NPQSL qualification, supporting senior leaders in education. Her contributions to publications and development of resources for RSE provision have been well-received by schools nationally and internationally.

With her extensive experience and dedication to professional development, Jo Perrin is a highly respected figure in the field of education. Her guidance on safeguarding, mental health awareness, personal development, and relationships education is highly valued within the industry.

Denise Harris - Adviser, Services For Education

Denise has enjoyed many years working as a qualified teacher in Birmingham. She has taught across the age range in schools, in an Education Action Zone, and in a Youth Offending Unit.  As a local authority primary numeracy consultant, she has supported many schools to effectively develop their maths provision, and this continues through her management of the very successful 'Every Child Counts' mathematics interventions, developed and supported by Edge Hill University, and which are proven to have a significant impact, not only on underachieving and SEND pupils, but also on teacher and teaching assistant subject and pedagogical knowledge, classroom and whole school practice.

Nowadays, Denise successfully delivers the primary statutory assessment contract for moderation and monitoring on behalf of Birmingham LA. She has been instrumental in effectively managing the changes over time to the statutory assessment processes but does not lose sight of the need for schools and teachers to make use of ongoing formative assessment strategies as part of the teaching and learning process to monitor pupil progress. In her statutory role, Denise works closely with other moderation managers both locally and nationally to ensure a consistent understanding of national guidance and related requirements. She recruits, trains, and accredits both KS1 and KS2 pool moderators and utilises her knowledge and understanding of these processes to ensure, through her training offer, that schools are equipped to fulfil their statutory duty confidently.

Emma Mudge - Adviser, Services For Education

Emma has more than 20 years' experience in primary education and has worked in a variety of roles including Assistant Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, and Acting Head Teacher - working at the forefront of school leadership and improvement for the majority of her career.  

Emma now works as the Educational Adviser for English sharing her experience and knowledge to continually promote and improve the standard of teaching and learning in English, and in school improvement overall. Supporting schools with the accuracy of their KS1 and KS2 writing assessments is an important part of her role, using her expertise as a member for the moderation team to inform, train and support teachers and school leaders. 

Emma is also part of the team which delivers the Health For Life programme (improving the healthy opportunities for primary aged children) and the NPQSL, where she proudly supports the development of our aspiring leaders in the city. 

Helen Grundy - Adviser, Services For Education

Helen's journey began in 1998 when she proudly graduated with a first-class honour’s degree in English and Education Studies. Her time studying in Amsterdam at the Hogeschool Holland added a TESOL element to her degree, opening her eyes to international approaches to education.

Her teaching career in Staffordshire saw her excel in various roles, from subject leadership to SENCo and SLT. Helen's passion and dedication led her to become a Leading Maths Teacher, supporting colleagues and ultimately transitioning into consultancy and advisory roles.

Joining Services For Education in 2015 as an Education Adviser, Helen's initial focus on Maths Advising quickly expanded to include managing the highly successful Health for Life in Primary Schools programme and overseeing ECT Induction. Her expertise is also sought after for delivering parts of the nationally recognised NPQ suite of qualifications.

Helen's journey is not just a career, but a testament to her unwavering commitment to education and the betterment of schools and students.   

Lucie Welch – Adviser, Services For Education

Lucie Welch has worked in the field of Primary Education for the last 15 years, holding the positions of Assistant Head of School, Designated Safeguarding Lead, Attendance Lead and Designated Teacher for Looked After Children. Through working across several local authorities and within multi-academy trusts, Lucie has garnered a passion for safeguarding and supporting children and young people to enable them to thrive.

At Services For Education, Lucie is an integral part of the Safeguarding team, sharing her expertise with schools, colleges, trusts, and other educational settings across the city of Birmingham and beyond. Dedicated to improving safeguarding practices in an actionable and impactful way, Lucie works closely with settings to provide bespoke training, supports with reflection on their own practices during Safeguarding audits and always strives to contribute to a better learning environment for all children. Through delivery of statutory training for DSLs and Safer Recruitment, Lucie works with colleagues in all age ranges and is a source of expertise within these areas.

Lucie also wears other important hats within the School Support Team. Not only is she dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of students through her role in safeguarding, but she also plays a key part in the PSHE/RSE and Health for Life teams. Additionally, Lucie partners with the Best Practice Network to deliver the Early Career Framework, supporting new teachers in their professional development.

 “After many years leading safeguarding in school we wanted to ensure that we were doing all that we could to ensure the most effective and impactful practice, given the demands faced by our pupils and their families and the ongoing changes in the safeguarding landscape.We welcomed Jo and Marsha in for a full day’s audit, having completed significant preparatory work and documentation in advance. As a process this was a most robust and intense opportunity to really drill down into our practice, to reflect on all aspects of safeguarding and to highlight the significant impact that an effective culture and climate of safeguarding creates across the school, contributing positively to outcomes from all angles.

This really was very much a whole school process which allowed us not only to celebrate and affirm our key areas of strength but also to offer some tangible ways forward as to how as a school we can effectively manage the significant increase in the demands placed on schools as the both role of the DSL and also the role of the school in terms of safeguarding is redefined. If you are looking to review your practice I would recommend this audit without reservation. The process was professional, robust and conducted by experts in the field who are committed to supporting schools with all aspects of safeguarding as this arena becomes ever more complex and demanding..”

JO DAw – dsl – holy trinity

 “Over the past 18 months, Denise has led moderation training in reading, writing and mathematics within our school and across all year groups. As a result, staff have been upskilled and are more confident in making teacher assessments which has been instrumental in rising standards at Barford Primary School. This good work has also been validated in our OFSTED report (Sept 22) where inspectors highlighted the success of the developments (including training) that had contributed to the progress in the core subjects”

JO DAVIES – HEADTEACHER – BARFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL

 “Emma was a fantastic and thoughtful presenter. She was reassuring and supportive but also offered supportive critic and challenge that helped everyone in the room. Thank you Emma.”

JACK POOLE – ASSISTANT Headteacher – ST THOMAS MORE

 “It was an absolute pleasure working with Helen. I left our session feeling so confident and ready to start my journey as a math lead. Any question I had was answered in detail and the session was tailored to meet my needs. The whole session was very valuable, thank you Helen!”

KIRAN SLIMAK – SUBJECT LEADER – BENTLEY WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL

 “Lucie Welch is not only highly knowledgeable and skilled but also exceptionally engaging, making each session a memorable and enriching experience for all participants. It has been a pleasure to welcome her into our school community, and her positive impact is palpable.”

sacha benjamin-coker – deputy head and dsl – the blue coat school

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