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6798 Educators providing Teacher courses

Characters Stage School

characters stage school

Bradford On Avon

Characters was set up in November 2010 by Moira Townsend Williams to provide opportunities for children and young people to obtain a performance arts training with a creative ethos. Moira is a producer and writer living in Bradford on Avon, who has also been a professional actor, (trained at Guildford School of Acting) as well as a casting director and theatrical agent. Besides producing shows for Characters, she has produced 15 live shows of her own show The Casting Couch in London’s West End and a TV pilot for Channel 4, and various other film and theatre projects including the launch for Salisbury based Women’s Theatre JUNO. Characters employs teachers and directors who are also working in the industry so that the experience your child receives is always relevant and up-to-date. Current members of the team include Maria Finlay, who has many London acting credits, who teaches and directs our Saturday Stage School at The Arc as well as Little Characters, and Trinity Exam groups, Emma Tierney who teaches/directs our Bath Characters classes, and Megan Ashton who runs our Little Characters group. Past teachers and directors have included Leanne Copley, choreographer and performance arts teacher from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College who headed up the recent partnership with St Brendan's Performance Arts Academy, as well as Tillie Bolton who now runs her own Theatre School TSPA in Bristol. Our Stage Company, which devises new plays for performance, was in 2017 led by award-winning Bristol director Dave Lovatt and Musical Director Helen Temmink. Past workshops have been led by many well known industry professionals including Penelope Wildgoose, a Stroud based award-winning actor/director, David Bond, head of performance at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Sophie Jacobs-Wyburn, who now runs The egg youth theatre in Bath,David Lane, a leading Bristol based director and dramaturge, and Tom Wainwright, who was recently writer in residence at Bristol Old Vic. The vision of Characters is to provide a training that as closely as possible emulates a drama school training, adapted for the various age groups. This not only gives participants a solid foundation in techniques and skills, should they wish to pursue a career in performance arts later on in life, but also develops team building, confidence and self-esteem which are all key to a child’s personal development and happiness – whatever they do in life. Because we are not a franchise, we can keep our fees affordable, and we will always work with parents to swop skills for fees so that our classes are accessible to all.

Marvin's Cursive Letters

marvin's cursive letters

North Marston

It is time to rescue your handwriting, here is your solution - The ‘Marvin’s Marvellous Mountain’ cursive letters programme! Developed for Reception Year, it is now also being used in Year 1 for accelerated catch-up. Order your ‘Grab and Go’ Marvin programme sets now (via our catch-up offer tab) and you will have solved a major core curriculum subject teaching headache and future-proofed the methodology. Click on the ‘Find Out More’ button and we will arrange a meeting/Zoom call/telephone call to discuss the programme. The Marvin programme really works and you can demonstrate a real Return on Investment. Marvin’s Marvellous Mountain® is a complete programme methodology It is proven to teach formation of all 26 cursive script letters by the end of Early Years Foundation Stage through a uniquely captivating, storytelling adventure. INVITE YOUR RECEPTION CLASS INTO MARVIN’S WORLD, An immersive adventure story that allows 4 - 5 year olds to learn their cursive letters almost as an enjoyable afterthought. At Marvin’s Cursive Letters we have one main aim – ‘to let children enjoy learning their cursive letters whilst the teachers find it easy to teach them’ And judging by the continued feedback from teachers, pupils, parents, head teachers and governors alike it seems we are really succeeding. Developed by a teacher at the thick of ‘the chalk face’, all the hard work of lesson preparation has now vanished and every teacher can enjoy the fun and ease with which the children learn their cursive letters. Marvin the monkey is the star of the show and the children are captivated by him. They love showing him their letter formation and getting their praise in return. Through his adventure story the children become engrossed in his Marvellous Mountain journey and all the characters he meets on his way. The programme has been designed with the delight of the children in mind and you’ve never seen such eagerness with your 4 -5 year olds in anticipation of a writing lesson! “ “The childrens’ writing is phenomenal! We’ve really, really enjoyed delivering the programme. Just set up and you’re ready to go.” All the tools are supplied to you in one complete programme consisting of Marvin himself, a colourful Flashcard Presenter with the illustrated character letters, a comprehensive Tutor’s Manual outlining everything you need to know about the programme, a Quick Start online tutorial to give you the overview of how to start teaching the programme quickly and you also get the comprehensive online tutorials so you can watch videos for effective teaching of this innovative programme. The Tutor’s Handbook not only has all the rhymes and ditties which help the children to memorise correct letter formation but we’ve also added in Teacher Tips and Teaching Opportunities with suggestions for how to expand each letter’s theme into other areas of the Foundation curriculum to achieve their Early Learning Goals. So, we’ve made it easy for you, huge fun for the children and with proven measurable results that will sway even the most ardent doubters as to the ability of Reception pupils to excel at cursive script letters. What are you waiting for? Contact us right away to set up a meeting and get to see Marvin in action.

