The Educational Support Unit Staff

Damaris Lee  BA (Hons) (Sussex), F.A.E.T. Cert (RSA), PG Dip SpLD Kingston, SpLD APC
SENCO

Damaris joined the department in September 2008 as Assistant Head of the Educational Support Unit. She graduated from Sussex University with a degree in English and then worked in the book trade and in business. After moving to Somerset, she trained to teach in Further Education and lectured in English at Yeovil College. She then completed a Post Graduate diploma as a specialist teacher of dyslexics with the Dyslexia Institute and has taught part-time at Leweston School near Sherborne, and Sexey’s School in Bruton, where she was also the Literacy Advisor. 

Jenny Blakemore MA (Brunel), BA (Hons) (Brunel) PGCE (Surrey) RSACert SpLD
English

Jenny graduated from Brunel University with a Joint Honours degree in English and American Studies. She then completed a Secondary PGCE in English and Drama. After initially teaching English, she became a Special Needs teacher and subsequently studied for a specialist qualification in dyslexia and completed an MA in Special Educational Needs. She has taught in a variety of schools in the London area and has been a teacher at Port Regis since 2005.

Rosemary Buck BA, PGCE, PG Dip Literacy and Dyslexia, AMBDA, APC SpLD
Assistant Educational Support Unit Co-ordinator
Rosemary graduated from Bristol University with a degree in Religion with Literature. She trained as a Secondary RE and English Teacher. She trained as a Specialist Teacher at Dyslexia Action, teaching at Port Regis and becoming Assistant Head of the Department. She moved to St Mary’s School in Shaftesbury in 2008 as Head of Learning Support before returning to Port Regis in September 2011 to assist with departmental coordination.

Brigid Budd B Ed & Cert Ed (London) RSA Dip (Helen Arkell)
English
After graduating, Brigid taught English in both State and Independent Secondary Schools. Before embarking on the specialist Dyslexia training she moved to primary education as a class teacher and subsequently as a Special Needs teacher. As an army wife she worked in the Watford Dyslexia Centre assessing and teaching both children and adults. She has worked at Port Regis for the past fourteen years.

Jill Forrest BA (Hons) Huddersfield, PGCE (Derby), PG Dip Literacy and Dyslexia (York) AMBDA
English
After graduating, Jill worked initially in advertising before training to be a teacher.  She taught in primary schools and after taking a break to raise her children she completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Dyslexia and Literacy with Dyslexia Action.  She has been a member of the ESU department at Port Regis since 2008.

Sara Jonas BA (Durham), PGCE (Camb), PG Dip Literacy and Dyslexia (York), SpLD APC
Assistant Educational Support Unit Co-ordinator
English and Mathematics
Sara has worked at Port Regis for the last fourteen years in a variety of roles since her husband, Mick, was appointed Academic Deputy. She has a BA from Durham University and took her PGCE at Cambridge. Eight years ago she embarked on a two year Post Graduate Diploma in Literacy and Dyslexia at Bath. She now teaches Literacy and Mathematics in the Educational Support Unit.  She also acts as Assistant Educational Support Unit Co-ordinator.

Penny Masters Cert Ed (Greenwich), PG Dip SpLD (OCR), SpLD APC
English and Mathematics
Penny has experience of teaching and assessing students with Specific Learning Difficulties across the age range including Further and Higher Education. She also carried out a Research Project into Dyslexia and Work Based Learning which was funded by the Learning and Skills Council and findings were implemented. She has worked at Port Regis since 2007. She is a member of the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (PATOSS) and actively involved in the local group.

Libby Smith BA (Hons) (Leicester), PG Dip Speech and Language (London), OCR Cert SpLD
Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Libby graduated from Leicester University with an honours degree in Geography and then completed a 2 year Post Graduate Diploma in Speech and Language Therapy at City University, London.  She has worked as a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist for 10 years in mainstream school (5 years as Head of Specialist Services) and 5 years in a specialist team working in children and adolescent mental health services.  Libby has gained additional teaching qualifications in autism (Birmingham University) and dyslexia (OCR Certificate in SpLD).  Libby has also worked in the private sector in a team diagnosing children’s developmental disorders.