A teacher who dedicated her life to helping children with special needs and the needy has died aged 66.

Elaine Miller worked at Iffley Mead School in Iffley Turn, Oxford, from 1970 to 1995.

She also worked for a partnership which supported city special needs education and was a volunteer at a helpline for those with Multiple Sclerosis, which she was diagnosed with aged 41.

Mrs Miller was born in Chesterfield, the youngest of three sisters, and worked in the town and then London on leaving university in Bristol.

She started working at Iffley Mead on September 1, 1970, three days after marrying Chris Miller, with whom she had three children, Ben, Amy and Leo.

During her time at the school she was a teacher, acting deputy head and head of education for children aged five to 13. In the 1990s she worked with parent groups within the school’s catchment area and developed its personal and social education policy.

Daughter-in-law Laura Miller said she had a “strong interest in personal relationships” and trained as a counsellor with SeeSaw grief support in the 1990s.

She was also a “tireless volunteer” for ChildLine and Parentline, for parents of children with special needs.

From 1995 to 1997 she worked at New Hinksey CE Primary School for the AESOP Partnership, which supported special needs education in schools.

This saw her create a register of agencies and support services for use by schools.

Elaine Smith, who worked with Mrs Miller at the partnership, said: “This was a huge piece of work and a movable feast as these services and agencies were changing all the time.

“Elaine had so much knowledge about these things due to the amount of work she had already done with children with special needs.”

She said her colleague was “passionate” about her work as “she knew that early intervention was key to any form of success in the future”.

Mrs Miller was a volunteer with the MS Society’s national helpline from 2001 to 2009 and worked with its Thames Valley branch.

Senior helpline officer Julie Bonnefoy said: “Despite having MS herself she chose to give up her time to help others.

“Elaine will be remembered for her warmth, energetic approach and honesty.”

Mrs Miller, also grandmother to Felix, Hugo, Zac and Byron, died on December 16 from metastatic colon cancer. She is survived by her ex-husband Chris, with whom she remained friends.

In keeping with requests to avoid a “sombre funeral”, a celebration of her life was held at The Rotunda in Iffley Turn Oxford last Friday.