Meet the Attendance and Welfare Team
LCT is committed to supporting our children and families across our community and have a specialist attendance and welfare team in place consisting of Education Welfare Officers, Education Mentors and Counsellors. The team is led by the highly experienced Mrs Nikki Morrison and is based at Hadley Learning Community but the team spend the majority of their time supporting children/ families and working very closely with school staff. We have developed this team as the Trust grows and to meet the needs of our families and children.
We would like to introduce you to everyone and let you know who to contact if we can help or support you.
Education Welfare Officers (EWO's)
Adrian Rawsthorne
Our Education Welfare Officers work with our schools, families and students to promote and support good school attendance and to help resolve any issues that may be impacting on attendance and welfare at school. We also liaise with the local authority regarding unauthorised holidays in term-time, persistent absence, child employment, elective home education and legal issues relating to school attendance. Please always try to contact your child’s school in the first instance, but if you feel that you need to speak to us, please contact school staff and ask them to pass your details to the relevant EWO. We will then get in touch with you.
Nikki Morrison
Nikki is the LCT Attendance & Welfare Team Leader and manager of the EWOs, counsellors and mentors. She supports all of our schools with a variety of attendance, safeguarding and welfare issues. Nikki is our Senior Education Welfare Officer.
Dan Santopietro
Dan is the EWO for our primary schools. Dan has a dual role and is also an Education Mentor.
Dawn Mitchell
Dawn is the EWO for our specialist schools, which are Queensway (North and South), Severndale Specialist Academy and Kickstart Academy.
Adrian Rawsthorne
Adrian is the EWO for our secondary schools.
Nikki also manages the Food Hub at HLC, which is part of our food support project. Our LCT colleague, Russell Garner, manages the Community Fridge at Wrekin View Primary and the Community Café. If you need to access food support but are unable to get to HLC or Wrekin View, please ask your child’s school to pass your contact details to Nikki or Russell. If we aren’t available, any of our team will be able to help you. Please just ask, we are here to help, and all requests can be kept confidential.
Education Mentors
Our Education Mentors work with our students whose attendance, behaviour or health issues are preventing them from reaching their full potential at school.
Wayne Denfhy and Dan Santopietro: Wayne and Dan mentor students across the LCT schools. School staff and LCT staff can make referrals for students who they feel need the support and advocacy that a mentor can provide.
Trust Counsellors
Our Counsellors help our students to discuss their problems, thoughts and feelings in a confidential setting, and offer them strategies to help improve their emotional wellbeing and mental health. With our younger children, this can be done through play as well as through talking and listening. Our counsellors have a variety of resources and a wealth of experience that enables them to work with our children from Reception to year 11.
Jessica, Kayleigh and Charlotte are our Trust Counsellors.
