ASSET Education Trust - INSET Day Keynote
In 2025, I was invited to deliver a keynote at ASSET Education Trust’s INSET Day - speaking to hundreds of teachers across the Trust.
I stood in that room as someone who once believed she had no future. I grew up undiagnosed autistic and ADHD with a PDA profile, carrying childhood trauma, and later surviving years in psychiatric hospitals where I was told I was “too complex” and would never change. For a long time, I believed I was broken.
But I’m not broken. I never was.
And standing there, sharing my story, was proof of that.
What I Shared
Through spoken word, storytelling, and raw honesty, I talked about:
The reality of masking, trauma, and being misunderstood at school
How one teacher’s kindness and belief gave me something to hold onto
Why inclusion isn’t about policies, but about how we make people feel
The truth that the smallest actions - listening, noticing, showing up - can change the course of a young person’s life
The Impact
The response was powerful. Teachers told me they felt both challenged and inspired. One described my session as:
“The best CPD I have had in 29 years of teaching.”
It wasn’t just training. It was a reminder that the job they do every day has the power to be life-changing.
Why It Matters
I now work with schools, charities, and organisations across the UK, using my lived experience to spark cultural change and create spaces of true inclusion. My keynote at ASSET showed what I do best: transforming survival into power and giving professionals the tools and the courage to see their students differently.
Because when the world broke me, I didn’t stay broken.
I responded with music, dance, stories, and relentless truth.
This is what I bring to every room I walk into - hope, honesty, and the reminder that no one is ever too much or too far gone.
