Dr Sue Soan

Dr Sue Soan is a Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University. Sue is also a PhD, Ed.D and MA supervisor.

Sue has worked on a number of DfE and DoH projects and has published regularly since 2003 on many aspects of additional educational needs and joint professional working at the local, national and international level. Sue's PhD Thesis (2013) is entitled 'An exploration through a small number of case studies of the education provision for Looked After Children who have experienced early life abuse or neglect'. She is an external examiner for universities, provides supervision for senior leaders in schools and also undertakes consultancy and validation work. Sue is also the facilitator of the research group ACT (Action for Collaborative Transformation) which is working to improve collaborative practice across the statutory professions.

Additionally Sue has been the Guest Editor for the journal JORSEN (2017) and is an Editorial Member of the new journal PRACTICE.

Prior to joining the university in 2003 Sue taught in nursery settings, primary and secondary mainstream and special schools for over 25 years, working as a classroom teacher, a subject coordinator (mathematics) and for over a decade as a Senior Leader, including Head of Secondary and special educational needs coordinator (SENCO).

Her areas of expertise and research interest are Looked After Children, motor and coordination development, autism, SENCO and able and talented education.

• 2017 - on-going I am a VIG (Video Interaction Guidance) guider (Stage 2)
• 2015 - on-going Offer Supervision to Senior Leaders in schools and other educational establishments
• 2006 – on-going Consultancy - AEN
• 2005 – on-going Education Advisor on Fostering Panels

Supervision

I am a PhD, Ed.D and MA thesis / dissertation supervisor. I am also an External Examiner for PhD theses.

Research projects

• Nursery School SLCN Project Evaluation (2016) - funded by KCC (Role: Evaluation Writer)
• Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) Pilot Study - 2015 -2016 - (Role: Evaluation Writer)
• International unfunded research exploring the perceptions of ITE students towards children and young people with autism. This research is being undertaken in England (CCCU), Finland (University of Eastern Finland) and Sweden. (2015 - 2016) (Role: Researcher)
• Children’s Commissioner’s Enquiry into School Exclusions (2011)-Research (Role: Team member).
• Further Education College Pilot Project research - Gifted and Talented (2007-2009) (Role: Director)
• TDA Research – developing resources with the Faculty of Health, Occupational Therapists in collaboration with KCC, schools, ITTs and the Primary Care Trust
  (PCTs) (2008-2009) (Role: Co-Project Manager).
• TDA Research – Writing Master Level Module guidelines for teachers in Special and Inclusive Education. (2006-7) (Role: Team member)
• Speech and Language Therapy Support for Children and Young People with SEN: A Scoping Study of Good practice in Service Delivery. Tender no: (EOR2004/231-4) (Role: Project Manager).
• Research and Development Award (SEN) No. 15 ‘Skills for Primary Schools – Movement and Coordination Resources’ (TDA Funding, 2008) (Role: Project Manager).
• EPPI Literature Review (2003) – Behaviour Management (Role: Researcher).

HEIF Funding Bids

January 2016 - £5100 to design and hold a cross faculty training day focusing on medical conditions. It is to be delivered by Education and Health Care academics to both education students and teachers / SENCOs from local educational establishments. It is hoped that this will inform the development of a cross faculty training product / short course.

January 2012 - to set up and develop an on - line information and support network for professionals working in schools and FE
colleges providing ideas and activities to 'challenge and stretch all learners.' The network was called 'ChaSE.'

Sue also supports several charities and is a Panel Member for 2 fostering agencies. She is a Trustee of nasen, the national association for special educational needs and is also the Deputy Chair of Governors for a local Academy sponsored by the University.

Since completing her PhD Sue has spoken at the following conferences:

• EECERA – Early Life Abuse and Teacher Knowledge, Tallinn, 2013
• ECER – Early Life Abuse and Education Provision, Istanbul, 2013
• DISES - Utilising domain-general mechanisms and predictors of learning for inclusive special needs education – BRAGA, 2014
• Early Intervention in Ireland – Where do we go from here? Key Note Speaker – Trinity College Dublin “Lessons Learned – from the introduction of universal strategies designed to support the motor and functional skills of reception and year 1 children in a small sample of mainstream primary schools in England”- Dublin, November 2014
• Conference Organiser, Panel member and Poster Award Decision maker – ‘Implementing implementation science’ – University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education, July 2014
• Key Note Speaker, SENCO Induction, The University of Northampton, October 2014
• Erasmus Funding to Finland – to lecturer and to forward progress of international research on autism – April 2015
• Conference for Church Leaders: Project Report ‘Delivering supervision to school senior leaders’, 08.07.2015
• BERA 2015 - Chair of Symposium and Presenter – ‘Lessons Learned.’ August 2015
• Key note speaker at Government Inclusion Conference, The Child Institute, The University of Ah-Najah, Nablus, Palestine, MA in Special Needs and Inclusion
• The first South African Inclusive Teacher Education Symposium - Multi – Professions Shared Practice Presentation - Johannesburg, September 2015
• Key Note Speaker, SENCO Induction, The University of Northampton, October 2015
• Key Note Speaker, SENCO Induction, The University of Northampton, October 2016
• ECER presentation on Autism in Dublin (August 2016)