Meet the Team
We are rated Outstanding
in all areas by Ofsted
Meet the Team
We are rated Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted
The Peter Pan Centre is made up of a dedicated team of staff, trustees, and volunteers, united by a shared commitment to making a difference for local children and families.
Many of our team bring lived experience of raising a child with special educational needs, bringing empathy and insight to everything we do. From those who work directly with our children to those who support our fundraising events, every person plays a vital role. We simply couldn’t give children we help the best start in life without the passion and dedication of our incredible community.
Catherine Cook
Chief Executive
Catherine is mum to Peter Pan graduate Eddie, who has Down’s syndrome. When Eddie moved on to school, Catherine didn’t want to leave the centre behind and was delighted to return as Fundraising and Communications Manager in 2019.
Now our Chief Executive, Catherine is honoured and proud to be able to bring her own experience to help families like her own at the very start of their special needs journey.
Sadie Clarke
Centre Manager
Sadie has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Childhood Studies. Working within the Early Years Sector for over 15 years, in mainstream private nurseries and at the Peter Pan Centre since 2014, Sadie has a breadth of knowledge in children’s development and supporting children with SEND.
Sadie leads our service delivery and is devoted to giving children with SEND the best start in life.
Claire Addis
Fundraising Manager
Claire has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Geography and Economics, but discovered her love of charities when she spent a year volunteering across the globe. She has been fundraising for charities ever since, working in the sector for 20 years now. Together with Catherine, Claire will be working hard to ensure that we can continue to give some of our most vulnerable local children the best start in life.
Alice Holford
Deputy Centre
Manager
Alice has a NCFE CACHE Level 4 certificate for the Early Years Advanced Practitioner. Alice initially completed her student placement with us and then began employment at the Centre in 2015. Alice has a keen interest in supporting children with a wide range of SEND and is our pro at teaching our team new songs using Makaton signing.
Kirsty Perry
Family Support
Manager
Kirsty has a Bachelor of Arts with honours first class, in the study of early childhood. Kirsty’s passion for supporting our families has grown over her time at the Centre and she offers invaluable support and advice in her Family support role.
Michelle Ely
Senior Specialist
Practitioner
Michelle has a NVQ Level 3 in children’s care, learning and development. Michelle has worked at the Peter Pan Centre for over 10 years, and though she left us for childcare commitments for a short time when we were based at the Orme Centre, she missed us so much she was soon back! Michelle has in-depth knowledge about how to best support children with a wide range of SEND.
Demi Cooke
Family Support Practitioner
Demi has almost completed her BA Hons Childhood and Youth Professional studies with the University of Chester and has over 5 years of experience working within Early years. Demi has a passion for supporting children with SEND because she has a little brother who has a diagnosis of additional needs.
Katie Bew
Lead Specialist Practitioner
Katie has a Bachelor of Arts with second class honours in Early Childhood Studies and has worked within the SEND sector throughout her career, bringing a wide range of experience of supporting children of all ages and SEND to our team.
Laura Haslam
Specialist
Practitioner
Laura has an EDI Level 3 NVQ in Children’s Care, Learning and Development. Laura has a wide range of experience of supporting children with SEND in mainstream settings before coming to work at Peter Pan in 2020.
Leah Ashley
Specialist
Practitioner
Leah has an NVQ Level 3 in Children’s Play, Learning and Development and 7 years experience working with children. She loves working with children because she loves to watch them grow, learn and develop skills for the future.
Jo Tennant
Assistant Specialist Practitioner
Jo is an Assistant Specialist Practitioner at the Peter Pan Centre, where she returned in November 2025 after several years supporting the team in Finance and Fundraising. Inspired by the nursery rooms and the amazing children she got to know, Jo switched paths in 2024 to follow her passion for early years education, specialising in supporting children with SEND. She is currently studying her NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma for Working in the Early Years Sector at Stoke-on-Trent College. Jo loves being part of the Peter Pan family, finding joy in every day spent with the children, their families, and the fantastic team that makes it all possible!
Jackie Barker
Administrator
Jackie is a familiar face to our parents and visitors as has worked at Peter Pan for many years and is most people’s first point of contact with us as she manages our reception. Previously she worked at a school and she has a wealth of administration experience which she uses to support both the early years and fundraising teams here at the Centre.
Volunteers
Claire
Stay and Play Volunteer
“Peter Pan has always had a special place in my heart from when they supported me and my family when my son attended at the age of one. It gave me the opportunity to meet other families who were in similar situations, and the support that we received from the team was so positive and nothing was ever too much trouble, it made such a big difference to our journey.
My son left to go to school when he was 4 and now, I have the amazing opportunity to volunteer with the team, to help to give other families the support that made such a difference to us.”
Jason
Early Years Volunteer
Jason has a Foundation degree in Arts & Education Teaching Assistant. Jason joined out team in 2019, working here until 2025. Jason has a very calming nature working with the children.
Since leaving the charity Jason continues to support the centre in a volunteering role
Julie
Early Years Volunteer
Julie has been a volunteer at the Peter Pan Centre for 11 years and enjoys it immensely. Julie says “The staff are super friendly, kind and helpful and I get a lot of satisfaction from my time spent there”.
Claire
Stay and Play Volunteer
"As a parent graduate of Peter Pan stay and play, I’ve experienced the fabulous support and inclusive environment Peter Pan offer, and I would love to return that to other parent carers who are on the same journey.
The kindess, advice and support I received during our time in the play group meant a great deal and my son looked forward to coming every week, made some friends and I found genuine connections with other parent/carers and some of the best tips and suggestions came from that very group. Paying that forward along with sharing my own gathered experience would be extremely rewarding."
Jodie
Stay and Play Volunteer
"The Peter Pan Centre holds a very special place in my heart. The help, care and support my daughter, myself and my husband received really is immeasurable.
I found during mine and my daughters journey, that other parents/carers, who have lived and breathed this ‘life’, have given some of the most valuable advice, ideas and have been able to provide such reassurance about what’s to come. If volunteering and sharing my experience to other families could provide them with even the slightest bit of reassurance or support I feel that would be incredibly positive."