Snowflake School Team
Trustees
Faryaneh
Akhavan
TRUSTEE
Faryaneh Akhavan (faryaneh@snowflakeschool.org.uk
Faryaneh has a BA in Business with area on concentration in Finance. When her son was diagnosed with autism, she closed her company importing furniture and started home schooling her son and four years later started working on establishing a charity, and opening a school for children with autism. The Snowflake School has been up and running since 2008, with 42 pupils across two sites.
Shahrokh Bagerzadeh
TRUSTEE
Shahin Bekhradnia
TRUSTEE
(Shahin.Bekhradnia@snowflakeschool.org.uk
Shahin has been a magistrate for the past 32 years on the adult crime & youth bench, and more recently in family courts, and a trustee of several charities including one helping the homeless & substance misusers. After founding a still-thriving 6th form college and having a child, she resumed academic studies with a postgraduate degree in Anthroplogy from St Antony’s college, Oxford. She has worked extensively with re-settled Afghans refugees & as an expert witness for Iranian Zoroastrian asylum seekers. She is deeply concerned with environmental issues and stood as a Green Party candidate in a past General Election & recently attended the UN Ocean conference in Nice. As a new trustee at Snowflake she is interested in career and further development opportunities for Snowflake graduates.
Simon
Cheetham KC
TRUSTEE
Simon Cheetham KC (simon.cheetham@snowflakeschool.org.uk)
Simon is a barrister and has been a trustee of Snowflake School since October 2012. He has more than 30 years’ experience of employment and discrimination law, both in the public and private sectors, and also specialises in issues around data protection. Simon is an experienced mediator and has been a part-time judge for over 20 years. He is married and has four adult children and he lives in London. At Snowflake, he takes a particular interest in staffing and welfare issues, as well as the School’s data protection and privacy obligations. Before coming to the Bar, he qualified and worked as a teacher.
Ardavan Farmanfarmaian
TRUSTEE
Ardavan Farmanfarmaian (ardavan@snowflakeschool.org.uk)-
Ardavan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Brandeis University), a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Babson College), a Post-Graduate diploma in Law (University of Westminster) and a Master’s degree in Law (University College London).
Ardavan has been involved with several non-profit organisations in different capacities. He is a founding Trustee of Snowflake School for Children with Autism (London) and Board participant of the British Iranian Chamber of Commerce. He was a long-time board member of the British Iranian Business and Professional Society (Anjoman), acting as its chairman for several years, and a long-time managing director of the UK Charity Iranian Business School (IBS) Project.
Ardavan is a keen sportsman and mountaineer, having scaled some of the highest mountains in the world, including the Everest
Amin
Manzouri
TRUSTEE
Amin Manzouri (amin.manzouri@snowflakeschool.org.uk)
Amin has served as a trustee at Snowflake since 2020. He and his wife are actively involved with a number of charities contributing to various causes focused on helping underprivileged children and supporting the arts. Professionally, Amin is a principal at the private equity firm Motive Partners. He holds a degree in economics and an MBA from the London Business School. In his spare time, Amin enjoys tennis, skiing, running, and cycling. He also prioritizes spending quality time with his family
Senior Leadership Team
Sumen Starr
Sumen started her career in Hillingdon, at a school that shaped her into the educator that she is now. Sumen first thought education was a process of imparting knowledge on to the children. As she started her teaching career, Sumen quickly realised that her job would not just be sharing of knowledge with the pupils. She needed to be their champion, their most adoring fan, and without a failure everyday her face would need to light up as they walked into her class. Even, now as a headteacher and with over 30 years of senior leadership experience in education, on the toughest days, Sumen gives reminders to the whole school community of how they are champions for every child in Snowflake School.
Thank you for choosing Snowflake School where every adult is a champion and will never give up on a child.
Leah Dhote
Leah joined Snowflake School in 2013 as a tutor and has since held various roles, progressing from supervisor to senior teacher, and currently, Assistant Head.
She holds a Masters in Special Education from the Institute of Education and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Leah has completed her National Professional Qualification in Leading Teacher Development.
She feels passionate about empowering our pupils to take an active role in their education and fostering a love for learning.
Central to her philosophy is the strong belief in nurturing creativity, encouraging innovation, independence and exploration.
Tara Morgan
Tara has been at Snowflake School since 2014. Initially starting as an ABA/VB tutor she progressed to Supervisor, Senior Supervisor and Assistant Head. Tara was awarded a distinction in her Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Queens University Belfast. Tara was accredited as a Board Certified Assistant Behaviour Analyst (BCaBA) in 2021 and has since achieved her certification as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). Tara is passionate about supporting individuals to develop functional skills which will enable them to gain independence and achieve a high quality of life.
Molly Sutton
Molly is a qualified teacher and SENCO that leads the development and implementation of the core curriculum across both Snowflake Sites.
She is particularly interested in making academic skills functional and meaningful for pupils at all levels. Molly has been snowflakes intermediate trainer for Team Teach, the body which accredits use of positive handling and behaviour support for the past five years.
