Sue became Head of College in June 2025 and has many years’ experience in further and adult education SEN provision. She is committed to creating inclusive learning environments and is especially passionate about supporting young people to become more independent and to move into paid employment.
Sue has developed a range of programmes including supported internships, traineeships, and inclusive apprenticeships, helping learners build skills, gain experience, and achieve their aspirations. Since 2024, she has also served as a trustee as safeguarding lead for a charity.
She is dedicated to ensuring learners grow in confidence, independence, and life skills, preparing them for bright and successful futures.

Linda joined Ambitious about Autism in August 2013. She has worked with autistic people or people with disabilities for the last 25 years. Linda is a qualified post-16 SEN lecturer and spent the first five years of her career working in Further Education (FE) colleges. She then moved into the charity sector where she set up and managed a number of services to develop the skills of autistic people and those with learning disabilities. These services included independent travel training, supported employment, and a variety of lifelong learning and social enterprise schemes. Linda is motivated by her belief in the abilities of people with learning disabilities and how support can help them to reach their full potential.

Martin has worked in the Rail Industry for the last 20+ years and has a governance and assurance background in developing analytics.

He has a daughter at St John’s College and can see how life changing the college is to all the learners and how passionate and dedicated the staff are. 

I’m really pleased to be a governor at St. John’s College. My 40 year working life was spent in customer service and change management environments where I soon learnt the power of people who have a common aim.

I have served as governor and chair of governors at both secondary and FE establishments, and relish the opportunity to make a difference to our younger pupils as they start their education.

I have “worked” in the voluntary sector in several positions and my wife is an area manager for the National Trust. We have two Tibetan terrier dogs who have boundless energy, so walking them takes up some of my free time.  I also enjoy boating, sea fishing, and scuba diving.

Luke has worked supporting autistic people and those with learning disabilities for 30 years, starting as a support worker in the hospital closure programme of the late 1990’s in and around Bristol. 

Through various roles, primarily within the not-for-profit sector, Luke has worked alongside many experts-by-experience, families, commissioners, providers and other professionals. This has enabled him to witness both what outstanding care and support looks like and also how to address areas which need improvement or change. 

Currently a Project Director with Dimensions, Luke leads on various projects, including increasing Dimensions’ ESG agenda and impact. 

Luke has been fortunate to support people across the UK and share this learning wider through speaker events, commissioned work which has reached as far as emerging organisations in India and Ukraine. 
 

Rose is passionate about changing lives and life-chances for the better and is proud to be Chair of Governors at St John’s College. She began her career as a teacher for children with SEND, is a former director of Children’s services in four authorities across the country authorities (two in the South East, one in the West Midlands and one in the South West), has worked as a DfE intervention adviser and served as a non-executive CCG director. 

Rose is an English graduate, an executive coach (ILM Level 7), and an experienced leader with extensive experience in designing, leading, and facilitating leadership and development programmes. Recent examples include programmes addressing equity with system leaders, managers and practitioners across a London Council area and reducing racial disparities with a number of regional adoption agencies, as well as leading equality, equity, inclusion and diversity sessions with leadership teams, governors, and trustees, co-leading a number of ‘Women in Leadership’ courses and leading LGA peer reviews. 

She is a Staff College Associate, and co-authored ‘Leading in Colour: the fierce urgency of NOW’, published by The Staff College, designed to be both an urgent call for action and a helpful resource to support leaders across the public sector be and stay inclusive, diverse, and fair and wrote the Staff College publications ‘Just Fair’ and ‘Just Heart, Just Hope, Just Home’ on racial disparities across the Youth Justice system and permanence for global majority children, respectively. She is one of the facilitators on the Women in Leadership programmes.

Rose is an active Chair of Governors, a trustee for a Multi-Academy Trust and serves as a Laurel Trust trustee, a national charity supporting research and innovation by schools serving areas of multiple disadvantages. She is the Independent Person for her local council, and a Samaritans volunteer. 

Maggie has always been dedicated to raising hopes and horizons for all children and young people and their families and to removing the barriers that create disadvantage. She began her career as a teacher of English in Newport, South Wales and has worked in six authorities including shire counties and challenging London boroughs. Maggie has advisory, headship and Ofsted experience and a long and successful career in consultancy in which she worked with a range of clients including schools, academies, local authorities and dioceses. She spent several positive years in a Leadership Centre where she worked on programmes which included National Qualification for Headship, Executive Headship, coaching and mentoring. During this time Maggie was Director of the National College’s Regional Centre in the South-East.

Previously she was Principal Consultant for Leadership and Management is Surrey Local Authority. Whilst in Surrey she supported six secondary schools and several specialist schools including those for children with severe and multiple and profound difficulties and those for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. As an Ofsted inspector she worked in the secondary sector but also inspected special schools including those with residential accommodation. She has a special interest in research and innovation.

Later in her career Maggie worked for the Department for Education as an Adviser. In this role she worked with teaching schools across Hampshire and East Sussex. One of her happiest and most innovative roles was as Consultant Director of the Laurel Trust, a grant-giving charity that supports collaborations of schools in areas of economic, social and educational disadvantage throughout England. On behalf of the Trustees, she led the research and innovation work with schools. Invariably the research led to new approaches and improved practice. Examples of the research include a study of different approaches to autism in London schools, an award- winning project in Somerset which looked at increasing the access and number of young people with SEND in paid internships and employment; and work in Greater Manchester with a group specialist of schools and settings dedicated to children with autism which questioned conventional approaches to behaviour management and advocated a relational inclusion approach.

Maggie is essentially optimistic and tries to find creative solutions that are focused and fit for purpose. She is a great believer in the power of teamwork and in valuing everyone’s contributions. She is proud to be supporting and serving the St John’s community as a governor.

 I am a mum of three and I live along the coast in Worthing but originally from Kent – so not far! I love cooking, walking my dogs, travel, art, interior design, films, and being a mum.

I have worked at St John’s College for over three years. I started as an LSW, became a tutor after six months, and began my new role as the Operations Coordinator and Placement Review Assistant in September 2024. Prior to this, I worked for a year in a SEN primary, ran my own childcare business for 15 years, and briefly became an emergency foster carer for two siblings.  Having a career that is rewarding and valuable within our society is vital to me, something more than just a ‘job’.  St. John’s has given this to me. I entered teacher training with an intention to focus on SEN at the end of it so being at the college has fulfilled my dream. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities I have been given and the chance to push myself to my full potential. I also get to work with an incredible bunch of colleagues every day; I learn so much from them and also from our amazing cohort. It’s a privilege to support our learners, to witness their resilience and determination every day, to share this small window of their lives, and do our best to help them reach their full potential.  

I am delighted at this opportunity I have been given; to support the staff and learners and have the chance to make a positive difference. I am honoured to have been voted in and I look forward to making positive contributions.