Instagram Feed.
Sep 14
What makes Sowing Seeds Different?
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We believe education isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every child has different strengths,
challenges, interests and ways of learning.
Personalised tuition
Support for neurodiverse learners
A focus on wellbeing
Learning at their own pace
A safe and supportive environment
Because sometimes, the first step towards learning is simply feeling understood.
Which of these would make the biggest difference to your child? Tell us below
#sowingseedstuition #personalisedlearning
#SENDsupport #Educationmatters #alternativeeducation
Sep 13
Looking for reliable, nurturing, and educational wraparound care that your child will
actually enjoy? 🌟
At Sowing Seeds, we do more than just childcare. We provide a safe, supportive
space where children can thrive through play, relaxation, and optional academic
enrichment. Whether you need a helping hand before school or a friendly, secure
environment after the bell rings, we’re here to support your family.
✅ Why parents love Sowing Seedlings:
🏫 Convenient: Dedicated school collections for Idle C of E, Thorpe, and Thackley
Primary Schools.
🍎 Balanced: Breakfast clubs, delicious teas, structured playtime, and optional tutoring.
✨ Nurturing: A trauma-informed, wellbeing-focused approach where every child is
valued.
⏰ Flexible: Morning sessions from 7:30 am | After-school sessions until 6:00 pm.
We have spaces available right now, but they fill up fast! Give your child a confident start
and a happy end to their school day.
👉 Book your child’s spot today!
🔗 Click the link in our bio [or insert link here] to register and secure your place.
📞 Have questions? Drop us a DM or contact us at 07753326202.
#WraparoundCare
#SchoolRunSolutions #ChildcareSupport #SowingSeedsTuition #beforeandafterschool
Sep 11
Your feedback means the world to us!
Feedback Friday is making a comeback 🔥 Every week, we will be sharing some of the lovely feedback and reviews we’ve received from our learners and families.
At Sowing Seeds Tuition, we’re about so much more than grades. We’re here to help young people learn, grow and believe in themselves - building confidence, developing skills and celebrating every step forward. Swipe through to see what our learners and families have to say!
Thankyou to everyone who takes the time to share their experience with us. Your words mean so much to our team.
Haven’t left a review? Why not leave one now! Head to our Google or
Facebook and have your say
#sowingseedstuition #feedbackfriday #parentreviews #westyorkshire #personalisedtuition
Sep 10
🌱 4 years of Sowing Seeds! 🌱
Four years ago, I took one of the biggest risks of my life. After 20+ years in education, I resigned as an Assistant Principal and left mainstream teaching following my own experiences of anxiety, depression and burnout.
In September 2022, Sowing Seeds began with just me — an English tutor, 10 jobs and lots of long days driving and tutoring!
I knew something needed to change. I believed children couldn’t thrive academically unless they first felt safe, understood, valued and enjoyed learning. 🌱
Four years later, I still can’t believe how far we’ve come:
🌱 27 employees & 40 tutors
🌱 500+ children and young people supported
🌱 Alternative Learning provision
🌱 Specialist Sensory Hub & Wellbeing CIC
🌱 Ofsted-registered wraparound & holiday provision
🌱 NCFE, ASDAN & exam centre provision
🌱 Tuition, EOTAS, mentoring, counselling, work experience & wellbeing support
🌱 Specialist support for neurodivergent learners and families across Yorkshire and beyond
This summer, we even sold our house to buy the Footsteps premises and secure Sowing Seeds’ future. From renting one room at my daughter’s dance school to now living above our own provision — what a journey! ❤️
But the achievements that mean the most aren’t awards or numbers.
They’re the young person who finds their confidence again. The parent who finally gets a moment to breathe. The families who tell us, “You understand.”
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve created and grateful to every learner, family, team member, school and professional who has been part of it.
Here’s to the next chapter and all the seeds we are yet to sow! 🌱
Rachel x
#SowingSeeds #AlternativeProvision #SEND #EOTAS #Yorkshire
Sep 9
September Tuition Timetable
It’s time to get back into routine, Our new session timetables are here!
Looking for extra support, a confidence boost, or personalised tuition for your child? We have a
range of sessions available to support learners at their own pace, in a safe and supportive
environment.
