SEN Manny Mentor Recensioni 

So, another phenomenal year - it is difficult to articulate just how far our son has come since Nov 2023. Faisal has listened, supported and applied considerable knowledge and skill to enable our son to be the best version of himself. It has taken a true child-led approach, which goes far beyond approaching learning through our son's interests, true child-led requires extreme patience, truly listening to our son's needs which change with every session, having the ability to change things up in a heartbeat and always respecting and validating our son's needs.
Faisal's reports are always detailed and considered, finding positive progress in what many may see as standing still or even going backwards.
We thought it might be time to give Faisal his very own school report ;-) :

End of Year Summary, Faisal DaCosta, Teacher, Mentor Extraordinaire

Faisal has had an outstanding year filled with creativity, enthusiasm, humour, and determination. Across every subject, he has approached learning with energy, imagination, and a willingness to try new things—even if they occasionally resulted in muddy trainers, paint-covered clothes, or frisbees permanently decorating trees.

Highlights include:

Physical Education: Excellent effort, enthusiasm, and resilience, with memorable sporting moments involving spectacular tumbles, muddy adventures, and fearless (if reluctant) dandelion tasting.
English & Drama: A highly imaginative teacher and confident performer whose creative stories, use of literary devices, and expressive acting have been exceptional.
Art: Outstanding creativity and originality, producing imaginative artwork while leaving an unforgettable trail of paint almost everywhere except where intended.
Mathematics: Approached challenges with confidence and optimism, continuing to develop problem-solving skills while learning that careful working beats hopeful guessing.
PSHE: A kind, supportive role model who consistently encouraged others, demonstrated maturity, and shared thoughtful advice with empathy and humour.
Gaming: Excellent strategic thinking, patience, and perseverance, excelling in chess, card games, and video games—though remembering bedtime remains a work in progress.
Overall

Faisal has been a cheerful, creative, and positive presence throughout the year. His imagination, kindness, confidence, and sense of humour have made every lesson memorable. With continued focus and slightly less paint, mud, and tree-bound sporting equipment, he has every reason to look forward to even greater success next year!
:-)

I was introduced to Faisal through the Southwark Wellbeing Hub during a very difficult time following a mental breakdown in February, and the support has honestly been life-changing for me.

From the beginning, Faisal created a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space where I felt understood.

What really stood out was his strong understanding of both ADHD and mental health combined.

His patient and understanding approach helped me rebuild my confidence, regulate my emotions better, and slowly reconnect with myself again through small achievable steps.

Three months later, I feel calmer, happier, more hopeful, much more like myself again. and I am so grateful to have come across Faisal.

I would highly recommend Faisal to anyone struggling with mental well-being, ADHD or feeling lost and overwhelmed.

