About Us
FOCUSS is a specialist organisation that has been providing high-quality training and support for schools, professionals, and organisations working with children and young people for over 12 years. Built on practical experience and a strong understanding of SEND, the team supports a wide range of needs including autism, ADHD, attachment, communication differences, and behaviour support.
Our training is designed to be practical, accessible, and immediately useful in real-world settings. We work closely with schools and organisations to provide tailored strategies that build staff confidence and help create inclusive environments where children and young people can thrive.
We believe that high-quality support should also be affordable. That’s why we focus on delivering effective training and support at a low cost, ensuring it is accessible to the settings that need it most. Our commitment to quality is reflected in the fact that 100% of our clients say they would recommend our services.
Meet our team
Dedicated professionals driving our success
Steve Brown
Principal Team Teach Trainer
Steve Brown has over 26 years of experience working in mainstream and specialist education in the UK and Australia. Specialising in SEND, he has supported autism and SEMH services and previously worked as Care & Control Co-ordinator for Birmingham City Council and as an adviser to their Autism Team. Steve has been a Team Teach Tutor for over 17 years and delivers training to schools across Birmingham and surrounding areas. He is an accredited member of the Society of Educational Consultants and a member (MICM) of the Institute of Conflict Management.
Andrea Moore
Specialises in SEND and has an interest in language difficulties, Tic Disorders, SpLD (Dyslexia) and autism.
Andrea Moore has over 30 years of experience working in schools across Birmingham. She specialises in SEND, with particular interests in language difficulties, tic disorders, SpLD (dyslexia), and autism. Andrea has worked in outreach roles for over 20 years, supporting schools, parents, and pupils through assessments, training, and advice. She has also worked as an Interim SENDCo and continues to support SENDCos with their strategic role. Andrea holds NCFE Level 4 equivalent (OCN) training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and is trained in the Derbyshire Language Scheme and Drawing and Talking.
Amy Fowler
Qualified International Course Leader for Sherborne Developmental Movement.
Amy Fowler has extensive experience working across mainstream, special, and residential schools throughout Birmingham and Worcestershire, supporting children and young people from Nursery through to Secondary age. She has also worked as an autism specialist outreach teacher across Birmingham, providing training, coaching, and support for parents, schools, staff, and children. Amy specialises in autism and sensory differences and is a qualified International Course Leader for Sherborne Developmental Movement. She is currently furthering her expertise through the study of Retained Primitive Reflexes. Amy is trained in Advanced Knowledge Drawing and Talking, Lego Therapy, Attention Autism, Emotional Logic, and Sherborne Developmental Movement.
Alison Tatem
Specialises in Early Years SEND and Tic Disorders
Alison has worked in Birmingham schools as part of an Autism Outreach Team and has over 19 years of experience in outreach support. She specialises in Early Years SEND and tic disorders. Alison leads and supports Team Teach training, including de-escalation and personal safety training for lunchtime supervisors, and provides outreach support to schools. She also supports both adults and children in the community through Resources for Autism.
Michelle Bentley
Team Teach Lead Trainer for Birmingham, Walsall, Dudley and Solihull
Michelle has over 20 years of experience in education, including many years supporting Children in Care through Birmingham Virtual School, where she worked as an Education Advisor. She has supported pupils from Early Years to Post-16 with academic progress and social and emotional development, while also training school staff in areas such as de-escalation strategies, Emotion Coaching, and Attachment Awareness. Michelle has extensive experience supporting schools with Pupil Premium Plus, adopted and previously looked-after children, and currently offers 1:1 support for pupils with academic, SEN, and SEMH needs, as well as guidance for school staff. She is trained in Emotion Coaching and holds counselling qualifications up to Level 4 in Therapeutic Counselling.
Richard Sagar
Team Teach Trainer
Richard is an Advanced Team Teach Trainer with over 12 years of experience. He previously worked as a Pastoral Manager in an SEMH special school, where he was responsible for delivering social and emotional curriculum support. Richard specialises in SEMH and pastoral support and is now semi-retired, continuing to contribute his expertise through training and support work.
Caron Davis
Intermediate Team Teach Trainer
Caron worked in a special school for 35 years, where she later became Head of School. She specialised in supporting children with complex needs and has extensive experience in specialist education settings.
Lesley Atter
Specialist in SEMH, LAC, bereavement and Autism
Lesley has worked in education for over 30 years. She was a primary Head Teacher before moving on to work for 16 years in a range of support services. This included the Communication Autism Team (CAT), Looked After Children’s Education Service (LACES) and the Solihull Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) team. She has also been a school SENDCo. She has a wide range of experience in areas such as ADHD, Autism, Anxiety, Attachment, trauma and supporting children with a high level of SEMH need. She also has experience with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), emotion coaching, declarative language, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), PACE and relational approaches.
Lesley has worked in both a strategic role, supporting schools in managing young people with a range of differences, and also in a direct role with young people.