Middle Management Team
Celine Mohsen
Celine holds a Master of Science in Applied Behaviour Analysis from the University of Kent, has experience working with students from both primary and secondary levels at Snowflake School. Beginning as a lead tutor, she has progressed to her current role as an ABA/VB Supervisor. She is working towards her BCBA accreditation. Her passion lies in enhancing the quality of life for individuals and promoting their independence through her dedicated efforts. Celine is particularly interested in teaching independence, communication, and socially significant skills, aiming to improve the lives of the children she works with.
Alison Murphy
Alison has a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialism in music from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland. Alison has experience teaching in SEN in Ireland, Australia and the UK.
Alison is passionate about the promotion and exposure of careers teaching to the pupils in the Snowflake School through exploring their interests.
Madeleine Holding Fay
Madeleine Holding Fay is a second year Early Career Teacher and class lead at Snowflake School with a background in psychology and a passion for teaching and supporting children with special needs. She completed her Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship from the University of East London. Madeleine also earned a BA in Psychology with Combined Studies from The American International University of Richmond, graduating with First-class honours. She started working at Snowflake School in January 2020 as agency staff, before starting as a full-time ABA tutor in March 2020. She went on to be a lead tutor, then Lead Tutor co-ordinator before doing her teacher training apprenticeship at the school. She enjoys working at Snowflake because of the opportunities she has been given to develop her knowledge and skills.
Maria Fernandez
Maria achieved qualified status as a teacher from the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain. Maria holds a BA Honours degree in Drama from Murcia University, Spain. She has experience working in secondary mainstream and SEN schools in the UK as a Subject Curriculum teacher.
Maria has an interest in Autism SEN teaching and is expanding her formation with CPD’s related to this subject. Maria is passionate about providing the students with skills and tools to solve problems to achieve a high quality of life.
Laura Waldron
Laura studied in University for four years in Ireland and graduated with a BA Honours degree in Child, Youth and Family. Laura has worked at Snowflake School for three years. Laura began as a 1:1 tutor at the Secondary site and progressed into a lead tutor role. She is currently working as a trainee teacher in Snowflake Primary School. This journey has been filled with invaluable and rewarding experiences so far.
Laura has enjoyed learning from each challenge that every day brings and watching the curiosity and growth of each student. She has embraced the diverse teaching methods and is learning the individual needs of the students.
Heinie Calunod
Heinie is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) with a Master’s in Applied Behaviour Analysis. For the past six years, Heinie has worked in the field of ABA across a variety of settings, including an early intervention clinic, home programs, supported living, and residential homes.
Heinie has had the privilege of supporting individuals across all age groups, from early intervention to adolescence and adulthood helping them develop new skills, gain independence, and enhance their overall quality of life. She is deeply passionate about ABA and the positive, lasting impact it has on both individuals and their families.
Doga Reis
Doga is currently a Trainee ABA Class Lead at Snowflake School. She holds a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Clinical Psychology, and she’s on the path to becoming a qualified Behaviour Analyst through the International Behaviour Analysis Organisation.
With four years of experience working with children with SEND in various primary school and clinical settings, Doga is passionate about supporting children in developing essential skills, fostering independence, and enhancing their overall well-being.
Doga is proud to be part of the Emerald Class team at Snowflake School and is deeply committed to helping each child reach their full potential through evidence-based approaches in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).
John Paul Sevilla
John Paul is a registered Occupational Therapist here in the UK and the Philippines.
Throughout the seven years that he has been practicing Occupational Therapy, he’s had the opportunity to work in different practice settings such as private adult and paediatric clinics, schools, an orphanage, the community, and a tertiary hospital as an occupational therapist. John Paul has also taught in academia as a college instructor, where he lectured in occupational therapy to OT students, most of whom are his colleagues now.
John Paul’s vision is to live in an inclusive community where persons with special abilities are contributing to society by working and providing for their needs.
Kathy Stanley
Kathy is the ABA Class Lead at Snowflake School, bringing a background in supporting pupils in education and adults in supported living. She holds a master’s degree in Analysis and Intervention in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities from the University of Kent and is currently working towards MY certification in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) with the goal of becoming a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA).
Administration Team
Angel Moore
Angel has a BSc in Psychology from the University of Greenwich, 5 years’ experience in the NHS working with children in healthcare and school settings in an administrative capacity (across several London Boroughs). Angel joined Snowflake School in September 2021, and has introduced & maintains various administrative databases & systems for our staff, works closely with the HR manager, and supports our CEO in administrative matters.
Sandra Wright
Siddiqua Hassan
Siddiqua joined Snowflake School in 2010 as an ABA/VB tutor. Having worked in home programmes and Rainbow School previously, she decided on a career change in 2015. Since then she has been working as the Administrator at the Primary site. Siddiqua is an approachable, helpful and highly organised Administrator.
sarah Roberts
Sarah works as School Administrator.
She has been working at Snowflake school since November 2024 and is really enjoying getting to know all the pupils, parents, careers and staff at both sites.
She is very proud to be part of such a great team and watch each pupil grow.
She is a hardworking and driven individual who isn’t afraid to face a challenge. She is very passionate about her work and she is very keen to future her career opportunities in the future.
She would describe herself as an open and honest person who is very organised in the office