The main focus of my Fellowship was to research the Reading Recovery project in New Zealand and to investigate provisions for learners who were unable to access mainstream education for medical or behavioural reasons.

I met with the teams of tutors from the Reading Recovery programme and also worked alongside teachers in hospital schools. I also discovered children's health camps, where vulnerable children had residential placements in specialist provisions which worked on building resilience into their lives by exampling the importance of daily routines. The programmes also included a week of intensive parenting programmes and support.

I have always been passionate about social inclusion and the importance of understanding the underlying factors that lead to social exclusion. In 1979 I was awarded an English-Speaking Union Chautauqua Scholarship during which I travelled to the USA, where I looked into integration into mainstream schools for learners with learning difficulties.

On my return I became a teacher adviser for pupils in Key Stage 2 at risk of exclusion because of behavioural problems. Directing a multi-professional support team, I would design individual support plans.