Online, creative education for 7 – 14 year olds
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." Yeats
Our teaching is 100% live face-to-face. We believe that students benefit from having a teacher available throughout the learning day.
Our classes are a lively mixture of teaching, discussion, research, thinking, reading, writing, creating, exploring and more.
At times when students are invited to work independently (write, think, create, discuss or do research) they will always have a teacher available to check in with whenever they need to.
To be holistic in the true sense of the word, there needs to be ongoing curriculum-based communication between the teachers. Our teachers meet together to plan the topic based curriculum, looking to draw from each other to make the learning interconnected and allowing students to see the big picture. Teachers also meet regularly to discuss students progress and how we can support each student to get the most from our learning community.
Teachers are trained to develop their collaborative capabilities. Our training sessions begin with ‘watering the plants’, in which we say how much we appreciate each other and name each others positive qualities and actions. We then look to develop compassionate communication, critical thinking and regenerative processes that allow us to feel empowered, respected members of the learning community.
Our teachers are all qualified with years of experience. They can teach their subjects up to 16 years old (GCSES mostly). They are creative thinkers who are looking for a more student-centred way of working with young people. Coercive learning is an anathema to them. They seek to inspire children through their classes to enjoy learning, so creative planning is a must. Listening deeply is a priority to help young people feel understood whether in the class room or as a mentor
Our teachers understand that they must be learners themselves if they wish to inspire others, and our teachers need to embody the values we wish the students to learn. That’s why mindfulness and self-developmental CPD are key to our approach.
Megan has a master’s degree in Education Studies from Cambridge University where her final dissertation looked at spirituality within education. She then gained her PGCE for 7-14 year olds from Canterbury Christ Church, covering all subjects at primary level and specialising in music at secondary level. Megan has worked in a variety of educational settings and currently coordinates a month long English language and self development programme at Findhorn College.
She knows that the best way to learn is to engage our whole selves and she therefore enjoys teaching with a holistic, creative and fun approach. Most importantly, she believes in love and the importance of teaching and learning from the heart centre.
Megan enjoys playing and writing music, sewing, and walking in the beautiful Scottish hills where she lives.
Nimrod graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Education and teaching qualifications from a program specializing in Critical Pedagogy. He obtained an MA in Psychosocial Studies from Birkbeck, University of London in 2015. Born in Israel, he has been a peace and social justice activist from a young age. He lived and volunteered in an ecological farm before deciding to learn education.
Nimrod has taught for seven years in a democratic school in Israel. While teaching, he trained in Project Based Learning at the Institute for Democratic Education. He has taught classes from primary to sixth forum, and, with the students, built and invented his own classes, such as Detectives in History, Myth Breaking and Kid’s Philosophy. He was head of the middle school and the mentoring program, before leaving for London. There he taught in a primary school, continued to teach with a focus on theme learning and project based learning.
Other than being a schoolteacher, he has volunteered for ten years in a hotline for distressed youth, helped run a collective “infoshop” and community center, was part of a creative writing group and got involved in different campaigns for social justice. He has initiated and facilitated youth groups for critical thought, helped organize for eight years an annual summer camp for youth activism and has been a guest speaker in Universities on education, media, gender and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Angela graduated from the University of Lancaster in 1994 with a BA (Hons) Degree in History with English Literature and went on to complete an MA in Later Medieval Studies. In 1996 she followed her ultimate ambition to become a teacher when she completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, London.
Since 1996 Angela has worked in a variety of educational settings across the UK. She has taught children in inner city schools in London and Bradford, trained as a Tutor and Outdoor Education Instructor for the FSC in Cumbria and worked for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London, as a teacher in their pioneering therapeutic educational provision. Angela also took some time out of the classroom to work for Pearson Edexcel as an Assessment Leader and then she embarked on a gap year travelling around the world, rediscovering yoga in India and learning to meditate in the northern tip of Thailand.
