Meet the Team

---

Dr Peter Gardner

Founder

Peter Gardner is the founder of Appleford School for children with Dyslexia and Daneswood Care Home for adults with learning disabilities. Dr Gardner is a Chartered Educational Psychologist, a Chartered Forensic Psychologist and a Chartered Counselling Psychologist of the British Psychological Society. He is a full practitioner member of the British Psychological Society Division of Neuropsychology. He is a registered Psychotherapist (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) and was a committee member of the Psychology and Psychotherapy Association.

Peter has had over 40 years’ experience in the learning disabilities field and has built up a wide range of knowledge and experience during this time.

Much of his work is legal work, including the preparation of detailed court reports and submission of oral evidence, working for Crown Courts, Magistrates Courts and Guardian ad litern panels. He acted as an expert witness in the precedent-setting Phelps v London Borough of Hillindon education negligence case in the High Court in July 1997 Boys outside and was described by Mr. Justice Garland as “particularly well qualified, careful and fair”. His legal work is split roughly 50-50 between claimant and defendant work.

---

Amy Skittrall

Interim Manager

I have been working at Daneswood for four and a half years now.
I started as a senior support worker and then in June 2018 I became a Team Leader.

I love my job and what Daneswood has to offer to the young people living here. I am very passionate about my job.

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with friends and family, going out for food and relaxing. In the evenings I like to watch TV and read books.