Education specialist Eileen Taylor has clocked up 50 years in education and is now running her own business
As a qualified teacher, Eileen Taylor has spent the last 50 years working in education teaching both children and adults at all levels from Key Stage 1 to Master’s degrees.
At the age of 60 in 2011, Eileen took voluntary redundancy from the University of Wales where she had been a senior lecturer in special education needs and the pathway leader for the MA in Special Education Needs. Rather than retire she established GoLexia, a provider of diagnostic assessment for dyslexia, workplace needs assessments, coaching, tuition and training.
12 years later and GoLexia is now a well-established family business based at Mamhilad Park Estate that employs Eileen’s nephew Alex Brewer as a specialist support tutor and assessor plus his sister Eira Brewer as a dyslexia assessor along with their Father Guy Brewer, a coaching and mentoring advisor. The close-knit team work with a wide range of employers, local authorities and education providers who need help with the diagnosis and management of a specific learning difficulty (SpLD). This includes dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Director Eileen Taylor said:
“I started my career in education in 1973 as a newly qualified teacher. Lifelong learning, being of service and having a positive impact on others’ lives have always been my drivers which is why retirement at 60 just wasn’t for me. I felt that I had so much still to give and I wasn’t going to let being a 60 year old woman stop me.
“Establishing GoLexia was a big decision – I’d never run my own business but knew that there was a gap in the market for a high quality provider of specific learning difficulty assessments and coaching. I trusted my instinct, went with it and haven’t looked back since. It has been particularly rewarding to also see my niece and nephew progress with the business while my brother-in-law supports us as a qualified coaching and mentoring advisor helping employers to manage the impact of neurodiversity in the workplace.
“There have been many factors that have influenced the success of the business including the accessibility of our location at Mamhilad Park Estate. My advice to anyone, irrespective of age or gender is to work hard and surround yourself with good people. Believe in yourself and be proud of your achievements. I certainly am.”
Further information is available at https://www.golexia.com