In 2014 Angela left teaching to start a family. It was during this time that she became more interested in self directed learning and thus became increasingly involved with the home educating community in West Yorkshire. In 2017 she started to offer creative, child focused, accessible and hands on science sessions for home educated children. She is now better known as ‘Asteroid Angie’ to many. Working with home educating families has been one of the most enjoyable periods of her teaching career so far. The children never fail to inspire and challenge her and creativity knows no bounds!
Most well-known for being a polyglot and linguistic chameleon, Carla has a BA Honours degree in Modern Languages & European Studies, a CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching) and a Master’s in Education (with a specialisation in Language in Education) from the University of Bath. She is also a SwáSthya Yôga instructor and yogini, as well as a girls’ and women’s circle facilitator and mentor. Born in the US with English as her native language, she has lived in the UK since 2005 and also speaks Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish, having spent several years living in both Belgium and Brazil. With a few intermittent breaks working in the translation sector, Carla has spent most of her career teaching languages to people of all ages and backgrounds as well as working in the management side of education, developing programmes and materials, looking after learners’ well-being and innovating methodological approaches with language both as the focus and medium of learning. This colourful treasure chest of life and work experiences have instilled in her a passion for learning, mentorship and activism which is holistic, compassionate, intuitive, inclusive, conscious and emotionally intelligent. When not teaching, her hobbies are reading (in any of the 5 languages mentioned above), critically analysing and debating social issues, spending time with nature, living and practising yoga and learning about permaculture, natural cosmetic making, and sustainable DIY in order to live a more ethical, eco-harmonious and self-sufficient life.
After completing a PGCE in Secondary Art & Design from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2012, Anisha has been teaching Art & Design in secondary schools in Folkestone and Bradford. Anisha’s skills and knowledge in Art & Design practice range from drawing, painting, printmaking, textiles and ceramics, she has taught all year groups including A-Level. Anisha draws influence and experience from a wide range of sources to aid her teaching practice and in particular likes to visit galleries and museums, her favourite place to visit is the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Anisha studied a BA Hons in Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art & Design where she became a natural at slip casting tableware and decorative ceramic surface design. Before beginning the PGCE, Anisha took a few months out to volunteer for the Kamla Foundation a charity that helps disadvantaged women and children in Tamil Nadu, India. During her time in India, Anisha worked on programmes to empower women of all ages as well as teaching creative English lessons in the schools to you children. Anisha’s main creative role models as a child were her grandfathers, one a carpenter the other a tailor. She firmly believes these early influences shaped her ability to learn a diverse set of skills that continue to aid her teaching practice to this day. In her spare time Anisha enjoys sewing and cooking, she is a huge fan Lego and loves to go to the theatre and cinema.
Jo graduated from the University of Wales, Bangor in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology. From there she worked as a seal handler on the Cornish coast rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing grey seal pups. With her love of the Sea Jo decided to train as a SCUBA instructor and then take this one step further by starting her own business doing what she loved most… bringing the wonders of the sea to children, through snorkelling, SCUBA and rock pool safaris.
Her love of teaching led her to gaining her P.G.C.E in 2007, where she went onto to teach Marine Biology at Falmouth Marine School in Cornwall. Jo also set up a weekly youth club for the over 5’s. It was here that she co-taught along with her very own college students, who volunteered their time once a week engaging the children in fun marine biology-based experiments.
After sometime teaching, Jo got the travel bug and with a deep personal practice in yoga she decided to take this a step further in Costa Rica and train as yoga instructor, where she worked for a year before emigrating to Canada.
Canada offered untold adventures of the wilderness… Teaching yoga in remote communities was a wonderful experience that she will never forget.
In 2015 Jo returned home to settle on the island of Anglesey in North Wales. Since then she has returned to teaching Science both as a home tutor and at local college lecturing in BTEC’s Biomedical Science and A-Level Biology and Chemistry.
