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chickenshed theatre company

London

We've been making pioneering, beautiful and inclusive theatre for over 40 years. And we're just getting started... Chickenshed is an inclusive theatre company that first began in 1974. Primarily based at our own purpose-built venue in North London, we create theatre for all ages and run successful outreach projects, education courses and membership programmes throughout the year. We are also a registered charity and rely heavily on the generous support of individuals, companies, trusts and foundations in order to continue our pioneering work. Performance Entertaining and thought-provoking Performance is at the heart of everything that we do, and brings together all aspects of the company. Our work uses the stage to celebrate diversity and performance as a vehicle to communicate with audiences and tackle topical social issues. We regularly present original and entertaining productions for young children, families and adults. We also create new work, inspired by the people around us, about personal and social issues that affect society today which we then take on tour to theatres, community centres and schools across the UK. You can visit our What's On section, to see our upcoming shows and events. Education Because everyone has a right Chickenshed changes lives by bringing young people from all social and economic backgrounds, cultures and abilities together to study creatively alongside each other, many of whom have been marginalised by society and excluded from mainstream educational settings. We welcome over 200 students onto our Level 3, Foundation Degree and BA courses every year. 66% of students would not otherwise have the opportunity to study, yet 95% of these same students achieve a nationally recognised qualification at Chickenshed. Participation Celebrating diversity We believe that every person who joins our company positively changes the way that we work. We work to every individual's strengths, finding the creative environment that will enable them to flourish. We hold weekly workshops for over 900 children and young people - providing them with a safe and rewarding environment where they can gain a new-found confidence and have the chance to regularly perform in major in-house productions. Outreach Targeting those who are difficult to reach Chickenshed has established a network of partners that enables us to effectively target children and young people who would otherwise not be able to access our work. We regularly take our inclusive outreach model on the road, delivering over 15 projects and benefiting over 15,000 young people every year in venues ranging from primary schools and young offender centres, to mainstream and special schools. Our work engages and educates young people about relevant social issues through the power of performance and active participation in workshops. ‘You must do the show in my primary school because that is when everything bad starts.' 13-year-old boy from a school in London. We also run Shedlink - an ongoing project that enables us to help community groups set up independent 'Sheds' around the UK (and two in Russia!) so that more people can benefit from our ethos and teaching style. Chickenshed Kensington & Chelsea Expanding our work to meet growing need In 2011, we launched our branch in Kensington & Chelsea to bring our work to an area of London polarised between rich and poor. This will ensure even more children and young people can experience the importance of being included and valued; not segregated or rejected. 50% of children in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea attend independent schools, yet 42% of children in the Borough are from low income families. Young Creators Vocational training programme Young Creators is a professional development programme which launched in 2013, providing young people with access to training and practical work experience in a variety of theatre skills. The programme provides a platform which teaches young people creative skills and arms them with the necessary tools to further their professional development. Each year, up to 165 Young Creators can benefit from the programme

the masters music services

London

We are a London-based premier specialist music school, offering a comprehensive music education for all ages and levels of proficiency. Being world- class performers ourselves we want to share the stage experience with our students and bring it into the teaching environment. Why us? We believe that whether you are 9 or 99, an amateur or professional, playing for fun or to develop your musical career, when you decide to learn playing an instrument you deserve a professional musician to take care of you. Therefore, we only offer tuition from active and dynamic performers with an extensive performance experience and Degrees in instrumental performance from renowned world’s top class conservatories. We don’t want you to waste your time with amateurs. Why would you? Director's vision The Masters Music School is run by Przemek Dembski – a multi-award winning concert pianist and teacher and a graduate with distinction from the Royal College of Music in London. Przemek’s performances have taken him to many venues across the UK and Europe including Royal Albert Hall, Steinway Hall, St.Martin in the Fields, St. James’ Picaddily to name just a few. Przemek teaches the piano for Masters Music School as well as ensures the top-quality level of tuition offered. This includes a careful recrutation process, teaching syllabus and requirements guidance as well as a personalised professional support offered to all TMMS students. Please click here to visit Przemek’s personal website Please click here to visit Przemek’s teaching profile on TMMS website Effective learning and practising techniques Being a professional means being efficient. It is commonly considered that it takes ages to learn playing an instrument. The Masters Music School is here to help. We believe that by sharing our methods of practising and learning (and this is what we do every day) we will enable you to progress faster than you could even imagine! It’s not only about how much we practise, but it’s also about HOW we practise. Want to know our tips, tricks and techniques? Learning and performance psychology Our tutors have received advanced teacher training covering aspects of psychology, methodology and how to manage performance anxiety. This makes them able to take a problem-solving approach in lessons and makes the teaching/learning process effective and gratifying. There’s certainly nothing more motivating for the student than progressing quickly. There’s also nothing more motivating for us than seeing you gaining the confidence and developing your skills and potential! Technique as a key to sucess Understanding the energy transformations and physical processes that occur to one’s body while performing is a key-point in teaching the instrumental technique. No matter if our students play for pleasure or if they want to achieve some professional goals, they need to be given tools which will enable them to fully express their personality and create their own interpretation. As learning the technique is similar to learning the language (learning HOW TO SPEAK), our method puts a strong emphasis on preparing some tools that let the music exist- the quality of sound and technique are strongly prioritised from the first lesson. Innovative and flexible lesson content Fed up with studios offering standard and boring lesson content? No problem. We tailor our lessons for your needs in terms of repertoire and approach, whether you want to perform for yourself, for your friends, at a party or in the concert hall. As well as offering classical tuition (including preparing for graded exams), we enjoy teaching a range of styles and approaches to performance. Want to improvise? Want to play your favourite song by ear? Want to compose your own piece? Just let us know. The crazier the ideas that you have the more fun we will have during the lesson!

