Our Team

At AROA STET, we have a team of committed professionals who work together to provide exceptional support to children.

Led by Dr Leanne Short, our Senior Educational Psychologist and Director, our team brings a wealth of expertise and experience to every assessment and intervention. Leanne, who founded AROA in 2022, has a strong background in educational psychology and has worked extensively across England.

She leads the team with a focus on providing high-quality, personalised psychological services and ensuring that every child’s needs are met with care and professionalism.

The team continues to grow, with each member bringing a unique set of skills and a passion for supporting children in their educational journey.

Sophie Duxbury

Aroa STET Manager and Safeguarding Lead

Sophie is an experienced educator with a background in supporting children and young people with diverse special educational needs and disabilities. For the first six years of her career, she worked in a generic SEND school, where she supported students with a range of different needs including SLD, PMLD, Autism and SEMH. During this time, she collaborated closely with families and professionals to deliver tailored outcomes for each child. After 6 years, Sophie transitioned to an independent school specialising in autism and associated complex learning needs, including pathological demand avoidance and anxiety. There, she focused on reintegrating students with histories of placement breakdowns, school-based trauma, and burnout, often following Education Other Than In School (EOTIS). By working closely with families and multidisciplinary professionals, she developed personalised approaches to meet the unique needs of each child, fostering their successful return to education.

Sophie is excited to be part of Aroa and working closely with such a highly specialist team.