Katherine Weare

She began her career as a teacher of English and Drama in secondary schools, and moved into higher education at the age of 25.

[2] In the 1980s she was a key player in the development of the Healthy School/Health Promoting School movement under the umbrella of the World Health Organization and the European Union.

She has helped various national and international agencies to develop their education and mental health services, including working with the European Union to develop work on preventing anxiety and depression in children and young people, and in creating an international database of effective mental health programmes for Europe.

Since the year 2000 she has advised the English government Department for Children, Schools and Families on policy in the area of social and emotional learning (SEAL).

Her report to the DCSF What Works in Promoting Children's Emotional and Social Competence was a significant catalyst in the development of the English programme "Primary SEAL", a comprehensive approach to helping children develop their social and emotional skills, which can now be found in at least half the primary schools in England.