Michael Needle

Assistant Regional Lead @Nudge Education Limited

West Midlands, GB

As part of the Service Delivery Team at Nudge Education, I provide regional leadership and operational oversight to ensure high-quality tailored interventions for children and young people chronically disengaged from education. I line manage a team of up to 20 practitioners, embedding supervision, performance management reviews, and tailored learning and development plans. My leadership is guided by the SCARF model (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness), which fosters motivation, inclusivity, and professional growth across the team.In this role I design and deliver regional conferences, training sessions, and team-building days, supporting the continuous development of practitioners and strengthening reflective practice. I also conduct initial assessments for new referrals, creating detailed profiles and risk assessments to support re-engagement, resilience, and smooth transitions back into education or alternative pathways. A key part of my responsibilities involves building and maintaining strong relationships with commissioners and local authorities, managing the referral-to-transition cycle and ensuring provision is aligned to student needs and expectations.Alongside this, I deliver weekly national training as an accredited Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Instructor, equipping staff with evidence-based strategies in de-escalation, conflict resolution, and restraint reduction under the Restraint Reduction Network standards. I also lead regional quality assurance and recruitment, conducting practice visits, proofing student reports, and interviewing up to five practitioners per week as part of a national safer recruitment project.This position combines pastoral leadership, safeguarding practice, crisis prevention, and partnership working, enabling me to positively influence both staff development and student welfare across the region.

Birmingham City University

Bachelor of Science - BS

Halesowen College

A Level