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Teachers and Assessors
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Jane Cousins
HeadteacherBA (HONS) QTS, NASENCo, OCR Level 7 Dip (SpLD), CELTA
I have over twenty-three years of teaching experience and have had the privilege of teaching across both primary and secondary phases and in specialist education. I am passionate about removing barriers to learning and ensuring that all young people reach their potential. I joined The Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre in January 2019 as a specialist teacher and assessor. Prior to this, I was a SENCo and Senior Leader for a multi-academy trust in Medway. I became the deputy headteacher of The Bloomfield in September 2023 and am absolutely delighted to have recently been promoted to the Headteacher.
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Sarah Horner
TeacherBA (Hons), PGCE, OCR 7 Dip (Spld), Sounds Write, AMBDA
I started my teaching life as a primary teacher and became really interested in getting better at helping pupils who were finding it difficult to learn how to read and spell. This led me to train, first with the Hornsby International Dyslexia Association and later with the Greenwich STEP team to gain the OCR Level 7 SpLD qualification.
I currently combine teaching at the Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre with working in a primary school as a specialist teacher and the lead in Phonics and Spelling. I also train teachers and teaching assistants in the Sounds-Write linguistic phonics programme, which is what we use as our primary programme at the BDC.
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Zoe Solanki
TeacherBSc (Hons), PGCE, OCR 5 Dip (SpLD), OCR 7 Dip (SpLD), Sounds Write
Hello, I’m Zoe Solanki. My journey began as a science teacher, but my passion for learning and development led me to retrain as a specialist teacher and assessor. I’m proud to hold an OCR Level 7 Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties.
In 2021, I joined the Bloomfield team, bringing with me a diverse range of experiences from various educational settings.
In addition to my primary role, I’m also a certified Sounds-Write teacher, skilled in a highly effective synthetics program. This unique blend of experiences and skills allows me to bring a comprehensive and innovative approach to my work.
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Anne Middleton
TeacherBA (Hons) Psychology, BA (Hons) 3D Design (Ceramics), PGCE, Hornsby Dip (Spld), Sounds Write
I have more than 25 years of experience teaching children and teenagers both with and without dyslexia.
I originally worked as a primary school teacher in an inner London school obtaining my SpLD Diploma with the Hornsby International Dyslexia Association in 2005. I’m also an Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) and PATOSS ( Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties). I obtained my Sounds-Write synthetic phonics training in 2005 and joined the team at the Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre in 2005, whilst continuing to work in a Southwark primary school until 2020.
Having retired from full-time teaching, I now focus on tutoring students with specific learning difficulties in both the primary and secondary phases of education.
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Donal Coonan
TeacherBA (Hons) PPE(2:1), 2001-2004, Level 5 SpLD, 2020, Sounds Write
University of OxfordHaving been a private tutor for over a decade, I gained my Level 5 SpLD qualification in 2020 and joined the Bloomfield Centre in 2023. As a specialist teacher, I love having the opportunity to work with children of many different ages, in both literacy and numeracy. I also really enjoy working with a variety of different group sizes. I’m currently working for the Bloomfield supporting teenagers with specific learning difficulties at a school in Bromley and delivering the Star Programme boosting the spelling and vocabulary skills of pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 in Southwark and Lambeth.
Alongside my work at the Bloomfield, I am an accredited specialist at The Philosophy Foundation, a charity which encourages critical thinking and listening skills in primary and secondary schools.
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Harriet Palmer
TeacherBA (Hons), PGCE (primary Ed), OCR level 7 diploma (SpLD dyslexia), Sounds Write
I was a primary school teacher for several years and then trained at the Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre in 1998, where I gained the OCR level 7 qualification in teaching and assessing learners with dyslexia. Since then I have supported both adults and children with dyslexia in various settings. I’ve worked at two London dyslexia centres and also the Dyspel dyslexia project (for the charity London Action Trust), where I worked with young and ex-offenders. I’ve taught part-time at the Bloomfield Learning Centre since 2018. I really enjoy watching students gain confidence as they make progress in their literacy skills. I am a member of Patoss.
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Ellen Whelan
Specialist AssessorMA (SpLD) with distinction, UCL; AMBDA level 7; APC (PATOSS)
I have worked at the Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre since 2014, conducting assessments in all age ranges. I have taught as a 1-2-1 specialist teacher during this time, again in all age ranges; have worked in higher education as a specialist study skills tutor; and have been an occasional marker on the University College London level 7 programme, training dyslexia specialist assessors. This brings a breadth of experience to my assessments.
I provide consultancy and mentoring in report writing skills for new assessors joining the Bloomfield team. With experience assessing in all age ranges, and additional training to identify a broader set of SpLD in the 16+ range, I provide support for recently qualified assessors, those seeking to broaden their skill set, and assessors needing to update their Assessment Practicing Certificate (APC).