Gail Biddulph

gail biddulph

I have dedicated my entire life to helping other people to become high performers. Others say I’m a high performer too! I define a high performer as someone who wants to achieve more than others. Someone who is committed to being a little better tomorrow than they are today. And someone who wants to leave a legacy that makes the world better than they found it. Sometimes that means being tenacious, sometimes being brave and embracing new ways. Often letting go of the old ways that no longer work. Letting go of stress, our self-negativity and inherited dramas. During my 20+ years as a business improvement consultant I’ve created a fusion method that reduces stress and simultaneously improves profit. Let’s face it, as a business owner a lot of stress is from knowing there’s more opportunity, but you can’t quite grasp it. Taking the dual approach of identifying accelerated growth, profit and stress reduction gives maximum results. Although qualified in business psychology, accelerated business growth and business coaching with a focus on creating high-performing businesses, in my heart I know that every business is only as successful as its people. And, that high performing people think differently, act differently and feel different to people who have missed out on internal self-development practice such as meditation. I was fortunate that my father taught me meditation as a child. It was only in my twenties I realised the power of my teachings and daily practice as I struggled juggling studying business psychology, working full time and trying to enjoy life. I realised that meditation helped me sleep, kept me calm and healthy so I started formal training to become both a yoga and meditation teacher which I incorporated into my business optimisation consultancy. My studies have extended over thousands of hours of apprenticing, studying different ways of meditating and studying The Vedas. I followed my fascination of the layers of human consciousness and how business owners can become high performers. I am now over 29 years and 21,170 meditations deep into my practice and my optimisation methods have added over £100 million of revenue to companies. I have studied with Buddhist Monks and Tibetan Masters, British School of Meditation, British School of Yoga. Most recently studying Meditation Mastery Teacher, Advanced Yoga Practitioners Diploma, with the highly acclaimed team at Dru Global School of Meditation, Yoga & Ayurveda. I am qualified at Master level in Ancient Yoga Massage from an accredited teacher of the Healing Hands Centre, Kathmandu. I live with my husband and dog in Cheshire where you can find me walking in nature, enjoying my own cooking a bit too much and riding my motorcycle on sunny days! Turning My Mess to Mastery Against all these odds of mental exhaustion, emotional turmoil and physical pain in 1995 I embarked on my solo, unsupported motorcycle ride around the coast of Great Britain with no satnav, no mobile and no wrong turns. I am the first woman to do it. Just weeks before the start I couldn’t stand straight. I couldn’t walk. It was then I acknowledged something I had known from a very young age that there is a vital link between our mind, nature-connectedness and achieving the success we desire. With this acknowledgement I was able to reduce and eradicate the pain. I was pain free and set off as planned, met all 277 pre-planned media interviews on time every time and raised a substantial amount of money for a lung cancer charity. That was just the beginning of the journey…

Yoga By Noel

yoga by noel

5.0(30)

