Meet the Staff

Mr Kenny has been teaching Art for over 25 years and has been at the PRU since 2012. ‘Art is a great way to express feelings and is very individual to each young person. The therapeutic value of art is recognised by all staff and pupils will often use art as a way to regulate themselves and be calm. The work we do in Art at the PRU is usually based on the pupil’s interests and encourages them to explore their ideas in a well- equipped and dedicated Art department. Pupils particularly enjoy the opportunity to do 3D work although, most recently, a ‘wall of fame’ has taken shape in the art room, where pupils’ work is displayed and great pride is taken in seeing their work on show. All pupils work towards a GCSE and results have traditionally been very good for year 11 pupils.

Mr.Jones has worked at Newbridge House since 1998. His teaching responsibilities are Science and Outdoor Education. He is the Educational Visits Coordinator.

Mr Doyle joined the Pupil Referral Service in September 2013. Mr Doyle has previous experience at a local secondary school working with young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. He delivers ICT and PE within the centre.

Mr Mansell has worked at the PRS since 2009. He teaches Food and Catering in KS3 and KS4.

Mr Mansell has a passion for cooking and baking and he transfers this to the students within lessons. He also delivers 1:1 sessions to engage, students and support them to be more confident and to work independently,

Mrs Croasdale has worked at the PRU since 2006. She teaches Textiles and supports pupils in lessons around the centre.

Ms Oncal has worked for the PRU since 2000, responsible for the delivery of Art and Photography in the Kendal centre and provides one to one student support as well as providing assistance to teachers across the curriculum.

Ms Neves began working at the PRS in December 2015, and prior to this worked for 14 years in both Primary and Secondary school settings in the Preston area.

Ms Neves specialises in supporting the Hospitality and Catering Department in both theory and practical lessons. As a keen baker and an interest in how food links to health, she is able to bring her own knowledge to the classroom and enhance the students understanding of the subject.

Mr Martin has spent the last 15 years teaching and then as part of the Senior Leadership Team at a school for young people with additional needs. In 2017 he moved to a local mainstream school before becoming a Specialist Advisory Teacher for the Local Authority, again working with young people who found mainstream schooling challenging.

Mrs Armistead worked as a Teaching Assistant at Millom School covering subjects such as languages and business studies, before training as an English Teacher. Once qualified Mrs Armistead obtained a position at Dowdales School and has been teaching for over 10 years covering English, media and History.

Miss Larner has previous teaching experience at several mainstream schools across the country and held pastoral and academic responsibilities including Head of Year and Head of Department. Her most recent position was teaching at an independent specialist school supporting pupils with ADHD, behavioral needs and Autism. She joins the PRU as a specialist teacher for Design Technology.

Mr McCavish became a specialist drama teacher in 1999. He joined Newbridge House in 2018. Before that he was Head of Creative Arts and Head of Drama in a mainstream secondary school. Mr McCavish has also worked as a professional actor in both film and theatre. He is responsible for developing and teaching creative arts at Newbridge House.

Miss Thompson has been teaching English in mainstream schools in the area since 1996. She joined the PRU in April 2020 as a specialist teacher, and is teaching English and Photography.

Mrs Friar has worked with young people with a range of special educational needs in a specialist school for the past 11 years. She joined the PRU in 2020 where she teaches Mathematics.

Mrs Rose started working in the PRU in 2021 after 17 years experience in mainstream education. She is responsible for the coordination of key stage 2 provision at Newbridge House.

Mr Harrop joined the PRU in September 2022, primarily KS2 trained but also teaches KS3. Mr Harrop has had various job roles in the past including management roles and also achieved a first-class law degree at university.

Mrs Hubbard joined the Pupil Referral Service in September 2023 and has taught in mainstream schools in the area for over 16 years. Mrs Hubbard has worked in a variety of Hospitality and Catering settings before training as a teacher and previously held the role of Head of Technology.
She joins the PRS as a Specialist Teacher for Food Tech and Hospitality and Catering.

Miss Thorp joined the PRU in January 2024. She is a qualified teacher and counsellor. Miss Thorp has worked in education since 2005 and has extensive experience supporting young people with SEND and SEMH. She currently teaches Maths.

Mr Mason became a qualified teacher of Geography in 2009. He Joined Newbridge House as a Specialist Teacher in April 2024. In the years between, he has taught a wide range of subjects including English, History, PSHE, and Geology. As well as working in mainstream schools, Mr Mason also taught at a specialist school in 2012.

Mrs Bower joined the South Cumbria Pupil Referral Unit team in 2024, bringing her extensive teaching experience and passion for science education. She began her career in Manchester and later returned to the local area, gaining valuable experience in various secondary schools. As a Specialist Science Teacher, Mrs Bower is dedicated to inspiring and engaging our young people with the wonders of science.

Mrs Fisher has been working at Newbridge House since 2009 as a part of the school’s Business Support team. Mrs Fisher is responsible for pupil transport, school dinners, general school liaison and the administration of pupil reports and communications.