I have ten years of experience working as a 1-2-1 specialist study skills tutor in higher/ postgraduate education. I am registered with Student Finance England (SFE) to provide DSA support and specialise in post-16 assessment for Disabled Students’ Allowance. -
Chloé Winfield
Specialist AssessorB.Ed Hons (Psych), Dip SpLD (OCR 7), APC No.: 24/APC03056 (BDA)
I have taught in primary schools in London and internationally since 2013 and have had the privilege of working with various literacy-focused charities in South Africa. I obtained my OCR level 7 qualification in teaching and assessing learners with dyslexia from UCL and work both as an assessor at the Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre and as a specialist teacher in schools across London. This combined role keeps me up-to-date with the latest evidence-based practice regarding effective support for individuals with dyslexia.
My passion lies in fostering learners’ literacy skills and confidence through individualised, multisensory lessons that are guided by my training as a Sounds-Write teacher. I am a member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA), Patoss and hold a current Assessment Practicing Certificate from the BDA.
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Lucy Taylor
AssessorBA Hons, RSA Dip. SpLD, APC No:0821/825 The Dyslexia Guild
After developing a career teaching ESOL and literacy within Further and Adult Education I completed my post-graduate Diploma for Teachers of Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties at the Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre in 1996. I joined the Bloomfield team in 2012 working in the Centre and both primary and secondary schools in London providing individual and group multi-sensory tuition for children and young people as well as literacy, study skills, screening, exam access arrangement assessments and diagnostic assessments.
In 2014 I further advanced my assessment skills in the specialist dyslexia course, The Effective Assessment Report at Bath Spa University. I am also a qualified Sounds~Write teacher, a highly effective synthetic phonics programme. I am a holder of a current Assessment Practising Certificate which enables me to provide diagnostic assessments for people intending to go to university.
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Stamatia Ntetsika
AssessorI gained my BEd in primary education from the Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece and my MA degree in Specific Learning Difficulties (including Dyslexia) from University College London. I am a member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA), Patoss, the Dyscalculia Network and the National Handwriting Association. I also hold an Assessment Practising Certificate from the Dyslexia Guild.
I have worked in a range of settings, including Emerson House and the Hampstead Dyslexia Clinic, as a specialist teacher and assessor.
In 2022, I set up my private practice, in Parsons Green. I love working on creating my own range of educational resources, to promote multi-sensory learning.
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Nicola Cush-Etter
AssessorBScEcon (Hons), PGCE, MA, PGCert SpLD, AMBDA
As a primary school teacher, I have worked across schools in East London for the past 9 years, teaching children from many backgrounds and with many different challenges. An interest in special educational needs led me to embark on an MA in Special and Inclusive Education at University College London, in 2018. During the course, I became keenly interested in dyslexia and how best to support children with literacy difficulties.
I continued post-MA to complete a PGCert in SpLD (Dyslexia), finishing my training in 2022 at UCL to become a specialist teacher and assessor. I currently combine assessing at Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre with teaching part-time in a London primary school. Outside of teaching and assessing, I enjoy travelling to see my family spread across the world, exploring London with my toddler in tow and piano playing.
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Nadine Zlotnick
AssessorAfter teaching for a few years, I became interested in developing my skills to help children who struggled to learn to read and write. I decided to train as a remedial therapist and psychometrist at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. I then moved to London and have worked as a SENCO in various settings, overseeing special educational needs in mainstream schools for more than 20 years.
I gained an Msc in Psychology and Education of Special Educational Needs from London University, then trained as a specialist Dyslexia teacher and assessor at University College London.
I joined the Bloomfield team in September 2023. I am the mother of 2 adult daughters who are dyslexic and dyspraxic. I love reading, cooking and walking.
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Rosey McCracken
AssessorMA RSA, PGCE, Dip Spld(OCR 7), MSc, APC (Patoss)
I have over 25 years of experience working in education, across all age ranges. My initial training was in Early Years (ages 3–8 years) where my interest in how children learn to read led me to train as a dyslexia specialist. I have worked at the Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre since 1999, having qualified as a specialist literacy teacher and assessor at the Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre in 1998.
Since that time, I have worked in a variety of part-time teaching roles, both at the Bloomfield and elsewhere. Having spent several years supporting 6-18 year olds with a range of specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and Autistic Spectrum Disorder, I am now specializing in assessment, alongside teaching study skills to post-16 students. I am currently working with teenagers and young adults teaching study skills in two London Universities.
I was awarded my MSc in psychology in 2014 and am currently completing my PHD at Birkbeck College.
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Student Council and Volunteers
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Dylan
Student CouncilOh hi, my name is Dylan. I am currently a year nine student in secondary school. I have dyslexia and ADD so I use a computer to dictate and spellcheck my writing for me; I do this through a speechmic which then inserts the text into “Word”. Some of my hobbies include water sports, such as kayaking and sailing through the Sea Cadets which is a youth organisation based around the Royal navy.