Stafford

I first found yoga in 2007, while travelling Asia, and the physicality of the practice caught my interest right away (such as supporting my weak lower back at the time), but also to quieten my mind and centre myself through my adventures.   Soon after, I trained in Ayurvedic Medicine as well as Ayurvedic Massage and found a holistic way to combine Ayurveda, Hatha Yoga and modern practices into enhancing my everyday wellbeing, as well as teaching others how to do the same. I have immersed myself in many sound therapy sessions. The feeling you get from being surrounded by intense sounds and vibrations is of grounded serenity. This helped me thrive through this time, bringing stillness to my mind and body. I incorporate this sound bowl therapy into all my yoga classes, so you too can experience the benefits. I am based in Stafford, where I have formed a fun, cool and welcoming yoga community. My intention as a professional yoga instructor is to help students listen to their inner selves and find the courage to step out of their comfort zone. Just like playing an instrument or sport needs practice, so does yoga. Nobody will be able to do all the yoga postures in the first class, even as an experienced yoga teacher, I still need to practice. Yoga is more than just getting into a posture and stretching the body. Yoga teaches you to be present and shows you ways to calm the mind. It is not at all competitive.  On the Path of Mindfulness You may practice yoga as we do in the UK, to relax, stretch and become more flexible. But yoga can be more than that. When you truly get into it and take the time to focus on your breathing, within an extended hold of the pose (as we do in Hatha Yoga), you adjust, you feel, you listen, you focus.  A light bulb starts to shine somewhere in your mind, your endorphins take over, you start to surrender, you may smile, you become one with the present moment - that’s when the true magic occurs.   Being present is a lifelong journey in itself and something I am still focusing on daily. It’s not easy and it doesn’t happen overnight, but through yoga, mindfulness and gratitude we lean closer and closer to being ever so present.  This is something I bring a lot of focus to in my yoga classes. It helps us to feel what is happening right now - not what happened or will happen, but what is happening. Take a deep breath right now - what do you feel? You feel the gift of the present moment.    Smiling is mandatory in my yoga classes - as I do believe humour and fun are key to experiencing the present moment and to releasing fabulous uplifting hormones. Believe me: this approach has helped me through many tough times.  Yoga has been a life changer for me, in times of worry, anxiety, the lows and the highs…it’s provided me with the opportunity to reflect, go within and come out of those times feeling totally nurtured and ready to take on every single chapter. My only hope is that you also feel this from the yoga practice.  I offer in-person yoga classes in Stafford, for small groups or 1-2-1. I am also qualified to offer holistic coaching, Massage Therapy and chakra energy balancing.

Darryl Syms Music

darryl syms music

I’ve been playing guitar since I was 13, with no prior experience on any other instrument. I lived in the UK at this time, and was inspired by my former guitar teacher to take up the instrument. I was very lucky to be guided in talented hands, and continuously inspired and challenged to strive for success as a musician. I remember taking every opportunity outside of school classes to hang out and watch my teacher and his best students, I found it memorising and inspiring. Within the first couple years of playing I was sure that I wanted to pursue music as a career. Through my teen-hood I would be practicing anywhere up to 10hrs a day, taking my guitar everywhere that I went. I did this for nothing more than the enjoyment it gave me. Around 16 during the early growth of YouTube I felt inspired to get my hands on a camera. For a few years I had to pinch my parents in secret (sorry Dad) since I couldn’t afford my own. I quickly grew to enjoy the art of video production, which compliments audio production like sand does the ocean. I posted a handful of YouTube videos at the time but I was extremely self critical and scared of what others might think, so it was never long before I took the videos down and re-did them over and over. It took me a few years to get over the barrier of self-confidence, and when I eventually began to accept myself for who I was I would post very occasional videos and considered my YouTube channel to be a portfolio of my own achievements. This “portfolio” didn’t receive much recognition at all, but it helped greatly when I decided to create a website and advertise for guitar lessons in my city. I quickly became quite established as a guitar teacher because unlike 99% of other teachers, I had video proof that I could play guitar and people found that inspiring. As adulthood approached me I was lucky enough to have a range of career opportunities to choose from, but my heart was always set on playing the guitar as a career, somehow. This was understandably a bit disappointing for my family because they saw my academic potential and hoped that I would strive for a more “reliable” and “stable” career. It certainly would have been easier that way in some regards, but I took the hard route because I just can’t resist a good challenge and I saw no alternatives to my primary passion. Teaching seemed like the easiest and most accessible way to make money, but as a newbie on the scene it wasn’t nearly enough for me to buy a car, pay rent, and endure the costly life of an adult. I took a job in retail and booked my guitar students around that. Cycling was my method of commuting everywhere, and cycling through steep hilly terrain on a single-speed bike with a guitar on your back is no fun, trust me.. but it had to be done! Despite the challenges, I worked incredibly hard to deliver the best job that I could to my students. After years of perseverance I finally had enough students to quit retail, and I had a car which saved so much time on transport. With the extra time I could reinvest it into my own practice, and create YouTube videos again… oh and surfing. Whilst I’d love to talk all about my surfing experience/career, you’re not here for that so let’s just say that for a few years hereafter I was just cruisin’. During this time I also worked in two high schools as a guitar teacher. In 2018 one of my YouTube videos got significantly more exposure than usual, and consequently I quickly reached 1000 subscribers – this was an incredible achievement for me! “Making it” on YouTube was always a ridiculously farfetched dream of mine, but it was at this point that I realised that – maybe it doesn’t have to be a dream. Fast forward to now, my YouTube channel has over 35,000 subscribers and over 3,000,000 views! I’ve created my own successful online guitar school with students across 60+ countries, worked and collaborated with a number of industry leading brands, and done session work for a mixture of clients both live and in studio. It’s been a tough ride, but a fun one!

