Reverend Stephen O'Connor

Governor

I became the Rector of St Laurence Church Winslow in the spring of 2023 and very soon became aware of this centre of excellence at the heart of the parish. I do not have children of my own, but worked as a volunteer and junior housefather at a residential school for the children of missionaries in Senegal, West Africa in the 1980s, after which I trained and worked as a nurse in London and elsewhere for 35 years. This included experience working with children with SEND in a day care centre in Lambeth as well as those with acute illnesses in the paediatric unit at St George’s Hospital Tooting during my training. Later, as a palliative care nurse I championed the need for better education and training to meet the needs of parents and children with SEND experiencing life-limiting or terminal illnesses which included the development of an online Advance Care Planning course which included a module on helping to meet the psychosocial, spiritual, information, and health needs of parents, children and young adults affected by SEND. I fully support the aims and objectives of the school and its governing body. As a former nurse academic I have experience of curriculum design and quality assurance in higher education, as well as a professional interest in staff and student well-being, equality and diversity issues, cultural competence, and the development of moral and ethical reasoning.