Take a look through our timetables below to see our upcoming sessions and find the right option
for your child. Can’t see one that suits your need? Get in touch and we can help where we can.
Primary School:
Year 2 English - Tues 4pm / Tues 4:30pm
Year 2 Maths - Tues 4:30pm / Tues 5pm
Year 5 English - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Year 5 Maths - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Year 5 & 6 English - Wed 4pm / Wed 4:30pm
Year 6 Maths - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Secondary School:
Year 8 English - Tues 5pm / Tues 5:30pm
Year 9 Maths - Wed 5pm / Wed 5:30pm
Year 10 Maths (Foundation) - Wed 6pm / Wed 6:30pm / Thur 5pm / Thur 5:30pm
Year 11 Maths (Foundation) - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Year 11 Maths (Higher) - Wed 5pm / Wed 5:30pm
Year 11 Combined Science (Higher) - Mon 6pm / Mon 6:30pm
Year 11 English - Wed 5pm / Wed 5:30pm
Spaces may be limited, so get in touch to find out more or secure your childs place!
#sowingseedstuition #personalisedlearning #westyorkshire #education #tuition
Sep 7
A Day of Learning, Reflection & Teamwork!
On Tuesday it was all about working together, thinking strategically and understanding where we can grow. 💭✨
We had the amazing Paul from New Habits running our training session.
We spent the day:
🌱Analysing our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (SWOT)
🌱Working in teams to tackle general knowledge challenges 🧠
🌱Exploring our gaps and areas for development
🌱Sharing ideas, perspectives and experiences
🌱Identifying opportunities for growth, improvement and future success
🌱 Going over our safeguarding policies
🌱 Big welcome to our new staff
A brilliant day of collaboration, honest reflection and learning from one another. It’s amazing what we can achieve when we put our heads together! 💚
#TogetherWeCan #sowingseedstution #bradford #teambuilding
Sep 4
🌱 Welcome to Sowing Seeds Tuition! 🌱
Looking for more than just traditional tuition? You’ve found us. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we believe every child matters. We provide personalised tuition, wellbeing support and alternative learning for children and young people aged 4–25, with a particular focus on SEND and neurodiverse learners.
✨ Award-winning & Ofsted registered
📚 Qualified, specialist teachers
🌱 Small, personalised groups
🧠 SEND & neurodiversity specialists
💚 Wellbeing-first, trauma-informed approach
🏡 Home, online & centre-based learning
🎓 SATs, GCSEs, Functional Skills & more
🤝 School partnerships, alternative provision & EOTAS
👨👩👧 Wraparound childcare & holiday provision
🏆 Official NCFE Exam Centre
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We get to know the child behind the learner and create support around their individual strengths, needs and goals.
📍 Based in Idle, Bradford, supporting families across Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Ready to find out how we can support your child?
📞 01274 003 011
📧 hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
💬 Send us a DM or get in touch today — let’s help your child learn, grow & succeed. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #BradfordTuition #BradfordParents #westyorkshire
Sep 4
🌱 Welcome to Sowing Seeds Tuition! 🌱
Looking for more than just traditional tuition? You’ve found us. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we believe every child matters. We provide personalised tuition, wellbeing support and alternative learning for children and young people aged 4–25, with a particular focus on SEND and neurodiverse learners.
✨ Award-winning & Ofsted registered
📚 Qualified, specialist teachers
🌱 Small, personalised groups
🧠 SEND & neurodiversity specialists
💚 Wellbeing-first, trauma-informed approach
🏡 Home, online & centre-based learning
🎓 SATs, GCSEs, Functional Skills & more
🤝 School partnerships, alternative provision & EOTAS
👨👩👧 Wraparound childcare & holiday provision
🏆 Official NCFE Exam Centre
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We get to know the child behind the learner and create support around their individual strengths, needs and goals.
📍 Based in Idle, Bradford, supporting families across Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Ready to find out how we can support your child?
📞 01274 003 011
📧 hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
💬 Send us a DM or get in touch today — let’s help your child learn, grow & succeed. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #BradfordTuition #BradfordParents #westyorkshire
Sep 4
🌱 Welcome to Sowing Seeds Tuition! 🌱
Looking for more than just traditional tuition? You’ve found us. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we believe every child matters. We provide personalised tuition, wellbeing support and alternative learning for children and young people aged 4–25, with a particular focus on SEND and neurodiverse learners.
