Meet the Team

Head Teacher
Sara Ferguson
Telephone: 01299 250258
"I am proud and privileged to be the Headteacher at New Elizabethan School. I have been part of the school community since 2017 and have seen the school community grow during that time. I have spent much of my teaching career working with young people who are facing significant challenges and It is a joy to see the students at New Elizabethan make immense progress both academically, socially and emotionally.
We see it as our responsibility to promote the skills of our students, to broaden their interests and to develop their personal qualities. To do this we aim to foster confidence, perseverance, tolerance and integrity; to enhance communication skills; to encourage teamwork; and to promote an open-minded and outward-looking mentality so that all students are ready to make a really positive contribution to their wider community once they are ready to move out into the wider world."

Deputy Head (Head of Education)
Martin Roadknight
Telephone: 01299 250258
"I Joined CNES as Deputy Head (Head of Education) in September 2018. I have enjoyed a twenty year career in teaching to this point and have specialised in behaviour and pastoral care for the last ten years. My career has included roles in SLT at mainstream schools with responsibilities for areas such as safeguarding, attendance, behaviour, inclusion, SEN and enrichment. Within my previous role I worked closely with the schools mainstream autistic base and this involvement led to my interest in developing the life chances for pupils facing barriers to learning.
In addition to my work in my previous schools I have worked with local authorities supporting on Special Educational Needs panels and behaviour and attendance panels. I also sit on the management board of a Pupil Referral Unit for pupils with a medical need in Sandwell. I believe that all students have the opportunity to succeed at a level appropriate to them and we at CNES are in a fantastic position to develop the whole young person and give them the tools to do this."

Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
Sarah Starbuck
Telephone: 01299 250258
“Hello, my job as the Speech and Language Therapist in school is to assess the students to give a profile of their speech, language and social communication needs. The students then have targets that are worked towards as a whole school approach. Every day is varied from running group interventions, 1:1 sessions, staff training, classroom support and observation to general advice and strategies. The main goal is to be an integrated member of the team that is able to up skill others to offer an inclusive communication environment for our students, enabling them to access the school day, curriculum and social situations to the best of their ability”.
Registered Mental Health Nurse
Annalise Marcarelli
"I’m Annalise and I am a Registered Mental Health Nurse, My role within CNES as a mental health practitioner is to support all of our young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. I provide this support in a number of different ways, this can be on a 1:1 basis, group sessions or on a crisis intervention basis. I am available to facilitate staff training and provide support and advice for both the staff and students when needed. My role may include providing a link between CAMHS services and CNES dependant on the young person’s needs."

Thrive Practitioner
Emma Woodman
"Hi I’m Emma Thrive Practitioner at New Elizabethan. We use the Thrive approach within school to support our students with their emotional and social development through 1-1 and group sessions exploring play, joy, creativity and the arts. Thrive is a whole school approach which aims to help our students to become more emotionally resilient so that they are better equipped to deal with life’s ups and downs. THRIVE works alongside our wonderful education, therapeutic and pastoral department’s to enhance our students’ overall school experience and support them in life and learning."
Yoga and Massage Therapist
Ioanna Georgantidou
Hi I’m Ioanna and I am the yoga and massage therapist here at CNES. My role is to provide our students with Yoga Therapy on a 1:1 basis or in small groups, sessions are integrated into the school day. Through Yoga, breathing techniques and relaxation I help the students to improve their motor planning and control, along with their self-awareness, wellbeing and emotional balance. The students have targets to achieve during the year and I also can provide them with audio relaxation and stress relief techniques.
As a school we support each child, using different approaches depending on their difficulties.
I’m also a qualified massage therapist for people with special needs. I offer the children therapeutic massage through the means of traditional Indian head massage to nurture them on an emotional, mental and physical level. Having these session helps them to release the ‘fab four hormones’ into the body: oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine and endorphin.
Governance Board
Termly Governance Board meetings are held at New Elizabethan School to ensure that the management of the school is closely scrutinised and held to account in all areas of responsibility.
The agenda comprises of:
✓ Voice of the Child - student feedback
✓ Head Teachers Highlight Report outlining achievements and challenges and progress against school improvement report
✓ Outcomes for Children and Young People - Care
✓ Outcomes for Children and Young People - Education
✓ Outcomes for Children and Young People - Therapy
✓ Commercial Performance
✓ Staffing and Personnel
✓ Estates Report
✓ IT report
The Governance Board contain key individuals from outside and within the school who attend this meeting each term and parental and staff feedback is always welcomed.