Faisal has been seeing my 13 year old son for 5 months and it has been a transformative experience for him! My son was previously struggling with attendance and unexplained stomach issues. He was becoming more and more unhappy at school and unmotivated. Faisal reported that he engaged so quickly with him in sessions and he recently got a school award for most improved attendance which was 100% for the past full term! Mission accomplished! We are keen to continue sessions however, as my son enjoys them so much and it’s really helped him enormously with confidence and new ambitions for his future. I could not recommend Faisal more highly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I originally left a positive review after the first month & a positive relationship‑building phase. Soon after it became clear that SENManny’s is not PDA‑informed, child‑centred, or specialist, despite being advertised and charging as such. I am a trained teacher with SEN & PDA experience, the service was not appropriate for PDA or SEN.
In a month and a half, this company received over £4,000 of public funding from us for EOTAS. What we got was no proper planning, no specialist input, and what amounted to glorified babysitting.
Across June, sessions were disrupted by rain, heat, train delays, a tutor appointment, & poor planning. Of 24 scheduled hours, around 15 hours were delivered. The contract states that unless the tutor cancels the lesson, the full session is chargeable. His last session ended 1 hour 40 minutes early citing tired, refusal to drink water in heat & he wanted to be collected. My son later said “There was no reason to be there. We couldn’t think of anything to do & I was bored.” This reframing could go unnoticed if a child cannot express why they wanted to leave or identify PDA practice were not being applied. Through their behavioural lens, the child blamed for early ending and session charged in full, the reality was no sufficient plan or support given when my son was less engaged and unable to lead the session.
This was after I requested a meeting about planning & tutors willingness to walk in rain. It ended up being a disproportionate focus on risk aimed at soothing the tutors own risk anxiety followed by a 6 page safeguard & permission agreement on top of the regular signed ones while the underlying issue persisted. My son did not require this level of safeguarding.
The £90/hr rate was sold as a “fully inclusive package” covering planning, oversight, risk assessment, multidisciplinary work, travel, & reporting. Despite this, meetings were charged at £90 for the tutor and £90 for the manager, £180/hr, these are suppose to be included in the hour rate (according to their own quote). A 1h meeting shouldn't cost the same as a 1h specialist session. I requested a meeting with the manager, he said tutor should be present then mentioned considering tutors time in the video meeting. He then added 6 of these at £180ph for the next academic year quote costing £1080 to discuss my sons provision.
My first invoice was also overcharged by £90.
I reduced hours due to poor planning and my son’s burnout, sessions were paused immediately, a decision that protected their billing, not my son’s wellbeing.
Despite promising a personalised risk assessment, they applied a toddler‑level risk lens to a intelligent able 15‑year‑old where he had to walk single file on the pavement if he wouldn't position himself on the inside.
Rain was described as a “slip risk” and “vision issue,” despite my son enjoying rain and wearing snow boots and part of his sensory enjoyment. During one session I was called when it was raining, they stood in Co-op with no plan, tutor in t-shirt asking me what he should do, this session ended an hour early.
Session reports described the activities they done with no EHCP linkage, no outcome tracking, and no structured planning.
Despite charging £90/hr, no written plans were provided. Plans were texted, mostly an hour before the session, asking me to approve or “tell me what you think.”
Train routes were not checked in advance, known delays caused repeated lateness 3 days later, instead of adjusting travel.
The next 4 hour session plan for a heat wave was an hour at a centre for basketball followed by at least a 30 minute walk in extreme heat (I don't know exactly how long because his plan didn't state) to sit in a McDonalds for the remaining time playing chess with no other back up plan. I would have been called not long into the walk as it was too hot, tutor would have been paid costing £360.
When I raised concerns, the company avoided written responses & paused my son’s next session until I was free for another meeting. After I ended the provision, the manager reframed the pause as a wellbeing measure, which did not match the reality. The manager’s email asking for the meeting implied that I needed to “align” with their view of PDA practice, the mentor role, and what success looks like. As someone trained in these areas, this felt dismissive and manipulative. Instead of acknowledging the issues I raised, they reframed the pause & positioned the problem as my expectations rather than their lack of specialist practice or responsibility that the tutor was not aligned to deliver PDA SEN aware sessions.
Based on my experience, the provision delivered was equivalent to basic tutoring/mentoring & should be priced accordingly, not at a specialist rate. I would not recommend them to SEN families, especially PDA ones.

Faisal is genuinely exceptional mentor. He brings such a natural, positive energy that immediately puts you at ease. He has a real gift for connecting with autistic children, especially those with PDA.

What stands out most is how instinctive and understanding he is and doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach, but really meets the child where they are. The difference this has made for us has been huge.

I’ve had an incredibly positive experience with this tuition agency. I initially found them while searching for an agency that truly understands autism and PDA, and they have absolutely delivered.

From the very beginning, they really listened to my concerns and took the time to understand my daughter’s needs. They matched us with a tutor whose approach is perfect for her—she now genuinely enjoys her sessions and looks forward to them each week.

Tierney brings creative and flexible lesson plans that have helped my 7 year old daughter make real progress after being out of school for a year. The sessions are engaging, fun, and thoughtfully adapted to keep her motivated.

I’m so grateful for the support and understanding we’ve received. I would highly recommend this agency to any parent looking for a tailored, creative and knowledgeable approach to learning.

Our dual diagnoses son (Autistic and ADHD) has been working with Faisal since September 2025, and there has been real progress in terms of engagement and confidence building.