✨ Award-winning & Ofsted registered
📚 Qualified, specialist teachers
🌱 Small, personalised groups
🧠 SEND & neurodiversity specialists
💚 Wellbeing-first, trauma-informed approach
🏡 Home, online & centre-based learning
🎓 SATs, GCSEs, Functional Skills & more
🤝 School partnerships, alternative provision & EOTAS
👨👩👧 Wraparound childcare & holiday provision
🏆 Official NCFE Exam Centre
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We get to know the child behind the learner and create support around their individual strengths, needs and goals.
📍 Based in Idle, Bradford, supporting families across Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Ready to find out how we can support your child?
📞 01274 003 011
📧 hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
💬 Send us a DM or get in touch today — let’s help your child learn, grow & succeed. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #BradfordTuition #BradfordParents #WestYorkshire #tuitionbradford
Sep 2
🌱 WELCOME BACK! 📚✨
We’re so excited to welcome our learners back for another year of learning, growth and success! 💚
At Sowing Seeds Tuition, we believe every child and young person is unique. Everyone has their own strengths, challenges and learning style — so our support is never one-size-fits-all.
Whether your child needs extra academic support, a confidence boost, or personalised tuition, we’re here to provide the individualised academic and emotional support they need to learn, grow and reach their full potential. 🌱
🏆 Award-winning
📚 Ofsted registered
💚 Tuition & wellbeing support
👧 Supporting ages 4–25
Here’s to a fantastic year ahead! Let’s learn, grow and succeed — together. ✨
🌐 Find out more: sowingseedstuition.co.uk
#SowingSeedsTuition #WelcomeBack #LearnGrowSucceed #Tuition #PersonalisedLearning #Wellbeing #EducationSupport #Confidence #LearningSupport #NewSchoolYear
Aug 19
🌙 To all our GCSE students (and our parents) on the night before Results Day…
We know tonight might feel like a long one. And tomorrow morning will feel very daunting as it approaches.
There may be nerves, excitement, worry, pride and lots of “what ifs?” For parents and carers, it can be just as emotional. You’ve watched your child work hard, overcome challenges, doubt themselves, keep going and, for many of our young people, face barriers that others may never fully understand.
So tonight, we want you to remember something really important:
Tomorrow’s results are just one moment in time. They do not define your child, their ability, their potential or their future. We also know that some children won’t have this experience tomorrow and that it will happen if or when they are ready (and we are here to help if needed)💚
A grade cannot measure resilience.
It cannot measure kindness.
It cannot show how much courage it took to walk into an exam room or even being able to open that envelope to read those results.
It cannot capture the progress made simply by re-engaging with education, believing in yourself again or refusing to give up.
Whatever is written on that piece of paper tomorrow, there will always be a next step and another pathway. Open it on your own, when you get home, with you family or with your friends. It’s your moment to choose and every person shows their nerves in their own way
To our students: we are already incredibly proud of how far you have come. Tomorrow is about recognising what you have achieved, not measuring your worth by a number.
And to our parents and carers: whatever tomorrow brings, celebrate how far they have come and know we are here if you need to chat . ❤️
From all of us at Sowing Seeds, we wish every young person receiving their GCSE results and resit results tomorrow the very best of luck. 🍀🌱
You are so much more than your results. This is one moment in your story, not the whole story.
#GCSEresults #GCSEresultsday #SowingSeeds #SEND #Proud
Aug 13
🎓 A-Level Results Day 🌱
To all our A-Level students receiving their results today — well done! 💚
Remember, one set of results doesn’t define your future. There are many different pathways to success, and the right one is the one that works for you.
