Meet the Team

Linda Bresgi is the Training Lead at sendTA and a Senior Educational Psychologist at Words First.

Originally from the Western Cape in South Africa, Linda brings more than 40 years of experience across education and psychology, including 30 years as a preschool teacher and over 10 years as an Educational Psychologist. Her career has included work across schools, private practice, non-profit organisations, and specialist neurodiversity services, giving her a broad and practical understanding of the diverse needs children, families, and schools face.

After relocating to the UK with her family in 2024, Linda joined Words First and has since worked across a wide range of schools supporting children and young people aged 4 to 18 through assessment, consultation, therapeutic work, and collaborative problem solving. Her work within schools has further strengthened her passion for practical, relationship-based support that empowers the adults around children as much as the children themselves.

As Training Lead at sendTA, Linda leads the development and delivery of training for SEND Teaching Assistants. She is passionate about equipping TAs with practical, evidence-informed strategies that help them feel confident, capable, and supported within their roles. Drawing on the experience and multidisciplinary expertise developed through almost two decades of Words First, Linda believes that high-quality training and ongoing support can have a lasting impact on both staff confidence and pupil outcomes.

Her areas of interest include neurodiversity-affirming practice, emotional wellbeing, inclusion, early development, and collaborative approaches that bring schools, families, and professionals together around the child.
Linda strongly believes that learning should feel supportive, practical, and relevant to the realities of school life. She is passionate about creating training environments where people feel encouraged to ask questions, build confidence, and continue growing professionally.

Outside of work, Linda enjoys spending time with her family, exploring nature, keeping active, and enjoying theatre and good food. Since moving to London, she has loved discovering the city’s parks, restaurants, and hidden gems. Her family describe her as adventurous, passionate, and a lifelong learner, qualities she brings into every aspect of her work.

Amanda Davis is the Founder and Director of both Words First and sendTA. Through almost two decades of working closely with schools, children, young people, and multidisciplinary professionals, Amanda has built services grounded in practical support, evidence-based practice, and a deep understanding of the realities schools face every day.

sendTA was created from Amanda’s long-standing belief that Teaching Assistants play a hugely important role in children’s educational experiences and outcomes. After spending nearly 20 years supporting schools through Words First, Amanda recognised the need for high-quality training, professional development, and ongoing support specifically for SEND TAs. sendTA brings together the experience, knowledge, and specialist expertise developed through Words First to help empower Teaching Assistants with practical strategies, confidence, and opportunities to grow within their roles.

Amanda qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2001 from the University of Cape Town and has specialised throughout her career in language, literacy, and dyslexia. Her early work in a school for children with learning difficulties sparked a deep interest in how children learn to read and what happens when that process becomes difficult. This led her to complete both a Master of Science in Speech and Language Therapy and a Master of Education in Dyslexia, developing specialist expertise in language-based literacy difficulties, reading fluency, processing speed, and reading comprehension.

Amanda is particularly interested in the relationship between processing speed, word retrieval, and literacy development. Her clinical thinking has been heavily influenced by Professor Maryanne Wolf’s work on the Double Deficit Hypothesis of Developmental Dyslexia, which continues to shape the approaches embedded across both Words First and sendTA today. In 2006, Amanda had the opportunity to train directly with Professor Wolf on the RAVE-O programme, an experience she still considers one of the highlights of her career.

Throughout her career, Amanda has remained deeply committed to evidence-based practice and to ensuring that research is translated into practical, usable strategies for schools and education staff. She believes training and upskilling school staff is one of the most effective ways to create sustainable, long-term impact for children and young people.

As Words First grew into a large multidisciplinary team, Amanda’s role evolved from direct clinical work into leading professionals across disciplines and building services that support schools in sustainable and practical ways. sendTA is a natural extension of that journey, combining specialist clinical expertise with a strong commitment to investing in the people who work most closely with children every day.

Outside of work, Amanda is a proud mother of two teenage daughters and a devoted dog lover. She loves being outdoors, especially walking in the mountains with her dogs.

Leah Etherington is the People and Communications Lead at sendTA and the Recruitment and Engagement Lead at Words First, where she works closely with leadership teams, candidates, and internal staff across both organisations.

Her role spans recruitment, onboarding, communications, engagement, and brand development, helping ensure people feel informed, supported, and connected throughout their journey with the organisation. Leah works closely with leadership teams on recruitment strategy, internal communications, candidate experience, and sharing the voice and culture of both Words First and sendTA across websites, social media, and wider communications.

Leah is particularly passionate about creating warm, authentic communication that reflects the people behind the work. She enjoys helping candidates feel welcomed and supported throughout the recruitment and onboarding process and believes strong relationships and clear communication are central to building positive workplace cultures.

She deeply values diversity and the unique perspectives, experiences, and ideas each person brings when they join the community. Working alongside people from different backgrounds and cultures is one of the aspects of her role she enjoys most, and she believes these differences strengthen teams, relationships, and the support provided to schools and children.

At sendTA, Leah is passionate about helping raise the profile of SEND Teaching Assistants and highlighting the important role they play within schools every day. She strongly believes TAs deserve recognition, opportunities for growth, and access to high-quality training and support that helps them feel confident within their roles.

Leah works closely with leadership and clinical teams to help ensure communications, campaigns, and engagement initiatives remain practical, relatable, and grounded in the realities of education settings and multidisciplinary work.

Outside of work, Leah enjoys reading, good food, spending time with her family, and walking with her dogs.

Emma Platt is the TA Team Lead at sendTA, bringing with her both professional and personal experience that strongly shapes her passion for supporting children and young people with SEND.

Being a mother to three children has been one of the defining roles of Emma’s adult life. With two children now in their twenties and her youngest beginning A Levels, she has always been deeply invested in their education and development. This naturally inspired her career path and commitment to supporting children and young people.

Emma began her professional journey working as a Teaching Assistant within a specialist secondary school setting, providing both one-to-one and classroom support for children with complex needs. It was a challenging, humbling, and incredibly rewarding experience that gave her invaluable insight into the SEND sector and strengthened her commitment to making a difference.

She later joined Words First, where she supported both primary and secondary schools as a SaLTA, while also managing the day-to-day operations of the Kids First Therapy Centre. Her role included supporting parents, running workshops, assisting therapists during sessions, and creating and developing resources for children and families.

Emma’s passion for SEND is also deeply personal, as she is the parent of a child with complex special educational needs. Through this experience, she has had the privilege of working alongside many outstanding education professionals whose support and dedication have inspired her throughout the years. SEND is truly at the heart of who she is.

For the past four years, Emma has worked within recruitment, returning to a career path she followed before having children. Although it was a very different sector, she attributes much of her success to her personable yet professional approach, working collaboratively with clients to understand their needs and conducting detailed candidate screening to ensure the best possible matches. She prides herself on keeping candidates informed, engaged, and supported throughout their journey.

Emma is excited to return to the SEND sector through sendTA, bringing with her both professional recruitment expertise and valuable personal experience. She believes she brings integrity, creativity, warmth, professionalism, and a positive, can-do attitude to both the team and the schools and families she supports.