Mark Escott, Co-Founder
Mark’s compelling journey in co-founding Life Chance is a story of personal and professional transformation. His own troubled and traumatic childhood proved to be the foundation for his mission to create a force for change and transformation.
In 2014 he set up Life Chance and in the same year went on to open School for Inspiring Talents, an independent therapeutic day school to support the growing number of children slipping through the net of mainstream education.
Today, the organisation employs a growing workforce of over 80 dedicated teaching, clinical, therapeutic and office staff across two sites in South Devon, providing education, training and outreach services that help transform the life chances of children and young people in our South West community.
It was the first school in the UK to be awarded the Trauma and Mental Health Informed Schools Award from TIS-UK. In 2019 Mark received the Outstanding Contribution to Young People Award 2020 (Potential Unlocked Tuition).
Mark was honoured in the 2023 New Year’s Honours List, awarded the British Empire Medal for his services to education in the South West.
He became an Amazon best-selling author following the launch of his book ‘One More Life Chance’, which details his journey from trauma to transformation, and has recently been updated and revised for a second edition!
Hannah Moon, Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer, Hannah leads the Life Chance Group.
Hannah has 25 years’ experience working across different industry sectors in senior roles and has always aimed to channel her talents into directions that create social change for good. She was instrumental in setting up the British Gas Energy Trust in 2004, and in her role as Head of Social Responsibility at British Gas, worked collaboratively with UK Charities to help tackle fuel poverty in the UK, specifically working with Save the Children.
In 2015 Hannah took over as Director of Social and Commercial Enterprise for the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust, a local Devon Charity, which supported children and young adults with disabilities to live life to the full.
She became CEO of Life Chance in 2021, and says: “Looking back at what the Life Chance & School for Inspiring Talents teams have achieved over the past year, their resilience through a pandemic, setting up a new school site, receiving a glowing Ofsted inspection, delivering training for the wider community, becoming a finalist in the prestigious Pearson Teaching awards, all whilst staying true to our vision and values – it is quite remarkable!
Looking forward, we have so much more to come, and I am excited as we look to launch our new Charity, Life Chance Trust, which aims to mentor and support young people aged 16+ who have had complex life histories.”
Our Multi-Disciplinary Team
Our Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) use a range of therapeutic assessments and methods to support students at School for Inspiring Talents, as well as children and families in our wider community.
Our team have expertise in neuroscience, child developmental psychology, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, trauma recovery and play therapy.
Janelle Penfold:
Occupational Therapist
Megan Hornsby:
Mental Health Practitioner
Lucy Begam:
Trauma Recovery Practitioner
Cara Porter:
Speech & Language Therapist
Fay Hooper:
Family Support Worker
Emma Bushell:
SENDCo