Mrs Chesworth started at the PRU in 2016 as part of the school Business Support team, having had a number of years’ administrative experience. Mrs Chesworth has responsibility for management of pupil examinations.

Mrs Evans is responsible for the facilities and also supports the lunch-time and breakfast facilities.

Miss Whitehead joined the PRU in June 2019 and is responsible for the facilities of the centre.

Mr Elvy joined the PRS in March 2023 and is employed as the centre’s Site Manager. He will be responsible for the site maintenance across each of our sites. Mr Elvy has over 15 years experience working in a variety of school settings.

Before joining South Cumbria PRS, Mr Chalker worked in the corporate and education sectors for more than 18 years in ICT roles. In addition to introducing new technologies to the centre and students, and providing knowledgeable guidance, his goal is to enhance our entire ICT infrastructure.

Mrs McGaffin joined the Pupil Referral Service in September 2019 and has been working with children and young people with a variety of behavioural needs since leaving college. She travelled the world before taking up posts in outdoor sports including being an instructor in the lake district.

Mrs Birkbeck has experience of working with young people with a variety of social, emotional, health and behavioural difficulties having taught English for 10 years at a secondary school in the Lake District. In recent years she has provided English tuition for students in KS3 and KS4, marked GCSE English Language exam papers and undertaken various short and long term supply teaching posts in local mainstream and specialist schools before joining the Pupil Referral Service as a Behaviour Support Worker in September 2021.

Miss Casey joined the Pupil Referral Service in March 2023. With 15 years of experience of working with children in education, and multiple recognised qualifications, Miss Casey recognises and supports students social, emotional and mental health needs, encouraging them to reach their full potential.

Mr Smith joined the Pupil Referral Service in March 2023, and comes from a professional background of supporting vulnerable people in the local area with acute mental health, learning needs, and addictions. Mr Smith is passionate about guiding people in the right direction whom suffer from emotional and behavioural needs. Mr Smith also has a passion for sports and coaching, currently playing semi-professional football and also having represented Cumbria in both cricket and football.

Mr Ronfell joined the Pupil Referral Service in September 2023. Originally from a professional rugby background, Mr Ronfell moved into local mainstream schools, predominantly in Physical Education. He then moved into alternative provision based work and has experience in supporting young people out of mainstream schools and with SEMH and additional needs.

Ms Harris works as a school counsellor across the service full time. Counselling is provided, where appropriate, to those students identified as needing additional support in their lives.

Ms Harris has worked in a variety of roles within the education and social care sector with children, young people and their families. She has supported children and young people with Autism, social, emotional and behaviour difficulties.

Mr Swainson joined the PRU as an Engagement Officer in January 2018. Mr Swainson has come from a sport coaching background working with children and young people for over 15 years, the last five and half years being in a residential setting working with children and young people with social and emotional needs, and challenging behaviours.

Miss Bland joined the Pupil Referral Service in January 2021. She has had varied roles working with children, young people and their families. Miss Bland has a BA Hons Degree in Early Childhood Studies and MA degree in Social Work. Prior to joining the Pupil Referral Service, Miss Bland worked for Children’s Services as a Social Worker.

Miss Szymczynska joined the PRU in November 2023. Her background is in Forensic Psychology, she has worked in national rehabilitative and acute mental health services. Recent roles involved implementing plans for successful reintegration to community, working with families, and engagement of young people across central Scotland. Miss Szymczynska has a BA Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology and a MEd Degree in Adult Education, Community Development and Youth Work. Miss Szymczynska has a keen interest in supporting youth with mental health and behaviour difficulties.

Miss Hadley joined the PRU in November 2023 coming from children’s services where she was a child and family worker. Previous roles also include working with children, young people and their families in mental health for over 10 years.

Mrs Stockdale joined the Pupil Referral Service in January 2024. Originally an Instrument Technician working in the shipbuilding and nuclear sectors she retrained and became a Senior Teaching Assistant at a local secondary school where she supported young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. This lead to managing the school Engagement Centre before taking on the role of Head of Year. More recently, Mrs Stockdale was the Project Support Officer with Inspiring Barrow – Cumbria CVS. Delivering a programme to support young people to develop their confidence, resilience, teamwork, leadership and communication skills.
Mrs Stockdale is trained in Mental Health First Aid and is passionate about making a difference to the lives of young people.

Mr Webber joined the Pupil Referral Service in September 2019. His previous roles include 4 years as a GCSE English teacher and an Education Coordinator in a Residential Children’s Home. Mr Webber has experience in supporting young people with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties, and now leads on Outdoor Learning and Place based Education. Mr Webber works collaboratively with local primary schools and companies to develop the National Outdoor Learning Award. This develops students mental wellbeing, personal development and life skills – something Mr Webber is an advocate for by working in the Outdoors.

Mr Mitchell has worked with children with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties since 2006. He joined the Pupil Referral Service in January 2019 where he teaches construction.

Mr Bown originally studied sports studies and sports coaching at university which led him into a management role at DW gym. He later moved in to adult support roles including adults with autism and challenging behaviour, before joining the Pupil Referral Service in September 2019.