About me
What is the Calm Approach?
The short answer is I host a small forest school club for children in Reception through to Year 6, which is currently held in a local primary school.
The club aims to support children’s wellbeing and gives them the space to explore, play and learn freely, while in a safe and nurturing environment.
I previously ran pop-up baby massage sessions. These classes are not currently running, but I am always happy to offer advice on request, particularly around infant wellbeing and issues like colic, where massage techniques can be helpful.
I also have a blog which aims to explore early years and child development ideas by reflecting on experiences I have had as a practitioner and those shared by parents and other professionals working with young children.
The Calm Approach is more of an idea than it is anything else.
As an Early Years Teacher with nearly 20 years’ experience, many of which were in forest schools, I always found myself reflecting on what it meant to support children and their families, and the impact that might have.
During my practice, I realised certain values influenced the work I was doing. Values like:
- Reflective practice, not just my own but encouraging children to reflect on their learning, play and interactions with each other and the world around them.
- Building a supportive and nurturing community, one around the children, but also the one the children build for themselves and how they work together.
- Being mindful of our connections to nature, the environment and the people around us, and what impact that has.
- Encouraging critical thinking in the children and the ability to solve problems, not just in their work and play but their social and emotional interactions as well.
- Promoting their feelings of self-belief and confidence so they feel like they can do the things they want to in life.
- Above all, putting the wellbeing of the child and their family first.
I think these really define The Calm Approach and its motivation.
The inspiration for this work came while working with a dear friend and colleague. Her idea was to create a holiday club for local children, with outdoor learning and forest school themes. What we wanted was a place where children could just be themselves, play, and learn in their own way.
Together we ran the club, building on the forest school foundations with a mix of other experiences for the children to explore. There was music, movement, stretching, yoga, pilates, mindfulness, craft and even crystals (which the children loved!).
Everything was offered with no pressure, just available if and when the children wanted to join in.
We were lucky to have a small outdoor space and studio where the children could lead their own play and join whatever else was on offer.
Our small idea for a club brought together a group of children who built on the friendships they already had and even formed new ones along the way. What grew from that was a quiet, supportive little community that made the whole thing feel incredibly rewarding.
Eventually, we had the opportunity to take the club and run after-school sessions at a local primary school, where we were given access to their lovely outdoor learning space and forest school. Here we had a much larger space to explore. It was safe, secure and familiar for the children, giving them the freedom to play, learn and just have fun.
This is where many of the values I spoke about could shine and we were able to give the children a place to be themselves and have fun outdoors with minimal distractions, while also giving them access to other activities we thought were important.
Eventually, my friend came across a wonderful opportunity to pursue a long-standing dream, but she had to relocate to make it a reality. So I created The Calm Approach as a means to keep our little community alive and honour what we had started together.
While The Calm Approach began as a way to continue a much-loved holiday club and after-school community, it has since grown into a broader way of working with children and families. Whatever the project, the same values remain at its heart.
Qualifications:
- PGCE in Primary Education
- BA Hons Early Years Education
- Advanced Certificate in Forest School and Outdoor Learning
- Infant Massage Diploma
- Baby Yoga Diploma
