Nicola Bailey

Member of the GEC Circle of Influence

Bio:

Nicola is a strategic leader, educator, and advocate with over 25 years’ experience driving equity, inclusion, and strategic mental health provision in education. She has held various senior roles including Assistant Headteacher, SENDCo, Designated Safeguarding Lead, and strategic Mental Health Lead. Nic now works across multidisciplinary sectors as a Fair Access partner and as a freelance city-wide SENCO lead.

Nicola delivers accredited training on Safeguarding and Mental Health support as well as training and speaking nationally on safeguarding, racial equity, neurodiversity, and trauma-informed practice. She has recently being appointed as a co-optee on the NAHT SEN & AP Council, sits on the board of a SEMH organisation and partneris with charities to strengthen inclusive practice across schools.

As founder of Kairos ConnectEd, Nicola’s freelance work is committed to transforming education through an enhanced understanding of intersectionality, race, mental health, safeguarding, and faith in schools.

A former RE teacher with a strong personal faith, Nicola’s latest research explores how a better understanding of race and faith can shape mental health provision and improve SEMH outcomes.

Nicola brings energy, clarity, and compassion to every space she enters, ensuring inclusion is not just a policy, but a lived experience.

GEC Circle Contributions: Strengthening the GEC Framework:

Nicola Bailey is a valued member of the GEC Circle and a trusted voice on SEND and inclusion. Drawing on extensive experience as a SENCO and SEND leader, Nicola bridges the gap between national policy and the lived realities of schools. She is a regular speaker at the GEC, both for in person conferences and she has also spoken at our Circle Table, where she shares practical, compassionate strategies that support leaders and teachers in meeting the diverse needs of learners. Her work with the Circle emphasises the power of listening to hidden voices and designing provision that enables every child to thrive.