the diaspora community projects (diaspora)

London

We are pleased to announce that ,The Diaspora Community Projects (Diaspora) is now approved by VTCT Awarding body to deliver Beauty courses. Also proudly announce that we are also approved for Barista Training and Hospitality and Catering Diploma Courses We a BME led community organisation that has been at the forefront of the economic development, training and career advancement of people from local communities with particular focus on employment support for the marginalised communities. Aim to benefit adults and children and their families every year, through live welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment, aim to driven in over many remote villages and slums across the world. Education is both the means as well as the end to a better life: the means because it empowers an individual to earn his/her livelihood and the end because it increases one's awareness on a range of issues – from healthcare to appropriate social behaviour to understanding one's rights – and in the process help him/her evolve as a better citizen. We are accredited training providers for a number of job-related skills training programmes including NVQs and apprenticeships. They include Health and Social Care, Business & Administration, Security (SIA) As part of our employment support scheme, we work in partnership with various national and local organisations to offer training and employment opportunities to the local community. This service comes with our bespoke quality one-2-one career advice and support to give the long-term unemployed an opportunity to kick-start their career. Currently, we have on offer a number of training and employment support courses which include Free NVQ levels 2&3 in Health and Social care, Business & Administration, Leadership & Management and Customer Service. On employment opportunities, we are now delivering Security, Cleaning and Health Care recruitment services. Through our very successful training programmes which include work placements, we can guarantee highly trained and motivated staff in cleaning, healthcare Assistants/Support Workers and Security Officers under our new win-win work programme. Under this programme, established businesses get our highly trained and vetted staff from ourselves to work for them. with minimal cost for the labour as well as offering an opportunity to improve living standards of local people. In addition, working with us helps your businesses in contributing to highly valued social responsibility strategies embraced by most national and international organisations. Since 2005, DCP has developed itself as a social enterprise ie engaging in trading activities to support most of its community work. Working as a social enterprise DCP has managed to win confidence within the public and private sector alike and with this we have seen sales increase steadily in the past few years despite the economic down turn that has made many charitable organisations and businesses close. Because of our unique market target as well as our excellence in quality service, many private and public organisations have been able to work with us as we provide a vital link to working with the most vulnerable and marginalised members of the society. At DCP we have our fingers on the pulse of our communities, ready to help transform how they learn, how they find jobs and how they do them, how they access public services and how they develop creativity to make the most of time and effectively contribute to the economy in the UK an abroad. We also specialise in offering a wide range of development and support services to individuals (employed and unemployed) and businesses, (consultancy) both in the private and voluntary sectors. Due to the nature of our business, we work with a team of highly skilled and experienced people –paid and on voluntary basis to provide the best service you can expect in the third sector. We have a clear commitment to diversity and experience achieving a balanced social mix for the youth and adults and partnership with key stakeholders like the Department of Work & Pension (DWP) , Job centre Plus, local colleges and schools. When it comes to recruiting quality staff and trainees, our success is partly due to our approach to embedding IAG and skills development throughout our programmes combined with 1-2-1 personal support and continuing counselling, mentoring, coaching and inspiration. Together with our associated partners in the UK, DCP is continually testing and pioneering new ideas in different development spheres such as training/assessment, regeneratio

