Lucy Stocker

Principal

Lucy has been a teacher since 1995 and has worked in Primary Schools and at Cornwall College Camborne before joining CHES in 2008. Lucy started out as an English teacher with CHES and moved on to being the SENCO in 2012, then Vice Principal in 2016 before becoming the Head of School at CHES in 2019. She completed the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination in 2014 to help her support SEN pupils within CHES. Lucy is married and enjoys spending time with her family.

Jonathan King

Head of Education

Jonathan has been teaching personalised education packages to young people with a range of challenging behaviour and complex needs since 2010. He began his working life as a civil engineer but made the switch to working in education which lead to him becoming qualified as a mathematics teacher through Nottingham University in 2011. Jonathan has experience teaching mathematics in mainstream secondary school and alternative education provision settings throughout Nottinghamshire. He spent three years as a mathematics subject lead at R.E.A.L Independent Schools and more recently became part of the senior leadership team as a learning manager for R.E.A.L Alternative Provision School. Jonathan moved to Cornwall in 2019 -coinciding with the opening of Sowenna – and is committed to making a positive impact in the lives of young people as part of the education team.

Claire Poyner

SENCo

Claire has worked as a teacher both within the alternative and special education sector for over ten years.  Specialised and alternative education has always been Claire’s passion. Previous roles of Claire’s have included Assistant Head and the Post 16 Lead of a special school. Claire is very proud to be part of Sowenna and a member of the WAVE Education Team at Sowenna . In her role as SENCo Claire is motivated and inspired to provide meaningful, inclusive learning opportunities, outcomes and transitions that will support the young people at Sowenna to succeed.

Rebecca Stoneman

Pastoral Support Manager

Rebecca has over 16 years of experience and a significant understanding of direct work with Children, Young People and Families, in Education, Health and Voluntary sectors. After completing an FdA in Children and Young People’s Workforce, she went on to study a BSc Combined Psychology & Sociology degree. Rebecca has worked with Barnardos, the School Nursing team in Cornwall, local secondary schools and some of our other academies within Wave. Rebecca really enjoys working with young people and their families to support student safety. Outside of school, Rebecca enjoys spending time with her family, socialising with friends, coastal walks and live music. 

Martyn Hedges

HLTA

Martyn Has been working as an HLTA at Sowenna for just over a year. Martyn attended university in Southampton, where he set up and ran his own music video production company. He eventually met his wife and settled down in Cornwall. He now lives in Bodmin with his wife and their Rabbit Rex

Kim Neethling

English Teacher

Kim has been an English teacher since 2005; originally she worked for fourteen years in the Cornish mainstream school that she also attended as a pupil. In 2019 she moved to CHES- teaching at Glynn House and in the community. For the past two years, she has had the added privilege of also working at Sowenna. She enjoys running, reading and spending time with her two daughters. 

Donna Parker

Teacher

After graduating from Swansea University with a degree in Chemical Process Engineering, Donna spent a few years working in the oil industry before relocating to Cornwall to pursue her PGCE. During her studies, she discovered a passion for teaching and a deep commitment to inspiring young people in Science and Maths. Donna went on to teach at an 11-18 secondary school in Cornwall for 14 years before joining CHES in 2019. She now teaches students of all ages in the community, at Glynn House, and at Sowenna. Outside of her teaching role, Donna lives on a working dairy farm with her husband and three children, trying each day to overcome her fear of cows! When she's not in the classroom, Donna enjoys walking her dog along the South West Coast Path or watching her children play sports in the community

Nick Casson

Teacher

Nick qualified as a teacher in 2005. After teaching in London, he moved to Cornwall and taught in Cornish schools. He has been with CHES for about 5 years now and feels he has found the perfect teaching job.

Nick teaches across two main settings in Bodmin Hospital and in the community. He is a keen Science teacher and loves nothing better than to carry out experiments and practical work.

Outside of school Nick is keen on all sea-based activities, he rows, he swims and he surfs to varying degrees of success.

Tasha Otto

HLTA

Tasha is from Penwith in Cornwall and has lived here most of her life. She loves living by the sea and enjoys this as a regular part of everyday life. She has worked in youth work, community, secondary and college education settings for over 30 years, working with young people with SEND, behaviour and mental health challenges. She is particularly passionate about the arts, nature, being active, and the impact of engaging in this for personal growth and learning. She has worked more recently for Truro and Penwith College as a member of the learning support team, and then as a qualified teacher in the Performing Arts department. She cares about supporting and building trusting relationships with young people so they can make positive progressions in their lives. And believes that if you are going to make someone a cup of tea, always check how they like it.