Smitha George
Smitha George MA, BEd, Masters of Teaching Non Award program
Australian Lead and Trainer
Smitha is an experienced Special Education Educator and leader, and has experience teaching in three countries: India, Singapore and Australia. She was Assistant Principal for 6 years in Sydney NSW at 2 schools one with a student capacity of 900 plus and the other with a student capacity of 400 plus prior to moving to Perth in April 2022. Smitha was instrumental in the establishment of the Education Support Unit at the first school she was Assistant Principal. Her strengths, skills, expertise and passion lie in supporting and helping children and young adults who are disadvantaged and need additional support to be able to lead independent lives in society. Smitha was the recipient of the 2019 Principals Network Award for Best Classroom Practice in Special Education in the Western Sydney Directorate.
As an educator in a leadership role Smitha has knowledge and experience in:
- Managing the performance and development of teachers and support teachers.
- Initiating, leading and evaluating teachers to develop knowledge and skills in supporting students with additional needs.
- Cultivating a culture of high expectations and collaboration amongst all teachers and support teachers not only in the Support Unit but across the school
- Building networks with multi-disciplinary agencies (namely-Department of Community Justice, Local Police, Carers, Social Workers, Psychologists and Therapists) to put in place evidence-based strategies to best support students.
- Organising and implementing professional learning for Teachers and Support Teachers across Schools for Specific Purposes (SSP) in NSW and for Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists across Sydney.
Hilary Wainer BMus, MEd, DipMTh, Dip Psychotherapy
Co-Founder and Director
Hilary co-founded TACPAC™ Ltd. and co-created the material. She has many years’ experience as a teacher and music therapist, working alongside children with a wide range of learning difficulties, in different settings. She has a special interest in those who have profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), complex needs and multi-sensory impairment (MSI). Hilary is also an accredited music therapy supervisor with the British Association of Music Therapists (BAMT), and has worked nationally and internationally as a facilitator in schools and mental health settings. She created the ground breaking “Beat That!” events, popularising the use of the resonance board. She is an experienced trainer with a passion for everyone to reach their full potential.
Laura Cozier
Project Administrator and Operations
Laura joined TACPAC in the Summer of 2019 and bring with her a wealth of administration experience from various sectors.
Laura provides administrative support to the team and its customers and manages the operations of the day to day running of TACPAC.
Laura is inspired by the clients and service users who have benefited by using the resource and is driven by the potential TACPAC has to grow and flourish in communities and schools internationally.