wine education service limited

Middlesex

What makes our wine tastings, wine courses and wine tasting events special? Over 10,000 Satisfied Customers Great Tutors An Unparalleled Range of Courses Small Classes Flexible Booking Impartial Advice Satisfied Customers We have been running wine tastings and wine tasting courses in London for over 25 years, in Manchester for over 15 in Aberdeen and Birmingham for over 10 and in Belfast for 4. Over this time, we have created a following of over 10,000 satisfied customers. And today, over 60% of new customers book for our wine tastings and wine tasting courses on the personal recommendation of a friend or colleague. Great Tutors Our tutors are at the top of their profession. All are qualified to WSET Diploma level and are members of the UK Association of Wine Educators, the professional body for those who make their living in whole or in part from teaching about wine. Many are also members of the elite Circle of Wine Writers. All travel widely to keep their wine knowledge up to date. Skilled communicators, they know how to make wine tasting and learning about wine fun. An Unparalleled Range of Courses We were the first in the UK to offer a comprehensive range of wine tastings, wine tasting courses and wine tasting events designed primarily to appeal to wine consumers rather than aspiring members of the wine trade. In addition to weekly wine tastings in London, we organise over 30 introductory wine tasting courses a year in London and other UK cities, over 20 intermediate and advanced wine tasting courses and, for those with hectic weekday schedules, wine tasting workshops on Saturdays, when lunch is an integral part of the day. Although wine consumers still make up the majority of our customers, our London wine tastings and intermediate and advanced wine courses are growing in appeal to people studying for their wine trade qualifications, especially WSET Diploma and the prestigious, but for many, elusive Master of Wine qualification. Small Classes We know of some wine course providers who pack 30 people or more into a class. We think that’s way too many. In a class of that size, learning is more difficult, participation is inhibited and you never get to know the other people in the room. We limit bookings for our introductory, intermediate and advanced wine tasting courses and our Saturday wine tasting workshops to 16 people – much more sociable, much more fun. Flexible Booking Many people who sign up for our wine tasting courses on weekday evenings lead busy lives, working under pressure and travelling on business, often at short notice. We understand the problem. If you have to miss a course session, you may either send a substitute or pick up that session on a subsequent course. Just let us know and we will make the arrangements. We make no charge for this and set no time limit! Impartial Advice Many wine tastings and wine tasting courses are run by wine merchants. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a great way to get potential customers into their stores and promote sales of their wines. We are not wine merchants. We don’t sell wine. We are not paid by any wine merchant to promote their wines. So, at our wine tastings and on our wine courses, you will never come under any pressure to buy wine. The wines we select for you to taste are intended to illustrate the main points of the wine course session or the theme of the wine tasting. We hope you will enjoy most of the wines we give you to taste but don’t necessarily expect you to enjoy them all. Your course tutor will help you to understand what makes a wine enjoyable. But he or she will also tell you if a wine is too young, too old, too acidic, too alcoholic or just plain faulty. Just imagine a wine merchant doing that! Wherever possible, we buy the wines we give you to taste from local retail outlets. We will tell you where we bought them and how much we paid. So, if you like a particular wine, you can shop for more with confidence and without difficulty.