At Sowing Seeds Tuition, we’re here to help young people explore their options and find the right next step. 🌱
📞 01274 003 011
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
Your future is still yours to shape. 💚
#SowingSeedsTuition #ALevelResults #ResultsDay #NextSteps #StudentSupport #Education
Jul 20
💜👋 We are excited to welcome families for our first Calm and Connect Stay and Play for children with SEND (siblings welcome) this Wednesday 9-10.30 at our wellbeing centre in Thackley! To book, see the comments section with the link on our website! We will be sharing more videos of our sensory rooms (and have a scroll through our page!). You also have the option to book out our ENTIRE centre with family and friends for 90 minutes! #stayandplay #cityofbradford #sendsoftplay #send #community
Jul 17
Watch until the end…This is what learning should look and feel like! The right balance between focus and fun. The ability to tailor to children’s interests, personalities, skills and then build on that to expand on their existing knowledge!
It has been lovely to celebrate achievements as students complete another year with us and that children want to continue with us next year because they enjoy tuition and it’s so personalised to them - and they’ve made new friends along the way. If you’d like to book a trial session, please get in touch and we are also offering a summer learning package for £60 before you join us in September, which includes their first session for free when we return (this offer is also available to our existing families)! Please continue to message us or contact us over the holidays as it’s our busiest time for enquiries and our timetable is filling up (which is crazy as this was once the quietest time!😅).
Our email is hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk or you can call/message us on 01274 003011/07753326202
#tutor #ofstedregistered #primarytutor #gcsetutor #onlinetutoring
Jul 7
It’s been wonderful welcoming so many children, young adults and their families here since we opened our doors! Laura and I sat down earlier to plan the different Stay and Play sessions in the first 5 weeks of summer! We all love the feel and energy of our Thackley site because of how easily it adapts for everyone! Sessions will go live later this week and we have 90 minute group bookings from 9.00-10.30 and 10.45-12.15 every day (except Tuesday which is in the afternoon). If you’d like to hire our space or book to deliver a session, please contact us too!
Thanks to everyone for your support and a big shout out to Yorkshire West Riding Freemasons for donating our beautiful sensory shelter which will offer plenty of shade and outdoor play over summer too! #bradford #childrensmentalhealth #family support #stayandplay #safespace
Jul 4
🎉 NEW Youth Group starting in Thackley!
Looking for a relaxed place for your 11-16 year old to make friends, try new activities and have a great time?
Join us for our Youth Group, running Thursdays 6.30 - 7.30pm.
Each session will include a variety of optional activities, including:
🎲 Board Games
♟️ Chess
🧱 LEGO Club
📿 Bracelet Making
🎨 Creative Activities
😊 Plus much more!
It is also a BYOG (Bring Your Own Game!).
We want our youth group to provide a safe, supportive environment where young people in the community can socialise, build confidence and develop new skills while having fun. They can interact as much or as little as they like in a neuro-affirming environment with our specialist team.🥰
☕ We also offer something extra! Parents and carers are warmly invited to stay in our separate meeting space.☺️ This is optional and also offers reassurance for some children and also gives you the opportunity to connect and chat with other parents and carers.
Our Parent & Carer Support Group helps you take advantage and relax with a tea or coffee, meet other families and chat in a friendly, supportive environment.
✨ Spaces are limited!
If you’d like more information or would like to book a place, please DM or email - we’d love to hear from you.
📧 hello@sowingseedswellbeing.co.uk
#bradford #youthgroup #nonprofit #childrensmentalhealth #parentsupport
Jul 3
💚 No tuition session is the same. All of our sessions are carefully planned and tailored for your child and themed around their interests!
We have different seating options (or no seat at all), different specialists (including dyslexia assessors, SENCOs and SATs and GCSE examiners), and different learning programmes both in person or online.
We are still welcoming students this half term and reserving spaces for September! To book a session, you can do this directly via our website or speak to a member of our team and we can recommend which option will suit your child best. We also have our exclusive summer online learning programme for £60 for 3 months to help keep their brains engaged over summer! #bradford #ofstedregistered #tutor #onlinetutoring #onlinelearning
Jun 30
🌱 Today was all about Seedlings! We were short staffed due to some pesky bugs doing the rounds but it was great for Bradford Council’s Early Years Team to visit us on what what we would call ‘a bad day’ - as we were juggling more than usual in the daytime with Thorpe’s fair and staff illness. None of this compromised safety or children’s enjoyment and from the feedback we received, it just gave that extra seal of approval that all the systems we have introduced since we opened our doors after our initial inspection visit are working well!
