Who we are
Kite Therapeutic Learning Service was founded by experienced educationalists Andrea Haybittle and Laura Kerbey, to support children and young people who have a diagnosis of autism and or PDA / demand avoidance. Kite's carefully selected team comprises tutors, learning support assistants (LSAs), mentors, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists.
Team members have expertise and experience with SEN, including working with autism spectrum conditions, pathological demand avoidance (PDA), ADHD, sensory processing disorder (SPD), dyslexia and dyspraxia, and physical health conditions that impact students' ability to learn or attend school. Everyone in the Kite team is thoroughly vetted, fully insured, and DBS checked.
How we began
Andrea and Laura have worked together for over a decade, originally teaching at the same school and then collaborating as they each set up their own tutoring services and autism support consultancies. Their individual experiences quickly revealed a shared belief, that autistic children were not always best served by the mainstream system, and that they would benefit most from a specialised learning service that offered a blend of academic and personal support. They also recognised the persistent difficulties parents face in navigating the process and accessing the help their children really need. With years of expertise and a heartfelt desire for change, they established Kite to provide high-quality specialised and personalised learning support, with the aim of helping every child fulfil their potential.
Andrea Haybittle
Kite co-founder and director
We want to do right by these children, who are so often misread and misunderstood. We recognise their differences, and this is what makes them wonderful - when you see it that way, anything is achievable.
Andrea is an education specialist with more than 30 years’ experience in the field. She has taught in a wide variety of schools including co-educational / monastic mainstream settings, as well as an independent SEN environment for autistic students. Roles have included Head of Department, Head of Sixth Form, and Assistant Head Teacher.
She is highly motivated and committed to providing the best for each individual, with a particular focus on students with an autism spectrum condition and associated behavioural or emotional difficulties and barriers to learning.
Andrea has a degree in English Literature and history, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), and a Post-Graduate Master of Education Degree in Special Educational Needs (M.Ed. Autism).
Andrea has been avidly committed to working with children and young adults throughout her career and relishes their successes wholeheartedly. She aims to shape the practice of other educators and practitioners to develop their skills as they too strive for the success of their students. Her experience on school Senior Leadership Teams and with staff management, training and development, have been instrumental in ensuring high standards of teaching and learning.
Laura Kerbey
Kite co-founder and director
I believe they have so much to offer, and yet the education system often fails them because staff do not have the right skills and experience. This is something I am passionate about changing! I am an experienced teacher and trainer, and really enjoy helping others to develop.
Laura has worked with autistic children and young people and those with other special needs for over 25 years, teaching and creating support programmes to help them fulfil their potential. She is neurodivergent herself, having been diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.
Her experience includes teaching numeracy, literacy, life skills and childcare in the Supported Learning Department of two large mainstream colleges, and working as the Life Skills Coordinator at a residential college for young people with severe physical disabilities. Laura specialised in autism in 2002 when she became the Autism Champion for the Surrey College Network. She was also the Assistant Head Teacher, then Head Teacher, at an independent special school for autistic children.
Laura is the author of The Educator’s Experience of PDA, published in 2023, The Teen’s Guide to PDA published in 2024, The (Slightly Distracted) Woman’s Guide to Living with an Adult ADHD Diagnosis, The Kids Simple Guide to PDA and The Parents and Professionals Simple Guide to PDA all published in 2025. All Laura’s books are published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Laura has a degree in Psychology, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Special Education (Autism), a PCGE in Lifelong Learning, and holds a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). She also has a Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and a National Open College Network (NOCN) Level 3 Certificate in Working with Students with ADHD. Laura is trained to use 3Di diagnostic programming and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), enabling her to carry out assessments for possible autism and ADHD. She also has a Level 1 Certificate in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
As well as working closely with young people and families, Laura is an Educational Consultant for schools, colleges and universities, providing training and advice to ensure the needs of autistic and PDA learners are fully met. The autism and PDA training programmes Laura has developed at Level 2 and 3 are accredited by The Open College Network (London region) and recognised by the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). In March 2020, Laura spoke at the first ever conference on PDA in the United States and continues to speak at numerous conferences in the UK and internationally.