brighter futures @ safer places

Essex

Safer Places (formerly known as Harlow Women’s Aid) has over 40 years’ experience in delivering holistic support services to adult and child survivors of Domestic Abuse across Essex and Hertfordshire. Over the years we have grown and adapted our services to meet the needs of the communities we serve. Domestic abuse has both a devastating and radiating impact and affects the survivor and their families, friends, colleagues and communities. Our team take a non-judgemental and respectful approach to their work and we will do all that we can to ensure that everyone who needs our services can use them, how they want to, when they want to, and where they want to. Domestic abuse does not discriminate and happens in every community. We are proud to work inclusively with anyone who has experienced abuse and our services are designed to reach everyone impacted by abuse. To do this we offer a range of services and work collaboratively with our partners in a range of venues. The support that we offer is holistic, trauma informed and individually tailored to each survivor as we know that although there are common behavioural patterns, not one experience is the same as any other and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. We know that survivor’s needs are better met when they are involved in creating solutions as equals so our support is co-produced alongside survivors. Our highly qualified staffs are there to empower survivors, giving them the knowledge and confidence to choose the steps on their journey to recovery. Many go on to achieve things they once thought of as impossible. The foundations of our organisation were built by survivors – as were the foundations of one of our refuges. A former project saw a number of survivors qualify as carpenters, bricklayers, painters, plasterers and amenity horticulturalists. The refuge now accommodates 10 families in separate self-contained flats built solely by survivors, for survivors. We recognise that if we are to see our vision materialise and help to create a world where everyone lives a life free from fear and abuse, we need to respond to abuse together, as one. Our training helps professionals and members of the community to recognise the signs of domestic abuse, understand the issues and respond quickly and effectively when a survivor chooses to access support. From short awareness sessions to full IDVA and ISAC qualifications we are committed to sharing our experience and what works to make more families safer. Safer Places vision is a society where everyone lives a life free from fear and abuse Mission Safer Places exist to drive down the incidence and impact of domestic and sexual abuse and to support those who use our services in their journey to recovery, resilience and independence. Values These are the values we promise to uphold so we never loose sight of our mission: Client Led – We empower our clients to exercise choice and control of their support. We ensure client’s voices are heard and that they impact our decision making and shape our services Accessible – We work inclusively with our clients, partners and communities. Anyone who is at risk of experiencing abuse can access our services when, how and where they need them. Respectful – We adopt a trauma informed, holistic approach to support. We listen and believe, are non-judgemental and open and honest about what we can and cannot do. Effective – We deliver high quality services that work for our clients. Our practice is informed by our clients, research, evidence and learning from experts by experience.

