Dela Smith
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Note: Do not confuse with British cooking master, Delia Smith
Dame Dela Smith, DBE has been Headteacher at Beaumont Hill Technology College (Darlington, England) since 1992. She has over 30 years experience in special education. Beaumont Hill is Darlington's only special school and has the full range of pupils with SEN including emotional behavioural difficulties.
Smith has had extensive experience at a national level and is a regular speaker at conferences. She is currently a member of the Special Educational Needs Working group and was on the working group producing a report on the future role of special schools. She is also a strategic Board member of the new NCSL North East affiliated centre. She is chair of the Association of Special School Heads, Tees Valley and Darlington.
Beaumont Hill in Darlington, County Durham caters for children aged five to 19 with a range of special needs. With another local school, Abbey Hill, it formed one of the first successful special schools bids to achieve technology college status, and it helps other mainstream schools in the area to include pupils with special educational needs.
"I'm still reeling", she said at the time regarding the DBE. "I feel absolutely stunned, and very humbled as well because it's such a tremendous honour" (see[1]).
