Ryan Campbell - Chief Executive Officer at Prior's Court Expand Ryan Campbell CBE joined Prior's Court as our Chief Executive Officer in July 2023. Ryan has been a leader in the charity sector for over 18 years, most recently before joining Prior's Court as the CEO of Hampshire-based Treloar’s, a provider of education for physically disabled people with complex needs. Ryan has also been the CEO of Demelza Hospice Care for Children, which offers palliative care for children and young people; as well as CEO of an organisation providing clinical, mental health and substance misuse services to young people and adults. In 2018, Ryan was awarded a CBE for services to mental health provisions.
Catherine Tissot - Professor of Education and Special Needs at the University of Reading Expand Catherine Tissot is a Professor in Special Educational Needs at the Institute of Education, University of Reading. Her recent research and support for doctoral students has focused on autism, sexual identity and educating trainee teachers about disabilities and mainstream practice.
Fiona Knott - Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the Centre for Autism - University of Reading Expand Fiona is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Reading. Her research interests have three main strands: development and treatment of anxiety problems in autistic children, employability and autism, and attitudes to autism.
Ruth Over - Autism Practice and Development Lead at Prior's Court and Advanced TEACCH Consultant Expand Ruth has a Masters in Autism and has worked in the field of autism for more than 20 years. Ruth has worked in a range of roles during her career at Prior's Court, including leadership positions, in both residential and education departments. Ruth has a particular interest in the set-up and implementation of new projects to support autistic people and has been instrumental in the setup of our 16-19 department, Young Adult Provision and vocational learning opportunities including our industry-standard bakery and orchard. Ruth continues to train others in her capacity as an Advanced Consultant TEACCH trainer.
Sue Piper - Director of Young People's Learning at Prior's Court Expand As part of the various areas Sue has studied, there has always been a requirement to research an area and demonstrate that the results have an impact. Currently Sue is most interested in all the areas that directly impact autistic young people with severe learning disabilities and complex needs. With her background in TEACCH Sue is always keen to look at what young people learn and how they learn best. Sue is a member of the PLASN-R research board which provides her with another link to similar schools and University College London and enables her to stay up to date with current research areas.
Lucinda Borer - parent of a young person at Prior's Court and Research Board parent representative Expand Lucinda is an AutSPACEs collaborator, who has given valuable insights to the project since its inception. She has been an important advocate for diverse inclusion and fair remuneration for participatory scientists. Lucinda, who has presented with the Alan Turing Institute at CogEx, is the mother of an autistic young person with complex needs and learning disabilities who lives at Prior's Court within the Young Adult Provision. She aims to promote acceptance and awareness of individuals, families, and caregivers affected by complex forms of autism and associated needs by giving a voice to their realities. Lastly, Lucinda cites this recent quote from father, director, writer and teacher, Stephen Unwin: “In our championing of the many splendid things that so many learning disabled and / or neurodivergent people can do, we must be careful not to marginalise or forget those who can do less.”
Meagan Parker - Prior's Court PBS Learning Specialist and Research Board staff representative Expand Meagan has an undergraduate degree in teaching and a Masters degree in Psychology. Meagan has worked in the field of Positive Behaviour Support for the past eight years, supporting autistic children and adults with learning disabilities and/or mental health diagnoses to learn new skills. Meagan has also been heavily involved in training staff for six years, with a particular focus on physical intervention training and reducing restrictive practices.
Pari Jevant - Prior's Court Team Manager and Research Board staff representative Expand Pari Jevant is a Team Manager at Prior's Court, in a residential home for six young people. She has experience working in departments inclusive of Learning, Wellbeing, Positive Behaviour Support, and Admissions and Transitions after completing the Prior's Court Graduate Programme in 2022. Since joining Prior's Court, Pari has continued to explore what interested her during her BA in Sociology by completing an Added Value Project that focussed on helping a young person identify and associate body parts to a storybook she created in order to communicate pain.