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.

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.

I joined St. John's College in January 2026 and have really enjoyed getting to know the learners and staff.  I have over 20 years' experience in mainstream education and leadership roles and have found the move into specialist education incredibly rewarding.  I have always been committed to inclusivity in education to help all young people make the most of their opportunities.  I also really enjoy developing and delivering curriculums which helps learners fulfil their potential and make the best possible progress.

I enjoy seeing learners develop knowledge, skills and confidence with the opportunities and support available at St. John's.  The dedication and commitment of staff across the college is inspiring and is so important for preparing learners for their futures. 

I have worked at St. John’s College for over 25 years with my main roles being within the children and adult residential care services. I joined St. John’s College in 1998 as a care worker, and have since held various roles including team leader, care manager and behaviour lead. I am now the head of learner services, overseeing the residential provision and nursing team at St. John’s College. 

As well as providing consistently high-quality care and support for young people, one of my passions is to support young people who may display behaviours of distress, supporting teams to gain a greater understanding of these behaviours, their functions, and each young person as an individual and ensuring an improved quality of life for each young person who attends St. John’s College. 

I joined Ambitious about Autism in January 2024 following three years' experience as a Business Manager in education at maintained schools in Brighton, covering finance, HR, premises, estates, health and safety and IT. 

Previously, I was employed by American Express for 30 years in numerous roles, including project management, IT service delivery, incident, problem and change management and contracts management, working with large companies like DELL/ IBM. I worked across international locations, managing teams and individuals. 

I joined St. John’s College in August 2024 and have enjoyed getting to know learners and their families. I have been a special educational needs teacher for over 15 years and helping learners reach their full potential is my passion. I am a qualified SENDCo, Specialist Teacher and experienced leader of SEND provision covering many sectors including mainstream, specialist, primary, secondary, and adult provision.

Prior to this role, I have led SEND provision in a centre for learners with social communication needs, was SENDCo of a secondary school and was the learning support manager of a large online homeschool. I enjoy seeing learners thrive and encourage others to have high expectations for the learners we support. When I am not in college, I enjoy musical theatre, music gigs, and reading.  
 

I joined Ambitious about Autism in 2017 as a Specialist Learning and Behaviour Support at the North London Campus. From there, I progressed into a Job Coach role, where I supported the development of the first Supported Internship at Whittington Hospital. I later became a teacher at the Chessington World of Adventures Supported Internship before joining St John's College in 2026 as Assistant Principal of Vocational Learning.

Prior to joining Ambitious about Autism, I worked in residential settings supporting adults to develop independent living skills, access their local communities, and receive one-to-one support in specialist environments. I also have experience working across a range of specialist and mainstream school settings.

I am passionate about supporting young people to develop their independence and achieve meaningful paid employment. I believe in creating opportunities that enable learners to build confidence, develop transferable skills, and reach their individual goals. Outside of work, I enjoy watching documentaries and spending time gardening.

I joined St. John’s College in 2005 as a Learning Support Worker, and have since held various roles including Teacher, Vice Principal, and Head of Therapy. I am now the Head of Autism and Learning Support, overseeing autism practice across our college and residential services, and managing our Learning Support team in college. I am also the Ambitious Academy Learning and Development Lead for St. John's. I deliver a variety of autism training courses to help develop the skills and knowledge of our staff teams.

I gained a Master of Education in Special Education: Autism from the University of Birmingham. I am now studying for a PhD in Psychology at the University of Sussex, investigating the experiences of autistic learners who display extreme demand avoidant behaviours and exploring this in relation to self-determination and autonomy.