Faisal has an intuitive sense of when it is right to gently encourage, and when it is time to step back, in order to manage potential overwhelm.

He has a positive and enthusiastic personality, and very quickly developed a rapport with our son. Using a combination of games, discussions, relaxing music and a strong sense of curiosity, Faisal’s approach has helped our son to leave the house more, nurture an interest in photography, and start to further develop thoughts about his future - both personal and professional.

Thoroughly recommended!

I’ve had a great experience with both Faisal and Tierney. Faisal has been incredibly supportive when working with my son, who has ASD, PDA, and ADHD. He shows real patience, understanding, and the ability to adapt his approach to suit my son’s individual needs. This has made a huge difference in his confidence and engagement with learning.

Tierney has also been an excellent maths tutor explaining concepts clearly and breaking things down in a way that feels manageable and not overwhelming.

SEN manny mentor tutors are professional, reliable, and genuinely care about their students. I would highly recommend them.

From Dreading English to Achieving a Grade 7

When we first reached out, our son was in Year 10 and completely shut off from English. He would always say how much he hated it. With his Dyslexia, ADHD and Autism, he just didn’t feel like the subject was made for him. He loved maths, physics, and computer science - the logical subjects - but English felt impossible and incredibly stressful for him.

What changed everything was Faisal (SEN Manny Mentor) sitting down with him, really understanding how his brain works, and reminding him of the strengths in how he thinks. The first thing he did was go back to what our son used to enjoy - creative writing - and slowly, the pressure around the subject started to lift.

Over time, the relationship grew and so did his confidence. Together they worked on his creative writing GCSE coursework, draft after draft, notes after notes, in a friendly way that felt motivating and manageable. Our son worked hard for this, constantly dedicating himself to the piece, even when the school didn’t expect much from him. When he finally submitted work, it left the English department genuinely surprised. He achieved a Grade 7 (A) in his coursework, which counted towards 40% of his final grade.

From there, his belief in himself started to build. He began enjoying English again. As we approached the exam, Faisal worked consistently, every week, sometimes every day, breaking things down, building structure, creating a way of approaching questions that suited his mind. It was intense, but it was exactly what he needed.

The school had predicted him a 3 for his final exam. On results day, he got a 7.

It wasn’t just a win on paper. It was a turning point in how he sees himself.

For any parent of a neurodivergent child who is losing confidence in school or in themselves, this kind of support is more than academic. It’s personal and fundamental.

Faisal offered consultation and advice on navigating systems to ensure a young person could access appropriate SEN support, while also providing life coaching to another young person I work with. He was warm, empathetic, and clearly very knowledgeable, which made it a pleasure to speak with him. His guidance was invaluable, and he created a nurturing space for the young person seeking life coaching support.

I can’t recommend Faisal enough. I was nervous going in — not just about finding out my combined ADHD diagnosis so late in life but also about whether I’d be able to articulate my concerns in a way that made sense. Many professionals in the past have struggled to follow my jumbled-up sentences, but Faisal understood me straight away.

He made the consultation easy and comfortable, listening without judgment and asking questions that made me feel heard. We managed to create a tailored workflow system to support my acting preparation and other areas of my life. I could feel his passion for helping people like me throughout the whole session, and it left me feeling both understood and equipped with practical tools I can actually use. To say I left the session relieved would be an understatement.

Faisal has been an outstanding SEN Learning Mentor for our son who is in senior school - based upon our Y10 experience we unreservedly recommend him. Faisal was able to help channel Thomas's enthusiasm to learn by connecting each teacher with Thomas's needs in the classroom. This improved Thomas's engagement with learning and his academic results improved. Faisal kept in daily touch. He leveraged his SEN experience to tailor approaches which worked for Thomas's learning needs and helped us work with the school to implement them. Faisal made suggestions and engaged in dialogue with Thomas and with us to shape the best options for learning and social engagement. Faisal really got to know our son and his learning and social needs and was proactive in helping to deliver a tailored experience for Thomas which built his personal and social confidence and helped him achieve materially improved academic results.