Cambridge Park Academy
Autism Education Trust
The Autism Education Trust (AET) was formed as a partnership in 2008 to help improve the quality of education for autistic children and young people across England. At the heart of the AET is the belief that good outcomes can only be achieved by working in partnership. The AET is a not for profit partnership organisation founded by two national autism charities – the National Autistic Society and Ambitious about Autism. Supported by the Department for Education, the AET promotes and supports partnerships throughout the education system to improve educational access, experience and outcomes for autistic children and young people. The AET is not a legal entity and is hosted on behalf of the partnership by the National Autistic Society (NAS). The AET is however governed by its own Board, which determines its strategy, protects its values and both supports, and holds the staff team to account for the delivery of its objectives. Board membership reflects a broad and rounded perspective from across the autism and education communities to include autistic people and parents. The AET uses a social franchising model and has a network of licenced training partners. Social franchising involves enabling another organisation to deliver a proven intervention (in this case the AET systems and workforce development programme) to agreed standards but without dictating the exact delivery model. This enables a range of different organisations with different business models to deliver the AET Programme in a way that works for their business and their local community. The primary aim is to maximise social benefit which is what distinguishes it from the commercial use of franchising. Our work (and that of our licenced partners) centres on upskilling the workforce, supporting system leaders and promoting good practice standards for education settings through the provision of a range of professional development training and resources for early years, schools and post 16 settings. Our licenced training partners are central to ensuring that our workforce development training and resources are accessible and high quality.
Meet the team
Miss McGuire
My name is Vicky McGuire and I am the Lead Trainer for Cambridge Park Academy's Autism Education Trust Regional Hub.
I am one of the Academy's Assistant Principals with a responsibility for the Primary Department, I am also the Academy's Autism Lead.
I have been employed at Cambridge Park since 2007 undertaking a range of roles supporting autistic children. I feel thoroughly privileged to work at the Academy being able to support the amazing practice that happens throughout the school.
I am a trained PECS facilitator and have sound knowledge in relation to sensory processing disorder and sensory integration.
I am passionate about supporting not only the employees of Cambridge Park but also the wider school community, to develop their skills and knowledge in relation to how best to support autistic children and young people.
Miss Fellows
My name is Jo Fellows and I am the newest recruit to the AET team at Cambridge Park, having joined the school in September 2021.
I have worked as a special school teacher for the last 14 years, starting my career in an autism specialist provision, which really ignited my passion for helping young people on the spectrum find their way in a world that doesn't always understand them.
I have a wealth of experience in supporting young people and their families both in and out of the classroom. I have worked across most of the secondary years from keystage 3 to post-16, writing and delivering personalised learning programmes and encouraging inclusion throughout the curriculum.
Mrs Gardner
I have worked within the education sector, supporting children and young people with Autism for over 15 years in range of roles and settings. From a 1:1 learning assistant, a tutor within a Post 16 specialist provision and most recently as an Autism Outreach Practitioner. My work within my last role provided me with opportunities to work in a range of local primary and secondary schools and share my knowledge and experiences to support staff at all levels within schools to enable them to meet the needs of children and young people with Autism within their settings. I also delivered Autism awareness training to schools, parents and other key services.
I joined Cambridge Park Academy two years ago, and I am currently employed as a teacher within the secondary specialist provision within the academy. Within this time, I have witnessed the rapid growth and development of the Academy, and I am proud to be part of this.
Becoming an AET trainer is something I am excited about. I am passionate about raising awareness about Autism and embedding positive attitudes to ensure our children and young people with Autism are able to thrive and succeed.
Mrs Ryan
My name is Jamie-Leigh Ryan, and I am a Trainer for Cambridge Park Academy's Autism Education Trust Regional Hub. I work within the Academy as a Primary Class Teacher and Subject Leader. I have been at the Academy for 15 years now, developing my skills and knowledge along the way. My time here as a Teaching Assistant gave me lots of experiences working with a wide range of abilities and ages. Since becoming a Class Teacher and Subject Lead, I have had some fantastic opportunities that have enabled me to be a part of embedding new practices across the school, and really seeing the impact this has on individuals. I love my working at Cambridge Park, and it is my lifelong passion to continue to support individuals and those within their lives to ensure success and happiness!
Contact us for more information
If you would like further information on:-
- Your setting requirements/a discussion with a lead tutor
- Costings
- Booking a course
Then please submit your details in the form and we will aim to get back to you within 24 hours.