We received brilliant feedback, and Farzana was so impressed and complimentary about our play workers and management team staff! She said everything is really well set up and flows between rooms; staff know the kids really well and have great relationships with them; they communicate well together and we have clear systems in place so everyone knows what they’re doing. There are plenty of engaging activities and free play plus the option to move between playing inside and outside means we have the perfect space - she said that it is rare to have a wrap around childcare and holiday club that offers this freedom to play in so many different spaces with different areas! We have miner tweaks and ironically one is that we offer too much food 🤣!
If you’d like to book our Seedlings holiday club or childcare (with the added bonus option of tuition too) please get in touch via our link in the comments
P.S. As per usual, apologies as I only video when I’m poorly and have no make up on 🙈🤣.
#bradford #ofstedregistered #primarytuition #holidayclub #schoolcollection
Jun 30
🤩 Are you passionate about working with children? We’re looking for enthusiastic, caring and energetic
Seasonal Play Workers to join our friendly team at Sowing Seedlings Holiday Club, supporting children aged 3–11 years in a fun, safe and nurturing environment.
Desirable (but not essential):
• Level 2 or Level 3 qualification in Childcare, Playwork or Early Years
• EYFS knowledge or experience
• Experience working with children in schools, nurseries, holiday clubs, childcare or sports coaching
• Paediatric First Aid (desirable)
Tag anyone who may be interested! 😄
To find out more, contact us on hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
Jun 21
🧠⏰💆♀️ It’s amazing the power of thinking time and comfortable silence to allow our students’ creativity to flow.
We love tutoring because we celebrate when children make mistakes and say we are glad they are making them! Imagine that? Keep making more mistakes, especially with us! It’s a risk they have taken to try something new and then we look at everything they have learnt from trying something different, what worked well, we can plan from there.
We have welcomed even more children in the final half term this year, launched our online learning platform for summer, as well as booked students in for September!
If you’d like to find out about the different offers we have, check out our website or DM as we have an exciting offer with 3 months of learning in English, Maths or Science for £60, saving 30%!
#bradford #tuition #ofstedregistered #tutor #onlinetutoring
Jun 2
📻 Listen to our founder, Rachel, on BBC Radio Leeds tomorrow at 12.15 on the @gaylelofthouse radio show! She’ll be sharing the WHY behind founding Sowing Seeds and our journey so far supporting children and families! 📻 #bbcradioleeds #bradford #tutor #ehcp #eotas
May 27
We started off with one tutor and have grown over the past 3 and a half years with a team of 22 employed staff and over 50 tutors internationally to offer award-winning tuition, online tuition and coaching, dyslexia support, wrap around childcare and holiday club, support as a non-school alternative provision in Bradford, Leeds and Calderdale, supporting neurodivergent children learn in their own way and support their mental health, sell our family house to buy our premises and live upstairs(very soon!), open our Thackley wellbeing centre to support community health, offer family support and virtual and on site training as well as offer stay and play and bespoke learning for children and adults who needs a bespoke sensory environment and approach too. Apparently we are “doing too much”…but this is only the beginning! DM us to book a taster or find out about all our courses! #bradford #ofstedregistered #tutoring #gcse #ehcp
May 17
✨We are almost ready and now taking private, group and school bookings from Monday 5th June at Sowing Seeds Sensory inside our Wellbeing Centre, Thackley! You’ll have access to three sensory rooms too! We have purposely designed our space to be accessible and available to all ages (both school age and adults) to provide a safe and relaxing experience for families, carers and groups. As well as opening mid-week, we will be open most weekends and will have plenty of slots available over the summer school holidays! Keep an eye out for our pop-up sessions too! To find out more, contact us via our website on www.sowingseedswellbeing.co.uk #Bradford #nonprofit #sensorycentre #westyorkshire #send
May 14
🥰 We received a lovely thank you surprise from some of our Seedlings today! We offer plenty of time to get fresh air, play, and eat a nutritious tea - and the option to get support with their learning and homework in our tutoring sessions 4-5pm. When booked together, receive a 10% discount too! (It’s 33.50 for tuition or £40 for school collection and tea and tuition and childcare until 6pm)! 🌱#bradford #ofstedregistered childcareprovider tutor schoolcollection
May 12
🤩Our incredible team was on the front page of The Telegraph & Argus (Bradford) last week! It’s hard to believe that just under 2 weeks ago we celebrated with the incredible educators who were finalists in Bradford’s Education Awards - and it’s thanks to your nominations 🥰. We didn’t win Specialist Provision of the Year (this year!), and we knew it was a tough category, but to be in the photo on the front cover shows how proud we were to be there.🥰!
