Primary teachers

Mrs Dani White - (currently on maternity leave)

Mrs White joined the Promise School in summer 2022.   Mrs White has taught across the primary age range and within many schools of DMAT.  She enjoys teaching all subjects but has a particular interest in art and design, forest school and the EYFS curriculum.  Mrs White strives to ensure her teaching is exciting, fun and inclusive to all learners.

Mrs Theresa Foss - (currently on maternity leave)

Mrs Foss joined the Promise School from another school in the DMAT in September 2023. She has worked in a variety of specialist schools since finishing University in 2011. In her spare time, she is completing a Masters in Psychology and enjoys quality time with her children. 

Mrs Christen Janes-(covering maternity leave)

Mrs. Janes joined Promise School in January 2025, relocating from the USA. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in early childhood and special education, along with endorsements in Autism and ESL, and a Master’s in special education, specialising in augmentative communication devices. With 15 years of experience in autism/emotional behaviours classrooms across Florida and Maine, she has taught children aged five to ten. Mrs. Janes is also the creator of pilot programs using service/therapy dogs in the classroom, now implemented across three states. Outside of teaching, she enjoys photography, crocheting, music, and exploring the British countryside with her wife. 

Miss Haley Plumb - (covering maternity leave)

Haley Plumb joined The Promise School in October 2024 to cover maternity leave in Malala class.  She is an experienced teacher across all Primary phases in both SEND and mainstream settings. She is a keen swimmer and enjoys spending her free time at the beach or walking on the moors

Miss Tamsin Furneaux 

Miss Tamsin Furneaux joined The Promise School in September 2022. Over the years, she has worked in a wide range of settings from pre-school to primary age whilst gaining valuable experience and knowledge to support neurodiverse children. She enjoys reading, running and camping holidays with her family.

Mrs Ali Collman 

Mrs Ali Collman joined the Promise School in September 2024. She has worked in Primary schools for over 20 years and had various roles across the key stages. She enjoys exploring the moors and going on adventures with her family.

Secondary teachers/tutors

Miss Arwen Davies

Miss Davies is  a science teacher at The Promise school, she is approaching the end of her Early Career Teacher process which she has  worked on throughout her time at the school. Miss Davies has enjoyed putting her stamp on the science department and it has quickly become a vibrant learning space which has included introducing a class pet and fish to the classroom! Miss Davies is always very proud of the achievements that her students make and enjoys celebrating their wins with colleagues and parents. 

Mrs Charlotte Redding 

Mrs Redding joined the Promise School in the Summer term 2023.  During the last 10 years, Mrs Redding has taught in a range of primary and secondary schools in and around the Exeter area.  She currently teaches secondary students.  Mrs Redding has a specialism in science but enjoys teaching all subjects across the curriculum.

Mr Matt Upston

Mr Upston has been teaching Physical Education and Outdoor Education for over 30 years and have work in every educational setting from nursery’s through to universities spending a lot of my career in special education. He has a love for anything outdoors and enjoys teaching climbing and forest school the most.  In his spare time he play lots of different sports including inline hockey, surfing, climbing and run some local fitness classes. When not playing sport, Mr Upston is on the beach with Widget his black labrador.

Mrs  Mel Priday 

Mrs Priday joined the Promise school in September 2024. She is an experienced mathematics teacher and has taught across the ability range from basic skills to A level maths. In 2020 she completed a MA in Education specialising in Special Education. She is a keen sports person who regularly plays hockey and enjoys cycling

Mr Brian Palmer

Mr Brian Palmer joined the Promise School in October 2023. He has taught IT from 2002 alongside delivering technical services and security for business and independent clients. He turned his interests in graphic design and aerosol arts in to a range of youth led projects for over a decade with independently funded projects ranging from murals to documentaries based around the needs of local communities.

Miss Joanna Filer Cooper

Miss Jo Filer-Cooper joined The Promise School in September 2024.  Jo trained as a teacher with a specialist pathway in special education. Jo has been a secondary and subject lead, teaching PSHE, employability and art. Jo is very focussed on inclusion and skills for life through the teaching of PSHE and  tailoring curriculum towards interest and future goals. Jo’s hobbies are her horses, art and gardening.