Bristol Forest School

bristol forest school

Bristol

BFS has a number of STAFF and VOLUNTEERS who assist in running our forest school sessions, planning activities and preparing resources. All BFS staff who lead sessions alone are fully Forest School qualified, DBS checked, First Aid trained and they hold Public Liability Insurance. They include… ANDY WILSON founded Bristol Forest School in 2004. He trained with the original Forest School cohort from Bridgwater College, and has a wealth of experience from 18 years forest school teaching. Andy runs regular Forest School sessions and parties at both the BFS woodland and in schools throughout Bristol. He also runs Forest School staff training. As Woodland Manager, Andy has successfully transformed the BFS site into a beautiful and accessible educational space; he monitors our ecological footprint through an environmentally sustainable attitude to Our Woodland. SOPHIE BUTLER joined Andy in 2011 and together they expanded Bristol Forest School. She is a trained Early Years teacher and qualified as a Level Three Forest School Leader in 2012. Sophie’s passion for nature and sustainability has grown over the years since living off-grid in an eco village in Hawaii. Sophie established the BFS Pre-Schools, the Saturday Club Minis and Adventurers. She now supports the running of these groups and is responsible for BFS’s policies, website and social media. HANNAH BUSHELL joined the BFS staff team in 2015 following a dedicated volunteering stint and completing her Level Three Forest School. Hannah is an experienced primary school teacher who works part-time in a Steiner Kindergarten as well as undertaking the nature connection course ‘Call of the Wild’. Hannah runs our specialist CCS days for adopted children and their families. To contact Hannah, please email hannah@bristolforestschool.co.uk. LUCY ROSE HARRIS is a qualified primary school teacher with six years teaching experience. Lucy gained her Forest School Level 3 Award in 2014 and is passionate about promoting outdoor learning opportunities, a love of nature and fun adventures for children. Lucy joined Bristol Forest School in 2017 and, following some maternity time with baby Luna, she is now back in our Pre-School team. LOUISE SPELLWARD is a qualified Horticulturalist and garden designer with a background in Environmental Conservation. Her first experience of Bristol Forest School was as a parent attending with her son; not wanting to miss out on the fun, she decided to train in Forest School herself and completed her Level 3. In 2019 Lou took on the Bristol Forest School Pre-School. To contact her, email lou@bristolforestschool.co.uk KATE BERRY is an art educator with 16 years’ experience delivering workshops in natural history, conservation, poetry, story creation, art, design and photography. She is passionate about outdoor education and wildlife conservation. Kate has worked at Bristol Forest School since 2016 and has a Level 3 Forest School qualification. In 2019 Kate began leading the Saturday Minis with Lou and Melissa. To contact her, email kate@bristolforestschool.co.uk VERONIKA SIMON studied agricultural engineering before working as a special needs teacher for primary school children with EBD as well as in a nursery for Pre-School children. Veronika enjoys sharing her passion for nature and animals and can often be found in her allotment digging or watching the bees! Veronika became a qualified Forest School leader in 2018; she started volunteering with Bristol Forest School in 2020 and now runs schools sessions and BFS parties. BESS SPENCER worked as an ‘Access to Nature’ play-worker in inner city London and trained as a Forest School leader in 2018. She now practices and teaches co-counselling and nature-facilitation activities using Tom Brown’s Apache derived techniques. At Bristol Forest School, Bess assists with our school sessions. MELISSA GAULT is a qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader and is currently studying to become an Early Years educator. She loves getting out into nature as much as possible! Melissa has been supporting Bristol Forest School since January 2018. She began as a volunteer for the Saturday Minis and is now a fully fledged member of the Pre-School team. MILLY BAILEY has an environmental background – she moved from working in an office as an environmental consultant, to the forest – which she much prefers. Milly has a passion for connecting herself and others to the natural world: she is a keen hiker, forager and wild swimmer. Milly started volunteering with Bristol Forest School in 2019 and now works as part of the Pre-School team.

