More about Rachel
Hi everyone, we have a lot of new followers and parents getting in touch and I wanted to share a little bit about myself and how Sowing Seeds started! I am married with 2 children and value the importance of balance and prioritising our own mental health. I completed my English and Media degree in South Wales, my English PGCE in Leeds before moving to Western Australia to teach. My time in Oz taught me so much about creating experiences for children and that it doesn’t have to be inside a classroom. In many ways, the sense of community in the school and being exposed to a more fluid and creative approach in the classroom has stayed with me. When I returned to the UK, I soon became Reading Coordinator and then Assistant Head of English, Head of English and Assistant Principal.
It was a tough decision to leave mainstream education but one I know has helped change my life for the better; given me more time with my family; and that decision has helped children and families outside of school. I set up Sowing Seeds Tuition in September 2022 after working in secondary education for 17 years. I love teaching, and teaching my subject; I’ve helped with primary transition; whole school literacy; curriculum design and intervention; and enhancing student experience as well as student leadership. All of this was possible because I had an incredible team in every role to help make sure every child made progress by creating learning experiences and a love of their subjects.
As an Assistant Principal, I also visited homes and got to meet parents who were worried about their child (in their bedroom in their safe space) because their child couldn’t come to school due to their mental health. They were on waiting lists and were trying to do what they could with the limited support outside of school available. The attendance team and pastoral support was fantastic, but if a child couldn’t get into school, they weren’t accessing the support to help make the adjustments needed. Many of the students on the student leadership team voiced the need for more mental health support for the students in school. And this got me thinking…
Before Sowing Seeds, I also struggled with my mental health and felt I was unable to do what I wanted in my role and in education. After investing in some self-care time and headspace, that’s when Sowing Seeds Tuition was born! I wanted to help children both emotionally and academically as a tuition centre to help children develop a range of skills and thrive, with the hope that the support my team and I provide prevents them ever feeling overwhelmed and unable to go to school. But then…I started getting calls from parents needing help in the daytime as their child had not been to school for months…years! That’s when I founded Sowing Seeds Wellbeing CIC with my directors to create an education and wellbeing support provision to help children with low self-esteem, social anxiety and undiagnosed neurodiverse needs…and provide support for parents too!
In 20 months, the team has grown to include our amazing learning and wellbeing manager, Stacey, 35+ dedicated tutors, counsellors and coaches and receiving the Highly Commended Award in Bradford’s Education Awards for Community Involvement. We have 5 learning and wellbeing spaces and offer tuition in our centre in Idle (and Shipley!), at home and online offering a range of support for 5-25 year olds in whatever style and approach they need. We also offer Youth Mental Health First Aid training with Saltaire Training Company for our 16 year old students, tutors parents and community (the next one is in July!).
We make learning accessible, challenging and enjoyable to help children grow, get ahead and recognise what they are capable of now and in the future. We already do this for the 150+ children that come to use in the daytime and evening!
Currently, we operate as a non-registered alternative provision in the daytime, we are named in EHCP’s and and provide Home Education group tuition too. We also work with schools and colleges as well as Adult Social Care in Bradford to help young adults access qualifications and learn life skills to give them the confidence and independence to thrive . In September, we are also becoming a registered Alternative Provision in the daytime to help children with SEMH and neurodivergent needs!
A lot has been achieved in a short space of time because there is a desperate need for more support to help children emotionally and academically. Our one size ‘doesn’t’ fit all approach works from reception all the way to GCSE grade 9 – and our results show that children make accelerated progress with us when they believe in themselves – and evidence shows in school reports, mocks and GCSE results and attendance figures (of course) to show the difference our approach makes!
We are in the finals again for Bradford Means Business in 2 categories this year: New Business of the Year and Social Mobility! We are also hosting the first Personalised Prom of its kind in West Yorkshire for children who want to celebrate the end of their GCSE journey with friends or their safe person, perhaps they missed out on their school prom last year, or the environment needs to be carefully managed…we are offering the prom experience to the children who want to go to their prom but can’t because of certain barriers that we can hopefully change.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help your 4-25 year old, please get in touch.
