About Us

Sara and Sarah first worked together in an Oxfordshire school where they discovered they had many shared values and beliefs around education, inclusion, behaviour and school improvement. Through their time working together they realised that there was a gap between current theoretical understanding and practical, actionable strategies that are accessible to staff in everyday school life. Their individual qualifications and experiences complement each other bringing a unique educational therapeutic perspective to their work together.

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Sara Zumbuhl: BA Hons M Phil Psych; Prof Dip Psyc C; Professional accredited membership of National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (MNCPS Acc)

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Sara is a psychologist, psychotherapeutic counsellor and educationalist. Noticing how psychological theory brings and implicates value to the education and nurturing of children she began to form strategies for the classroom and home - strategies that are firmly based in research but that are simple and applicable at the point of use. Sara works directly with children and young people using a variety of psycho-therapeutic approaches. She is a complex trauma specialist and attachment advisor.

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Through Sara's work in schools over the last 14 years, she has developed a deep understanding of the many pitfalls, hurdles and obstacles that are present in everyday education. It has also led her to see the commitment of staff, the thirst for knowledge and the commitment to students that needs to be nurtured so that it can flourish. The pressures that exist in schools that relate to external forces are well understood by Sara, and have led to a commitment to staff wellbeing and encouraging reflective practice and supervision for leadership teams as a whole and individually. She has been a designated safeguarding lead for over 10 years and regularly delivers training in schools.

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Sarah Gristwood: BA Hons QTS Primary Education; MA Early Years Education

 

Sarah is an experienced teacher who has worked in mainstream, special, primary and secondary settings for over 20 years. Much of her professional background lies in the areas of special educational needs and inclusive leadership. She was a SENCo for many years, as well as having significant school leadership experience as a deputy head and headteacher. Sarah has been part of two leadership teams that have led schools on rapid journeys out of special measures, and it is her creative approaches and commitment to inclusive school leadership that has defined her professional journey. Her leadership centres around everyone belonging and a belief that in order to truly overcome barriers to learning and meet the needs of children and young people, inclusion belongs at the heart of a school and should thread through the fabric of everything and everyone.

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Alongside her consultancy and training work for Hearts and Heads, Sarah has experience of leading inclusion across an academy trust and she is also an associate consultant for the charity nurtureuk. She delivers on their training courses and is a lead consultant for their projects working with the Greater London and Kent Violence Reduction Units. Through this work she is supporting schools to develop their relational practice and nurturing approaches to better support the social, emotional and mental health needs of their communities and to reduce levels of exclusions in schools.