Kirsten Illingworth is a specialist TA and trainer with experience working across early years, primary and secondary education settings. She has worked in both mainstream and specialist provision, with a particular focus on supporting autistic and ADHD pupils.
“I have worked for Reachout ASC for many years now, both in schools and as part of the administration team building strong client relationships. I am committed to promoting neurodiversity through volunteering, fundraising, and wellbeing initiatives, combining hands-on educational expertise with effective organisational leadership.
I’m also passionate about helping schools create supportive, inclusive environments where every child can thrive. I provide training in Teaching Assistant development, Social Detectives, Attention Autism, and LEGO®-Based Therapy—programmes I truly believe can make a meaningful difference in children’s lives.
Alongside training, I work closely with schools to run intervention groups and offer personalised 1:1 support. Building strong relationships is important to me, and I’m always on hand to talk through what each school needs. I take time to guide staff through our support packages and service agreements, making sure they feel informed, confident, and fully supported.”
Both the people doing the course were very knowledgeable and good at explaining things to us as a group. It was good they both had lived experience themselves.
The Lego training session was very informative, well-structured and I feel confident to run a session of my own in the near future. I learnt that Lego is harder than it looks, and there is so much to do with it and skills involved that can make a positive impact both inside and outside the classroom.