Mrs Rosie Butler

Mrs Rosie Butler joined the Promise School Team in 2023 to teach maths.  She started teaching PE as visiting PE specialist, in the Highlands in 1997 in a variety of mainstream primary and secondary schools.  She moved to Canada with her family in 2013 and home schooled her children whilst there. They returned to the UK and she started work supporting home educated children with ASD and ADHD. In 2019 Mrs Butler began working as a teacher for Breakthrough Transformation Trust – teaching students 1:1.  She enjoys walking on the moor, playing the piano, growing veg in her allotment and quilting

Support staff

Miss Lauren Marsh

Miss Marsh joined The Promise School in October 2023 as a teaching assistant and from September 2024 became a social inclusion officer. Before joining the school she gained a degree in Criminology and Psychology and completed my master’s in criminology in August 2024. In my spare time I enjoy going for hikes, sea swimming, running, playing rugby, and watching live music.

Mr Andrew Alderman

Mr Alderman joined The Promise School in September 2024, prior to this he spent 8 years working at the royal academy for deaf education as a senior/specialist care officer helping the young people develop life skills to live independently.

Mr Alderman enjoys going on adventures with his young family and is an avid rugby fan. He has been playing for the last 20 years, obtaining college, county and international honours.

Miss Yvonne Markou - Child and family support worker

Miss Rebecca Fish - Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Miss Fish joined The Promise School in September 2022. She has worked in SEMH for 7 years with a wide range of ages from primary through secondary. Through her years of experience, she has gained a large amount of invaluable knowledge to help support students with SEMH. In her free time, she enjoys going for walks by the river, reading, and baking.

Miss Carissa Ford - Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Miss Ford is a HLTA for secondary students.  She joined the Promise School in September 2022.  She has previous experience within a SEN school and worked within the care sector.

Miss Abbi Brint – Higher level Teaching Assistant

Miss Brint has been with The Promise School since its inception in September 2022, she has since worked across our primary and secondary phases, gaining invaluable experience and knowledge to continue supporting our young people. Miss Brint is currently based with our primary students, supporting in Malala class. Miss Brint is also part of our admissions team assisting our SENco with onboarding potential new students. During her free time, Miss Brint has a young family who keep her busy. They love spending time in the woods or cooking together.  

Miss Natasha Bryant – Teaching Assistant

Miss Bryant joined the Promise School on the opening day in September 2022 and works as a Teaching Assistant in primary and secondary.  She has previously worked in mainstream schools alongside SEN children.

Miss Breagha Mason – Teaching Assistant (currently on maternity leave)

Miss Mason has been a valuable member of the team at the Promise School since September 2022.  She works with the secondary students.  Miss Mason as worked as a volunteer within DMAT since 2021. Since gaining her experience in the classroom, Miss Mason's objective is to nuture and encourage children with further educational needs to fulfil their goals and individual requirements.

Mrs Angela Stephens – Teaching Assistant

Mrs Stephens joined the Promise School in September 2022 and works with year 6 students in Attenborough class.  She has previous experience working in the care sector from elderly, learning disability to escorting children to school.

Mrs Sammy White – Teaching Assistant

Mrs White started at the Promise School at the beginning of the school year in September 2022. She works with primary and secondary students.  She has a keen interest in animals, gardening and enjoys being outside.

Mr Jerome Minchew – Teaching Assistant

Mr Minchew joined The Promise School in September 2024. Prior to this, he graduated with a merit in the ‘Emotional Care of Babies, Children, Young People, and Families’ course from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. This deepened his understanding of psychoanalytic approaches to emotional development, enhancing his skills in supporting children and adolescents. In his free time Jerome enjoys surfing and playing the guitar.

Mr Ryan Marchant – Teaching Assistant

Mr Marchant has been working in education for around eight years and worked with many children with diverse needs and backgrounds from all ages.He has always been a sporty person growing up in Leeds practising parkour,gymnastics and competition swimming. Mr Marchant loves riding his motorbike.

Mr Alexander Cox – Teaching Assistant

Mr Cox joined The Promise School in September 2024 and has worked in special education for nearly 7 years. His hobbies include going to the gym and learning about history.  

Mr Kyle Turner – Teaching Assistant

Mr Turner entered the education sector when he joined The Promise School in January of 2024 and has worked mainly in secondary. Mr Turner has 2 years of experience working with children since he started volunteering with Scouts during University. Mr Turner has a MSc in Motorcycle Engineering and a BSc in Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology and a strong interest in space and the outdoors.

Mrs C Bolton – Office Manager

Mrs Bolton joined the Promise School at the beginning of November 2022 as our dedicated Office Manager.  She will be your first point of contact with the school.  She has worked across the Trust in various roles and has a wealth of administration and finance experience.

Mrs Shana Weller – School chef

Shana joined The Promise School in October 2024 and brings with her vast kitchen experience and qualifications. She worked in 4/5 star kitchens for many years before taking a break to have children. Shana enjoys long walks in the countryside and has a fond love of cars.

Isobel Scott – cleaner

Gail Stanbury-cleaner