About me
Tara Bell (BA Hons, PGCE, PGDip, NPQH, MRES)
After a BA Hons in Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art, and a PGCE at Oxford University, I became a qualified Teacher of the Deaf, teaching in mainstream and special schools before moving into leadership in special schools and alternative provision. From early in my career, I worked with children and young people at risk of exclusion or disengagement from school.
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I am currently both the education officer for children with medical needs and the Headteacher of two Ofsted Outstanding (2018 &2023) hospital schools (mental health and general medical) and extended outreach services for children and young people out of school due to medical and/or mental health conditions including EBSNA (Emotionally based school non- attendance).
The dual role has allowed me a unique insight into barriers to education and an ability to enact solutions for some of the most vulnerable and disengaged children and young people. This has included completing a recent Master's in academic research on ‘school-based’ causal factors of students' non-attendance and non-engagement with school.
As a school leader, consultant in special education and trained mediator, I have worked with a range of organisations in developing curricula, pedagogy and learning environments to engage and enable all learners. These include whole school wellbeing curricula and enterprise programmes, real-life learning projects ‘Enquiring Minds’ and excellence in SEN teaching (the first gifted and talented strategy applied in special schools).
Since 2017, I have initiated and developed new educational provisions for students struggling with their mental health and delivered training to schools and other professional organisations on meeting the needs of students with medical and mental health conditions. Developing education that ensures young people attain academic achievement or secure alternative pathways to success, while nurturing a love of learning and a love of life, is a lifetime passion.​
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Timing for a dream is never right,
Yet you must persevere against the tide.
A tenacious mind can turn any table,
Even amidst the utter absence of light.
Abhijit Naskar ​​​​
Tenacity; the mental and moral strength to resist opposition, to forge a way through with integrity and fortitude.
Tenacious schools, teachers, and students are forging a new path.
Why I started Tenacious Schools
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What is the purpose of education?
What is meaningful and engaging education in 2025?
And what is required to meet the needs of our young people and generate an emotionally, intellectually, financially and physically well and thriving society?
While academics and successive governments grapple with these questions, increasing numbers of children and families have opted to leave or disengage from mainstream education.
With 25 years of teaching and school leadership across mainstream, special schools and alternative provision, and subsequent academic research on student engagement and inclusion I have developed Tenacious Schools as a collaborative space.
Its purpose is to support teachers and schools in meeting the needs of the huge array of young people in their cohort with innovation, flexibility and tenacity. It is a a first step in the move towards a schools system that reflects the values and aspirations of the society we wish to create.​