Kyle's Story

Kyle is the founder of Marcia Care and Eduction

I wanted to explain a little bit about myself and make this a more personal explanation of what I offer and why I offer it. Firstly, my name is Kyle Woods, I am the owner of Marcia Care and Education, a company named after my Nana who while being an amazing mum and Nan, she was also a support worker, she gave her body, soul and ultimately her life to help look after people. This company was set up an homage to her and the lessons she taught me. I hope whoever is reading this appreciates the personal side.

I have been the owner of this company for the last three years, having previously worked for 14 different councils in a direct payment/consulting capacity. The reason I started this company however is because I saw a gap in support being offered to young people and service users with co-morbid diagnosis’s who also exhibit mental health related issues. The other aspect of this gap that I saw, was a lack of support for the family unit when supporting children and young adults with additional. Here at Marcia we try to support the whole family to better support the individual.

I was raised by my Mum, Dad and Nan, all working in health care and SEND. It was a way of life in my household to question why someone was behaving in a certain way, rather than to judge. This led me to have a set of skills that I have employed in my day-to-day life and have served me well. The wanting to understand without judgement, to try and help, both socially and academically, to better learn how people can be taught, supported and give them opportunities to be a functioning member of society. Over the last 18 years, I have spent 10 years in SEND education, starting as a teaching assistant and finishing as head of transitions. I then moved towards social care to try and understand home dynamics for those who must support people with additional needs. I developed a passion for education over this time,

I took this passion for education and understanding to university where I studied an honours degree in Education, specialising in alternative education. I studied further in this regard, working towards a research Masters in Education and Professional Practice, focusing on Autism and Pathological Demand Avoidance. While undertaking research I found myself working within a school setting and professionally fell in love with the ethos and nurturing aspect of education I found there. I subsequently applied to a different and became a teaching assistant in February 2014. Nine months later I was promoted to Transitions Coordinator and subsequently Transitions Manager. In this role my job was to meet new students and understand and implement best practice to help that young person succeed within the schools, homes and colleges. I was also to advise and implement a structured exit strategy so the students could have a controlled and successful transition back into mainstream life. My former students have gone on to start businesses, university, and live independently. During this time, I was mentioned twice in Ofsted reports as the autism lead in an Outstanding school for my alternative and autistic friendly approach and pedagogy. As my career progressed. I wrote and delivered autism training and built relationships with other educational establishment’s resulting in me providing training in various areas to help their staff have a better understanding of Autism, challenging behaviour, in class support, SEMH and LGBTQ+. During this time, I also became one of the National inclusion, equality and diversity Advisors for The Scouts, traveling around the country helping over 200 scout groups become more inclusive. I also attended training sessions delivered in, LGBTQ, Privilege, religious understanding, Autism, Socio economic deprivation and leadership and management training. The highlight of this being my autism training being used by NAS and a webinar session offered to up to 2 million people. This was done in part with a professor from Harvard university and gained some international traction.

Over the last 10 years working within Autism and the last 15 years studying and working within education I have always been involved in projects to help better understand the individual and to apply a person-centred approach. At Marcia I plan on continuing this ethos and extending it to cover the family’s needs as well as the service users as an individual. To best get a supportive and therefore better opportunity to deliver the best and more relevant education and care possible.

My cousin Ryan saw the success and passion I was having and asked if he could help, as an experienced tutor with an academic background, I was glad to have his knowledge to help direct our students towards academia and how they can succeed in these areas. Ryan can deliver programming and web development sessions as well as traditional Maths and English. However, his role is often more in a support role providing advice as well as supported avenues into STEM study.