Lauren Preece

Lead teacher for an educational provision embedded within a Tier 4 CAMHS inpatient service for adolescents with learning disability and autism. Responsible for the strategic development, operational delivery and quality assurance of education within a high-acuity clinical environment.

Strategic & Leadership Responsibilities

• Lead on the design and continuous development of a bespoke education model aligned to MDT care planning, clinical risk management and discharge pathways.
• Develop and implement curriculum intent, implementation and impact statements in line with Ofsted frameworks, adapted for a hospital context.
• Author and deliver the education contribution to service specifications, identified by a local authority as an example of best practice.
• Lead on NAS accreditation work and contribute to QNIC quality reviews and action planning.
• Write and deliver School Development Plans and strategic priorities within the wider provider collaborative.
• Establish and coordinate a national LD Tier 4 Teacher Network to share practice, improve consistency and reduce system isolation.

Operational & MDT Practice

• Work daily as part of a multidisciplinary team including psychiatry, psychology, nursing, OT, SALT, social care, advocacy and commissioning.
• Provide education-based assessment, observation and analysis to inform care planning, formulation, CETRs, CPA meetings and best-interest decisions.
• Negotiate competing priorities between education, clinical risk and operational pressures to achieve least restrictive, trauma-informed outcomes.
• Support discharge planning and reintegration through close liaison with local authorities, virtual schools, social care and receiving education providers across the UK.

Curriculum, Assessment & Research

• Led a full redesign of curriculum and assessment frameworks in response to increasing acuity and longer admissions, ensuring provision is holistic, ipsative, accessible and MDT-usable.
• Authored two research-informed papers (MSc SPMLD) on curriculum and assessment in Tier 4 LD settings, leading to sustained service-level change.
• Developed phased education pathways (stabilisation, engagement, formal learning) with measurable small-step indicators to support progress tracking.
• Presented assessment and education models at ACAMH Conference (2024) and QNIC Annual Forum (2025).

Workforce Development

• Line manage and mentor teaching assistants, including induction, probation and ongoing professional development.
• Deliver training and induction input to MDT staff, ward teams and external professionals on education within Tier 4 settings.
• Model trauma-informed, autism-specific practice daily to education staff, healthcare assistants and activity teams.

• Led curriculum delivery for an autism class within a secondary special school.
• Designed and implemented a life-skills curriculum aligned to pupil need and EHCP outcomes.
• Supported whole-school PECS implementation and staff training.

• Class teacher within an autism provision.
• Led EHCP reviews and coordinated multi-agency input.
• Built strong partnerships with families and external services.