as mentoring

Ealing Green,

Aeryn Priyanu , Employment Consultant Aeryn has always had an interest in language and communication. Starting her early career in teaching English as a foreign language, she went on to shadow a Speech and Language Therapist and this started her interest in working with people on the autism spectrum. She worked in primary schools as a Learning Support Assistant then moved on to work for the National Autistic Society in a day centre. Aeryn started off as a Support Worker, moving up to become Deputy Manager of the day service. She supported individuals in their daily life and helped them gain work experience and vocational skills. As well as working as a consultant with AS Mentoring, Aeryn works in a college for young people with autism, facilitating individuals with functional and social aspects of life, supporting students to meet their targets and maintain long life independent living skills. Photo of Alan Alan Castellaro, Employment Consultant Alan's interest in Autism began when he attended St Andrew's primary school in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, one of the first schools in the country to teach Autistic children one to one. In 2009 he volunteered on a project for Kith and Kids supporting a young man with Autism and they have remained in regular contact ever since. He then worked for 4 years with Dimensions as an Assistant Service Manager of a residential home for adults with severe physical disabilities and Autism. For the last 4 years he has worked for Ambitious About Autism starting off as a Learning Behaviour Specialist and moving up to become a Learning Support Co-ordinator, and was instrumental in helping set up Ambitious College, London's first College for young adults with Autism. He has a BA Hons in Writing and Publishing and has a rich and varied employment history to draw upon. Photo of Alice Alice Mitra-Hall, Employment Consultant Alice previously worked for The National Autistic Society where she ran a Day Centre and facilitated a weekly social group. During this time Alice supported adults on the spectrum to develop their independent living and social skills, as well as supporting service users to apply for and attend college and work schemes, CV writing and interview practice. Alice has a BA Hons degree in Psychology and has also worked in a number of schools supporting teenagers with autism and has provided specialist individualised support for a family for over 10 years. Photo of Amira Amira Hassan, Employment Consultant Amira has been a mentor at AS Mentoring for 4 years. Amira has a variety of clients for both workplace and job-seeking support. After completing her PhD in Neuroscience from Imperial College London, Amira decided to be involved with AS Mentoring full time and is currently managing the Workshops Programme, overseeing the development and online delivery of workshops and group events throughout the year. Amira is warm and friendly, providing individual, autism-specific support and advice. Photo of Anna Anna Roads, Employment Consultant Anna spent 24 years in the investment management sector, working in sales, marketing, product development and client relationships for a number of blue chip firms including Lazards, Fidelity and Goldman Sachs. She developed successful business relationships with large corporates, consultancies and public sector organisations. In her leadership roles, she also enjoyed coaching and developing careers for younger team members. These are skills and contacts she brings to ASM clients. Over the past 6 years she has developed a number of voluntary roles; relaunched the local NAS branch as Chair (2011-2015), served on a local parents special needs forum (2012-2014), been elected a parent governor at a special needs school and worked as a volunteer mentor on a Research Autism Project. Her focus has been on education and now employment, both as a parent of a young person with ASC and through the influence of autistic colleagues she has served with before. Before joining the City, she gained a law degree from Cambridge University, an MBA from Cranfield Business School and qualified as a solicitor. Photo of Charlotte Charlotte Leighton, Employment Consultant Charlotte specialises in providing workplace support for individuals as well as working with organisations to provide autism specific support and advice. This experience has been honed through her work at ASM and her previous role as an Employment Support worker and trainer at The National Autistic Society. Charlotte has subsequently worked for HAIL in Haringey for two years managing social enterprises staffed entirely of employees with autism and learning disabilities. She has also worked as an Appropriate Adult supporting vulnerable individuals whilst in police custody. For the past ten years Charlotte has confidently designed and delivered social skills groups and workshops for adults with autism. As well as working for ASM she is also employed part-time for Resources for Autism in Barnet managing their adult services. Charlotte is able to support individuals emotionally as well practically as she holds certificates in Person Centered counselling and a diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. David Perkins, Director David was Head of Services at Prospects, the National Autistic Society's specialist employment service, from 2007 – 2013; he left in June 2013 to set up AS Mentoring. He has extensive experience of supporting people with an ASC into employment across the UK and abroad, and of providing a wide range of training, assessment and consultancy services to employers and other organisations in the UK, Europe and the US. He has worked continuously with people with autism since the early 1980s. David has spent the bulk of his working life in the voluntary sector and prior to the NAS spent many years running a group of specialist adventure playgrounds in London for over 1200 disabled children, (some 30% of whom were autistic). He has a BSc (Hons) in Operational Research from Lancaster University. Photo of Emma Emma Hills, Employment Consultant Emma has been teaching psychology and health related subjects to adults since 2009 with the majority of her work focusing on providing social purpose education in the community to hard-to-reach groups, including those with disabilities. Much of her work focuses on supporting learners through transition and has led her to develop herself as a coach as well as an educator. More recently she has found herself key-working with learners with disabilities in a transition college as well as training and supervising the staff who support them. Emma mentors and tutors a diverse range of learners including learners on the autism spectrum in her continuing work in the community. Emma works part-time as an Employment Consultant with ASM and finds her knowledge and experience gained from facilitating community courses such as 'confidence building', 'communication skills' or 'interviewing skills' compliments the role well. She has a BSc Hons Psychology, PG-dip Social research, PGCE in post-compulsory education and is a registered health and social care trainer as well as a full member of the Association for Coaching. Emma is also currently studying for an MA in Education: Culture and Identity, at Goldsmith university. Photo of Eve Eve Riches, Employment Consultant Eve Riches is an employment consultant for AS Mentoring, where she provides one to one support and workshop creation and delivery. Eve has a background in teaching Psychology and has been involved in mentoring for her whole career. She has a lifetime of lived experience of neurodiversity. Outside of ASM, Eve works as a life coach and mentor. Photo of Gurleen Gené Wyrley-Birch, Employment Consultant Gené is committed to raising awareness and understanding of ASC to improve social inclusion, acceptance and understanding; to making a real difference to the lives of people on the autism spectrum and in