Engage & Achieve
Meet The Team
Emily Carr,
Executive Leadership Team
Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Sociology
PGCE in Education, Primary 5 - 11
NPQSL
Emily started her career as a primary teacher, working in mainstream schools before becoming a leader in a number of Pupil Referral Units, across the North East.
She was quickly recognised for her leadership ability and secured a position as headteacher of a Teeside PRU. For over six years, Emily led the school in successfully achieving several sought after, national accolades including the IQM Flagship award; the Leeds Carneige Mental Health Award at Gold standard and the SMSC Gold standard award.
Her experience at both primary and secondary stage gave her an insight into what is successful at all age groups and a strong understanding of transition between key stages. Emily’s passion and drive has always been to improve the life chances of disengaged and disaffected learners by supporting them to develop academically, socially and emotionally.
Through Emily’s success, she has been sought out by other educational establishments to provide school improvement and development, and now enjoys working across a number of settings providing both strategic and operational support. When she is not working in this role, Emily also works as a freelance assessor for the Inclusion Quality Mark, supporting schools in providing an inclusive offer for all.
Emily is passionate about supporting in education and is an executive board member of PRUsAP, working hard to be a voice in the this sector, and is also a secondary school governor.
Sophie Johnson, Executive Leadership Team
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Dave Parrish,
Headteacher
MA Education Studies,
Post Graduate Certificate in Special Educational Needs Coordination,
BSc (Hons) Open,
PGCE Secondary, ICT
Dave has worked in secondary education for 15 years gaining extensive experience teaching and leaderships in both classroom and specialist settings. He is passionate about giving every child the opportunity to succeed, no matter what barriers they need to overcome, supporting them to engage in their learning and achieve their full potential.
Sara O'Grady,
Deputy Headteacher
Maths Lead Teacher
BSc (Hons) Maths
PGCE Maths
Sara has 10 years experience of working in education. Sara has graduated from Manchester University in 2009 with a degree in Mathematics. She has taught maths at Key Stages 3,4 and 5.
Josh Carter,
Behaviour and Designated Safeguarding Lead
L3 Diploma Residential Childcare
Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Trainer
Josh has extensive experience of working with children and young people in both education and residential settings. This has included leading behaviour teams and teaching groups of students. He also leads our Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training programme.
Vicky Thistlethwaite,
Citizenship and PHSE teacher
BA (Hons) Primary Education
Level 4 Diploma, Residential Care
Trained in Kim Golding, Attachment and Trauma
Vicky Graduated from Sunderland University, in 2020, with a degree in Primary Education. Vicky chose to work in residential care following leaving University as she is passionate about giving children with the highest needs to most help. She's looking forward to using her experience of that in an educational setting where she feels she can really have an impact.
Amy Hook,
English Lead Teacher
BA (HONS) English Studies
PGCE English Secondary
Amy has 17 years experience of working in education.
She graduated from Teesside University in 2004 with a degree in English Studies.
Amy has experience teaching English at Key Stages 3 and 4
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James Fitzgibbon,
PE Lead Teacher,
BSc (Hons) Sport Coaching
PGCE Physical Education
James graduated from Northumbria University in 2016 with a First Class honours in Sport Coaching. He is a qualified PE teacher with 7 years experience in schools, teaching Key stages 3 and 4 predominantly. James holds the accolade of ‘Invested Education table tennis champion’ and endeavours to improve sporting achievement across the school.
Rachel Campbell
Health and Social Care teacher and ECT Mentor
BA Joint Hons English and History PGCE and QTS in Secondary English Studies
Rachel has worked in various roles in education since 2002. From the first time she walked into a classroom, she knew she wanted to support young people on the fringe of education and society.
She has been successful in various roles in education, from English teacher to Head of Year and Head of English. Eventually, she secured a Headship position at a Pupil Referral Unit in Teesside. After eight successful years leading the PRU, Rachel decided to focus on consultancy work around inclusion. This led to an opportunity to become a part of the Invested Education family, turning her hand to Health and Social Care alongside supporting ECTs along their journey.
Kieth Smith,
Teacher and Wellbeing Lead
BA (Hons) Geography
PGCE Primary Education
Keith has been with Invested Education since January 2022. He has more than 20 years previous experience working with young people in schools and enjoys his current role in developing an holistic approach to education with a particular focus on the wellbeing of the students and staff at Invested Education.
Clare Fletcher,
Administration and Business Manager
A passion for inclusive learning led Claire to education after many years working in the accounting industry. She has 14 years of experience working as a School Business Manager in various settings. Joining the Invested Education team, She is excited to offer support and share her wealth of experience on the exciting journey ahead.
Faith Brodie,
Apprentice Teaching Assistant
Faith has joined Invested Education as part of her teaching assistant apprenticeship. She has experience in a wide range of working environments and is excited to build her career as part of the Invested team.