Fran Morgan, Founder (retired)
With a background in copywriting and design, and a daughter whose anxiety made school attendance impossible, Fran has been involved in the area of school attendance difficulties for 12 years. She has run a parent support group, been Co-Chair of a Parent Carer Forum and set up Square Peg to effect change. She is currently on INSA's Communications and Conference Committees and is working with academics at various universities on research projects. Having started Square Peg as a response to anxiety-related school attendance difficulties, her focus has grown to encompass the wider group of non-attenders. The long term goal is clear – one size doesn't fit all – and a far more radical overhaul of education is needed. Every child deserves an education, but one that nurtures all talents and passions, excites and engages children in learning and helps them grow into happy and fulfilled adults in a fast-changing world.
Ellie Costello, Director
Ellie worked in film acquisitions, broadcasting and television production before finding her happy place as a producer in post-production. She co-chaired a school PTA for 4 years and ran support and advocacy campaigns for other families. From 2014, she found herself advocating for her two children who had undiagnosed SEND and underlying health conditions. This led to invitations to work strategically with her local authority, CAMHS commissioners, Parent Carer Forum and SEND Crisis groups. As a Therapeutic Parent, Ellie’s interests lie in developing ACE aware best practice, service-planning and provision for all those working with children and families in order to build cohesive, holistic, attachment-aware, trauma-informed frameworks and services. Passionate about mental health and neurodevelopment, Ellie envisions a world where happy, emotionally resilient, curious and creative children thrive equally; where improved health, education and life outcomes are delivered and sustained.
Simon Kay, Director
By trade, Simon is a Digital Media and Brand Management specialist, offering business support focused on Intellectual Property Licensing within the realms of computer games and gaming. However his personal passion beyond that industry is mental health. This is driven by life experiences both as a child and a parent with a focus on bullying. Simon has also supported various projects that all connect to mental health and is always striving to make things happen for the better. Whether that is currently with Square Peg or in the evolution of a fans-led mental health project with AFC Bournemouth, he’s offered assistance to many entities over the years. He’s also an advocate for improving mental health around the video games industry by supporting Safe In Our World, the video games mental health charity.