Living in North Wales Jo loves to swim and snorkel, rambling coastal walks and taking care of her array of farm yard critters. She does all of this accompanied by her partner of many years and their mischievous 6-year-old daughter.
Arron graduated from Manchester School of Art in 2012 as a Bachelor of Art, specialising in Photography, in 2017 he was then granted Master of Fine Art,where his dissertation explored the therapeutic and confessional applications of photography. Since graduating Arron has been coordinating the Greater Manchester based education group ‘PEA Smart’ which delivers Photography and Fine Art tuition, to home educated students, ‘PEA Smart’ also offers Photography and Arts classes to other alternative education services that focus on special educational needs, in the Manchester area.
Arron has worked within the creative arts for over 15 years, he has held successful roles both employed and self-employed, as a professional photographer, artist, and tutor. His personal work has been shown in several exhibitions and publications and several of his paintings are also held in private collections both in the United Kingdom and the United States. Arron’s currently compiling his research in preparation for his PhD study, where his interests are in the application of aesthetic theory within 21stcentury art practice. When he is not working, Arron spends his spare time with his own home educated children, developing his art practice, and studying art history and theory.
In the years he has been teaching, Arron has developed work with over 150 young home educated artists, helping to organise several personal and group exhibitions, for his photography and art students. Arron’s approach to teaching puts emphasis on self – direction and exploration, he encourages his students to find their own interests and to pursue them through creative means.
Natalie graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Limerick in 2001, and has since worked with children and families across a wide range of backgrounds and needs in both Ireland and the UK. Her roles have included: classroom teaching, Key Stage 2 SATs’ boosters and interventions, 1:1 special needs’ teaching, and she also owned and managed a Kumon English & Maths private tuition franchise in Leeds for a number of years.
Natalie has additional post-graduate qualifications in Play & Creative Arts Therapy from Leeds Beckett University, and works part-time as a therapist (accredited register) in Bradford schools, incorporating a Jungian approach through a toolkit that includes: miniature worlds, sand trays, puppets, movement, music, art, clay, sensory play, creative visualisation and therapeutic story. In 2009, Natalie obtained an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester and she is actively involved with local poetry groups. She teaches at our Hebden Bridge Learning Community
Liva is a teacher of Maths and Science with a PGCE in Secondary Science. She completed her teaching degree in 2007 at Canterbury Christ Church University. Originally from Denmark, Liva moved to the UK from the United States 13 years ago for an MSc in Primate Conservation. Before teaching, she worked as a monkey veterinary technician in the US, conducted her Masters research on crop-raiding macaques in Indonesia, and helped to run a volunteer expedition conducting wildlife surveys in the Ecuadorian Amazon. After a couple of years of teaching in secondary school as a Science and Spanish teacher, she heard the call of the wild again and travelled for a year through Mexico and Central America and volunteered in a secondary school in Mexico. She has worked for our learning community for 5 years now and teaches Maths and Science, among other subjects, to a wide range of ages and abilities.
Liva has practiced ashtanga yoga for over 16 years, and originally began her meditation practice through yoga and hypnobirthing. She is now particularly interested in the use of mindfulness and meditation in education and how it can foster confidence and positive thinking as well as aid learning. She has two young daughters and a dog named Patch. Liva teaches at our in-person Learning Community in Hebden Bridge.
Gemma graduated from Bretton Hall with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies in 2003 and went on to work in Theatre for several years. Always having a desire to teach, she worked as a Teaching Assistant and Special Needs Support Assistant as well as teaching Art before gaining a place on the Graduate Teacher Programme. In 2011, she graduated with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Manchester Metropolitan University. She gained employment at the same school in which she was trained and taught KS2 before leaving to become a mum. Instead of returning to teaching she chose to home educate her children which revealed a passion for self directed learning. Over the last few years Gemma has been researching autonomous, democratic education. Gemma teaches at our Hebden Bridge Learning Community