broader society. Over the past 12 years, while caring for and advocating for her son, Gené has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of autism as well as related challenges including ADHD, PDA, Social Communication Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. She has a creative, positive and flexible approach and is determined to combined her personal and professional experiences to help clients into work and successfully retain their jobs. Throughout her previous roles in both Investment Banking at JP Morgan and UBS Warburg and Commercial Conferencing, Gené had an active role in recruiting, training and mentoring new team members. Gené has worked across many sectors, including Finance, Pharmaceuticals, Defence, Utilities, Aviation and Telecommunication. Gené Holds a BA degree in Industrial & Organisational Sociology and Industrial & Organisational Psychology from the University of Cape Town. Photo of Gurleen Georgia Thursting, Employment Consultant Georgia has worked with autistic adults and children in a variety of settings including education, play and social settings for the past year. As a support worker with Resources for Autism, she continues to support her clients in achieving their personal and work goals and loves to get creative with her approach. Georgia also works for Share Community in Battersea as a music tutor/ therapist, building the confidence of adults through music and artistic expression. She also enjoys planning and delivering online workshops for adults with Autism, focusing on well-being, physical health and emotional expression through music making. Outside of her work in Autism, is a trained musician, singer/ guitarist and enjoys performing at events across the UK. Photo of Gurleen Gurleen Manku, Regional Employment Consultant Gurleen has 18 years' experience of autism. She has a sibling on the spectrum, and has previously worked in primary education for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), and has been a SEN Secondary School Govenor. In 2015 Gurleen volunteered at Autism West Midlands to support adults with autism to find employment. She then worked for Enable, Shropshire Council as a Job Coach in various workplaces supporting adults with autism and learning disabilities. Gurleen is highly experienced in delivering Pre-employment support, mentoring and Workplace support at AS Mentoring across the West Midlands since 2015. Gurleen holds a BSc in Business Psychology and is a member of the British Psychological Society, within the Division of Occupational Psychology. She has also completed her Masters in Occupational Psychology. Photo of Gurleen Mahlia Amatina, Employment Consultant Diagnosed with autism as an adult, Mahlia has first-hand experience of the challenges that can arise from a range of workplace settings, but more importantly; how to overcome these. Outside of AS Mentoring, Mahlia works as a visual artist, where she raises awareness and understanding of neurodiversity through different art forms. With a special interest in autism and work, Mahlia is keen to combine lived workplace experience with her mentoring skills as an employment consultant to support clients. Photo of Helen Mark Blake, Employment Consultant Mark has a broad range of experience across social care with several client groups and in varied settings. Following an arts degree he spent a couple of years on voluntary projects with disabled adults living independently, and with homeless men in an emergency night shelter in central London with subsequent paid roles including community support work with disabled adults moving back into the community following long periods in residential hospitals. Mark has also spent time as a residential care worker in adolescent residential units. The last 30 years has seen a focus on Adults and Children with Disabilities in a both a Day Service and Residential Home setting. As a Manager of services in these fields Mark has increasingly focused his support to children and adults on the autistic spectrum and has become keenly aware of the challenges faced by them and their families in achieving independence and realizing their potential. It is this interest that has led to an involvement in a mentoring role with AS mentoring and employment. Photo of Helen Mike Leat, Employment Consultant Mike comes from a background in advocacy, design and communication. Through his own business he previously ran an Easy Read design service which employed people with a learning disability and autism. In 2015 he co-produced a DVD on Autism and Mental Health for the Autism Partnership Board in Surrey. Mike previously worked for The National Autistic Society Assist service providing one to one support/mentoring sessions, and facilitating social and support groups for autistic adults. After completing an undergraduate module in autism with The Open University, Mike went on to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Autism and Asperger syndrome. Mike also works with a project called ‘Autism by Experience’ which is a team of mostly autistic adults providing Understanding Autism training to staff in a variety of roles including health and social care. Photo of Laura Lauren Moore, Employment Consultant Lauren has a number of years experience of supporting people with autism as well as additional needs. Her main influence for working with people on the spectrum is her younger sibling who was diagnosed with autism at a young age. Over the past decade she has worked in a school specifically of young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, starting as a Teaching Assistant and then working as the Intervention Co-ordinator for the secondary department. Lauren also worked in a specialist autism college as a Learning and Behaviour Specialist, moving up to become a Learning Support Co-ordinator. She studied History at undergraduate level and has more recently graduated with a Masters in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in July 2018. Photo of Rachel Rachel Pearson, Senior Regional Employment Consultant Following a successful 13-year career in the City Rachel moved into HR and Business Consultancy specialising in organisation restructuring projects involving (often large scale) job review, recruitment and redundancy programmes. She has extensive experience of working with SME employers and large organisations in the public and private sectors around all aspects of the employment relationship. Rachel previously volunteered with the National Autistic Society's Prospects Team and she now works as an employment consultant specialising in supporting people with an ASC to find and retain work. She also works with the NAS's Employment Training and Adult Services Teams supporting students and employees, and providing advice and guidance to employers. With a close family member on the autistic spectrum, Rachel also volunteers with her local NAS branch in Surrey. She holds an MSc in Human Resource Management and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Photo of Siobhan Siobhan Pauley, Employment Consultant Siobhan has first-hand experience of supporting someone with Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD as her son has moved through various life transitions, experiencing the hurdles faced by people on the autistic spectrum. She spent 30 years working within Human Resources of a large financial institution attaining her MCIPD status, where she became the company’s Reasonable Adjustment Officer. It was her responsibility to ensure that employees with disabilities were able to receive the right workplace accommodations to enable them to access various roles in the company. This has given her considerable insight to enable her to support our clients. Following a career move, Siobhan is setting up AS Mentoring services in and around Poole, Dorset- as well as working part time to support an individual with profound learning difficulties within an independent living service.