Senior Leadership
Meet the senior leadership team at Community Ed Academy. The Senior Leadership Team, or SLT, plays a pivotal role in the overall operations of a school as well as shaping and leading our schools values and ethos. The senior leaders are instrumental in making strategic decisions, formulating policies, managing school operations, and guiding staff towards achieving school objectives. At Community Ed Academy the SLT are also Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL). A DSL is a person appointed to make sure that school adhere to their statutory safeguarding policies and duties. They take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection within the school as well as supporting staff members to carry out their safeguarding duties.
Sally Alden
Head Teacher (SENCO) & Safeguarding Lead
Sally has over 28 years of experience of working with vulnerable children that struggle within mainstream education. She is a qualified SENCO and DSL and has been leading special education for the past 21 years, specialising in challenging behaviour, ASD and SEND. For the past 10 years, Sally has been a Head Teacher, and more recently an Executive Head teacher of two Independent Schools. Sally has a positive reputation across Norfolk and Suffolk for providing sustainable education for SEND students and is known for writing and developing curriculums that meet individual needs, alongside addressing social and emotional barriers. After completing her Social Science degree, she achieved qualified teacher states and went on to complete a Master’s in Education and Leadership, specialising in SEND. Sally is passionate about promoting progression and person-centred learning and believes this is achieved through building positive relationships and parent engagement. Sally is currently studying towards an NPQEL and apprenticeship in executive leadership.
Fayrouze Tousis
Interim Deputy Head Teacher
Hi, my name is Fay, and I am the Interim Deputy Headteacher at Community-Ed Academy. I have many years of experience working with young people with additional SEMH needs and firmly believe that supporting students to learn in a way that works for them is the key to unlocking their future potential.
Within the school I am the subject lead for RSHE and PSHE and enjoy working with students to develop their ability to build and maintain healthy relationships, develop their life skills and knowledge of the world around us, and build on their social and emotional skills in line with our school values.
I am currently studying a Master's in Psychology with a special interest in Developmental Psychology; I love figuring out new ways to apply my learning to my work here at Community-Ed Academy. Alongside this I am studying an NPQ in Senior Leadership and hope that the new skills I learn will help me bring out the best in our staff team to enhance the support we give our young people.
David
School Therapist
Deputy Safeguarding Lead
Hi I am David
I work at Community-Ed Academy. This specialist SEMH school works with young people aged 11 to 16 and their families. We specifically look to support the students regarding their social and emotional well-being through different means. We believe it is essential for young people to have passion in their lives, and we try our best to develop and support this through activities and 1:1 support. We also aim to help parents and their wider families as we believe a systemic approach to our student’s engagement is the best way to get the most from them.
I am also the school therapist and have multiple clients within the school. This can be the students, staff, or family members. I am qualified as an integrative therapist and draw on different theories and ideas to support my clients. Until recently, I was a specialist bereavement therapist, volunteering at the James Paget Hospital, working with complicated grief and loss. The service has recently closed due to funding, but it was a role I enjoyed very much, and I was lucky enough to be able to offer my services there for around six years.
I am a firm believer in family support and that the best way to support a student in a school can sometimes be to support the parents. I enjoy attending home visits and speaking with families face-to-face to see how I can best help them.
I am currently studying for a Master’s in Time-limited Psychodynamic Approach and CBT. I have completed my first year, and I am now working on learning more about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in my final year. I hope to integrate this into my therapeutic offer, and I am excited to see how this can support my clients better. I recognise the importance of academia but know that this learning style is not for everyone, and I am keen to help young people to learn in a way that better supports them.
Governors oversee the management of a school, including strategy, policy, budgeting, and staffing, supporting effective operation alongside senior leaders and teachers.
At Community Ed Academy, we're fortunate to boast a diverse staff team. From highly qualified teachers and Teaching Assistants to non-teaching staff, all doing their part.