TEAM PROFILE
Polly Harrow Wright
Associate Coach & Consultant
"Helping leaders and educators build emotionally safe, inclusive spaces where people can truly thrive."
Background
Polly Harrow-Wright brings over 30 years of experience across education, wellbeing, and leadership. As Assistant Principal for Student Experience at Kirklees College - and the UK’s first FE Student Support Champion - she has dedicated her career to creating emotionally safe, compassionate, and inclusive environments where both students and staff can thrive. Her career began at the NSPCC, raising awareness of child protection in schools, and has since evolved into national leadership within the sector. Polly became the first female Chair of the National Association for Managers of Student Services (NAMSS) and continues to influence practice across Further Education.
Expertise
Polly specialises in trauma-informed practice, restorative approaches, safeguarding, and creating emotionally safe, inclusive environments where both staff and learners can thrive.
Coaching Practice
Polly’s work focuses on supporting leaders and organisations to build cultures grounded in care, safety, and authentic connection. She partners with teams to strengthen wellbeing, inclusion, and safeguarding practices, ensuring that people feel seen, supported, and able to thrive. Her work spans coaching, training, and consultancy, helping organisations translate values into meaningful, everyday practice.
Coaching Style
Polly’s approach is engaging, proactive, and deeply human. She combines professional expertise with lived experience, enabling her to connect authentically with individuals and groups. Her sessions create space for reflection, honesty, and courage - encouraging leaders and teams to explore complex issues with openness and empathy. She blends practical tools with powerful insight, resulting in meaningful and lasting shifts in thinking and behaviour.
What Polly Offers
Polly delivers coaching, training, and consultancy that supports organisations to build safer, more inclusive, and emotionally intelligent environments. Her work includes leadership coaching focused on wellbeing, culture, and inclusion, alongside the design and delivery of impactful training sessions and workshops. She supports organisations to strengthen their approach to safeguarding, mental health, and student support, ensuring that teams are equipped with both the knowledge and confidence to respond effectively. Polly also works with teams to embed trauma-informed and restorative practices, helping organisations move from policy to lived culture.
Coaching Approach & Credentials
Polly is a nationally recognised practitioner in trauma-informed mental health, restorative approaches, and safeguarding. She is a Home Office-trained Prevent National Practitioner and a Senior Mental Health Lead. She continues to research, innovate, and share her insights widely as a speaker, trainer, and podcaster, bringing both academic understanding and lived experience into her work.
Impact
Polly’s work is widely described as transformational. She enables individuals and teams to see their roles, their students, and themselves differently - creating lasting change in both mindset and practice. Her sessions have been described as life-changing, combining depth, warmth, and practical application to create impact that endures long after the training ends.
What It's Like to Work with Polly
Working with Polly is both empowering and thought-provoking. She creates environments where people feel safe to reflect honestly, explore challenging issues, and reconnect with their purpose. Her work supports teams to build deeper understanding, stronger relationships, and cultures rooted in empathy, integrity, and connection.
Why Work with Polly
If your organisation is looking to: Build safer, more inclusive environments Strengthen student wellbeing and mental health support Develop compassionate, values-led leadership Equip teams to navigate complex social challenges Polly brings the expertise, insight, and authenticity to help you achieve meaningful and lasting change.
What They Offer
- Trauma-informed and restorative practice
- Equality, equity, inclusion, anti-racism and anti-sexism
- Prevent and safeguarding, including grooming and radicalisation
- Knife crime, gangs, and youth vulnerability
- Care-experienced and looked-after young people
- Relationships and sex education in post-16 settings
- Mental health leadership and resilience