The Self-compassion Community

the self-compassion community

London

I'm a former board level executive director who rose quickly ... and became burnt out, young. I am also a former voice artist - something which served me well when a life-changing injury occurred in 2006. I suffered a ‘hip replacement gone wrong’ which left me with major arterial internal bleeding and genuinely fighting for my life ... physically of course, and subsequently mentally too as the months of physical recovery and pain rolled into many years. I went from being a high-achieving, fast-paced, super capable person, to someone who needed to learn to walk again. That took its toll. And years of pain and effort. Cultivating self-compassion and mindfulness helped me find a way through. Sounds trite almost doesn't it? But it's powerfully, powerfully true. Catherine Kell Meaningful and adaptable teaching I have studied hard to do the work I do, to get all the necessary qualifications and registrations (more on those below). Yet what exams and qualifications alone can't give someone is the heart to do the work. That 'in the veins' pulse to help improve the life of another. And I believe my journey gives me the authenticity to bring compassion-based approaches meaningfully and wholeheartedly to others. I embody what I teach, and I bring kindness, sincerity, warmth, and of course compassion to every interaction. I'm friendly and lively too! I bring an adaptable pace and tone depending on the environment. I'm passionate about bringing the skills of self-compassion and mindfulness into people's lives to help them make transformations, build their resources and step into their full expression and power from a place of self-acceptance and inner strength. It's a privilege to witness the unfolding of all aspects of their good health. Qualifications and Education Catherine has had a personal mindfulness and meditation practice since 2006. She is a qualified and authorised Trained Teacher of the evidence-based and empirically-supported Mindful Self-Compassion programmes and trained through the globally renowned Center for Mindful Self-Compassion in their intensive MSC programme developed by self-compassion pioneers Kristin Neff PhD and Christopher Germer PhD. She is trauma-sensitive in all her work, undertaking ongoing CPD in the trauma field. She has an MA Degree with Honours and as well as her training as a Mindfulness Teacher she holds a Professional Certification in Clinical and Therapeutic Mindfulness for applied use in 1-to-1 session work. Additionally, Catherine is an alumni of Compassion Cultivation Training with the Compassion Institute, a scientifically-backed and evidence-based training programme developed at Stanford University, as well as various compassion, mindfulness, meditation and lovingkindness professional development programs with Tara Brach and Sharon Salzberg, both global leaders in compassion and mindfulness. Catherine is also a Trained Teacher with the Mindfulness in Schools Project, and has passionately brought her skillset to scores of teenagers and school staff as a teacher of kindfulness, gratitude practices and the MiSP evidence-based 10-week mindfulness curriculum developed specifically for pupils and staff in schools. Catherine is a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist (Dip.Cl.Hyp (Distinction), Cl.NLP, CNHC Reg., SICH HPD, MNCH(Reg.) and Paediatric Clinical Hypnotherapist (Dip.Hyp Paediatrics (Distinction). In her past work with children, Catherine had a particular interest in anxiety, panic attacks and sleep, helping children and adolescents from the age of around 7 to 18. Today, working with adults, Catherine uses hypnosis in a coaching capacity rather than a clinical one in order to help those working with her to cultivate self-compassion, boost life-satisfaction, uplevel and truly thrive. Previously, Catherine provided in-depth parenting support and empowerment services for whole families either in office from a local health centre, or via home visits. Catherine led specialist therapeutic support and learning sessions for mothers based around cultivating mindful self-compassion and strengthening the parent-child connection in parenting. Catherine is a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, holds a Diploma In Positive Parenting and is a graduate of the 'Parenting by Connection Professionals Programme' with Hand in Hand Parenting. Catherine draws all her rich experience into every interaction. She is passionate about guiding people in developing the capacity to be with themselves in the kindest and most supportive way. Self-compassion can truly transform lives. Catherine is an accomplished speaker and provider of workshops and talks. She has contributed as a mindfulness and self-compassion expert to many podcasts and a number of mental health books.