We also had the privilege of judging the shortlist for Supporting Member of Staff of the Year - and Stacey (our Head of Operations) and I presented the award. We purposely chose this category over others as it reflects the importance of these key professionals who play an even more important role to support children, families (and all staff) at school, home and in the community. All of the finalists were fantastic and well done to Hayley for winning this award! She was in complete shock and Stacey and I stayed with her on stage, so she could celebrate this moment, as she was so nervous.
We would have loved to invite all our team from Sowing Seeds Alternative Learning and to be able to celebrate how much we’ve grown and what we have already achieved together for our learners and their families. Everyone was there in spirit.💙
To find out more about what we do, visit our website on www.sowingseedstuition.co.uk or DM us 🥰
#bradford #OfstedRegistered #westyorkshire #tutor #alternativeprovision
May 11
To all of our amazing Year 6 and Year 11 students from everyone at Sowing Seeds Tuition 🌱
This is your reminder that exams are only a moment in time.
They are not a measure of your kindness, your creativity, your humour, your resilience, or the person you are becoming.
As you walk into your tests and exams this week, take this with you (and we will keep reminding you when we see you!):
Breathe.
Breathe in for 4… hold for 4… breathe out for 4…hold for 4 and repeat
(Here’s a little poem from Rachel)
One question at a time.
Exams are pages, Not the whole book. A snapshot in time, Not your entire story.
They cannot measure Your kindness to others, Your courage on hard days,
They don’t see the evenings you revised, The moments you doubted yourself but tried anyway, The quiet resilience growing inside you Every single day.
So walk in with your head high. Not because you need to be perfect But because you have prepared, You have persevered, And you are more capable than you think.
One breath. One question. One step at a time.
And whatever happens next, Be proud of how far you’ve already come.
Good luck Year 6 and Year 11. We believe in you, always. 🌱
#SATS2026 #GCSE2026 #SowingSeedsTuition #YouAreMoreThanAGrade #goodluck
May 9
It was an emotional day listening to all of the speakers, hearing about all of the experiences (and trauma) of parents and reading the comments from children about their experience in education and now out of mainstream schools. I love teaching and have always been proud to work in education but left as I knew the system was broken and it broke me. Today, we were united in wanting to achieve the same goal for all our children and young people - now and in the future. #westyorkshire #send #ehcp #childrensrights #nonschool
May 1
🚰👏Well done to our learners for an incredible Friday afternoon! Jordan taught our learners about the different fittings and fixtures and they had plenty of hands-on practical learning by measuring, cutting and connecting the pipes to the taps - even better, there were no leaks! Next week it’s all about electrics 12.30-14.30 and we have the option to deliver as part of the Construction ASDAN short course with one of our learning mentors too! We will also run half termly blocks focusing on one element but want to run tasters this half term for our learners to experience different skills and vocations. #asdan #bradford #nonprofit #preparationforadulthood
Apr 26
Our Constrution for Beginners Course with Jordan started this week with an introduction to different tools and joints! One of our learners was taught how to measure, saw and hammer to create a range of joints for the first time! We have more bookings each week, for plumbing this Friday and electrics the following week! This is a 7 week course and sessions can be purely for enjoyment and upskilling or alongside the ASDAN Course with our Learning Mentors. Find out more via our website in the comments section or to book, DM us or email hello@sowingseedsap.co.uk #bradford #send #asdan #constructionskills #functionalskills
Apr 23
🤩 We are in the @telegraphandargus today for Specialist Provision of the Year! We are also sponsoring Learning Support Assistant of the Year as it’s such an important role in schools and in our specialist non-school! For more information, check out our website! #bradford #tutoring #send #awards
Apr 21
Part 2 - Post radio interview with @bcb106.6fm and @danielle.broadbent ! It flew by and there was so much more I could have talked aboutd validate Danielle’s petition and the reason why more pathways need to be available…without schools being held to ransom by out of date and unfair progress measurement scales, which ultimately have a long term impact on teachers’ mental health and students’ mental health.#bradford #childrensmentalhealth #send #ehcp #sendreform
Apr 21
Part 1 - I’m feeling nervous before my first interview on radio at @BCB Radio with @Danielle Broadbent all about Sowing Seeds and opening the conversation about the white paper on SEND reform . #bradford #childrensmentalhealth #nonschool #send #ehcp
Apr 21
🎙️🗣️📻 Listen to Rachel on @bcb106.6fm talking to @danielle.broadbent at 17.35 today (Tuesday) about the proposed SEND reforms and the opportunity this needs to create for settings like Sowing Seeds Alternative Learning that can shape positive change if schools have easier access to specialist non-school settings that can support mainstream and special schools early on. Our children and young people need inclusion to include them when they can’t access all of the targeted support that is being proposed in a school.
