My name is Ioana Botez and I started my professional journey at Avenor College in 2013. This year, I am happy to support the nursery teams in the roles of Culture and Community Lead, Counsellor and Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Practising my profession in a school environment is a challenging way in which I can put my skills and knowledge to good use as a systemic psychotherapist, clinician psychologist, English teacher and mediator.

Whether focused on educational or purely spontaneous and playful objectives, every interaction I have with students is a great way for myself, as an adult, to remember to smile more often, to play eagerly, to share in an unhindered way, to express myself in a genuine manner and, most of all, to maintain curiosity for everything that surrounds me.

In my everyday activity with students I let myself be guided by my out-of-the-box spirit, patience, positive attitude and the belief that each student is unique in their multitude of thoughts, emotions, needs, desires and behaviours.

My professional background consists of systemic family psychotherapy, conflict mediation and clinical psychology (trauma therapy and victim psychology). I have a degree in Psychology from The University of Bucharest, a master’s degree in Judicial and Victim Psychology and a professional training in Couples and Family Systemic Psychotherapy. I have a Certificate in Advanced English (CAE), a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) and a Certificate of Professional Qualification in Middle Leadership (CPML), all three of them issued by the University of Cambridge. I am accredited to work as a Systemic Couples and Family Systemic Psychotherapist and Clinician Psychologist by The Romanian Psychologists College and undergo periodic external professional supervision sessions to improve the quality of my work as a psychotherapist.

I have over 15 years of experience in working with students, following the British Curriculum, designing educational training materials for disadvantaged groups and mediating communication with foreign childcare professionals working in Romania.

I enjoy reading very much, as well as singing and using my creative energies in any way I can. Travelling to new and old places is a way of relaxing and learning for me, and I am pleased to have been exposed to both European, South American and Asian cultures so far. 

My motto for this educational year is: ‘The best is yet to come, so let’s enjoy this new beginning together!’