I work with children, teachers and parents to build a relationship-based approach toeducation, with a focus on child and teacher wellbeing.

Profile

As a young child I always had an affinity to being with and nurturing children. I came from a large extended family having 23 younger cousins. There was rarely a time in my childhood where I wasn’t looking after kids. I love the joy, openness and intrigue that children bring ­and the freshness with which they experience life. As a very young child I would gather my toys in a circle and pretend to have lessons with them. By the age of eight I would often spend hours designing and sketching the ultimate classroom. It was always surrounded by nature and had lots of windows, natural light, space and project areas that supported questioning, investigation and group collaboration. It was always within me, a knowing of the great joy that education is – so it was inevitable that my love of people and education would lead me to working as a teacher with a focus on supporting the development and wellbeing of children.

Focus

- Giving children the space to understand themselves and the world by expressing their thoughts, feelings and ideas.

- Supporting children to value themselves and recognise all they have to offer and what they bring to others.

- Creating environments that support children to build connections with each other, work together and to appreciate everyone in the group.

- Celebrating the natural playfulness of children and using this as a foundation for learning.

-Creating school based programs that support the social and emotional development of children.

Conversations I am always interested in having:

- How do we create school environments where children and teachers flourish?

- How can the broader community and the school work together to support learning and all that schools offer?

- In today’s times where depression is a leading illness, how do we educate children so they have a healthy sense of self, a commitment to life and a willingness to contribute to and be part of the community? How do we nurture children to live well and build supportive relationships that will enrich them throughout their life?