https://bcbradio.co.uk/player/
Apr 16
We are very proud to share that Sowing Seeds Alternative Learning is in the finals for Specialist Provision of the Year category at Bradford’s Education Awards 2026! Last year, we were finalists as the only non-school at the entire awards! To be nominated again for a second year is a real privilege.
The nominations from parents, carers and schools we work with have got us to this stage!
The Sowing Seeds’ journey started with just me as a self-employed tutor in September 2022 and quickly grew with a genuine vision to make sure children’s mental health comes first. Every member of staff has their own story and has contributed immensely to make Sowing Seeds what it is today. I’m incredibly lucky to have a wonderful team with so many skillsets.
Sowing Seeds began as a small evening tuition centre with one room, and quickly grew based on our children’s experiences and listening and learning about the needs of children, often neurodivergent, and families from the start. Today, we support children all they way into adulthood from 5-25(!), children in need, young people who have experienced trauma by providing a safe, nurturing space where they can rebuild trust, learn in a calmer environment, and access qualifications in a way that works for them.
In just 3.5 years, we’ve grown to a team of over 70 staff offering daytime support, wellbeing support and evening tuition! We also made a conscious decision with my team to remain a non-school so we can stay flexible and truly child-centred and what is needed for families, schools and the LA. It is refreshing that it was reaffirmed in a conversation with an HMI Ofsted Inspector yesterday, who was complimentary about his visit to see Sowing Seeds in February and passionate about us staying as a non-school as our approach is not only right, but needed outside of mainstream schools.
I’m looking forward celebrating with our team at our fourth awards event(!) on 30th April and to continuing to make a difference, one child and family at a time. Thank you to everyone for you support.
If you’d like to find out more about our services, I will add our websites in the comments. #bradford #westyorkhire #send #family
Apr 12
👀 Take a virtual tour inside our welcoming tuition centre in Idle inside the beautiful Footsteps Theatre School and see why we are different to anywhere else!💚
We have a range of new sessions starting next week for 5-19 year olds from 4-7pm and open from 9-3pm as a non-school for schools, EHE learners and as part of EOTAS packages.
Email hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk to book a taster session.
#tuition #bradford #ofstedregistered #tutor #tutoring
Apr 9
💪My body will hurt tomorrow! I have become more reflective about my own needs and what helps me feel safe and thrive too! After spending so long identifying, planning and adjusting for learners over the past 20 years, I’ve started to look inwards - more so than before - about what works for me and my team (who are just as important!) and celebrating our differences and how we all fit together. Our training day on Monday is all about this - and hopefully having lots of fun along the way! #bradford #childrensmentalhealth #parentsmentalhealthmatters #tuition #teach
Apr 9
Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to over the past month! As well as finishing off our sensory rooms and shiny new website, we have been using our main training room for meeting with different Trusts and LAs about our offer, delivered our ASDAN courses and animal therapeutic sessions, finalised our workshops for next week, had lovely walks in the local woods, hosted our first SEND-friendly party AND Rachel also had the privelege of visiting Leeds Beckett Knowledge Centre to listen to Steph from Neurocreators who was delivering a special Neurodivergent Professionals Network talk as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week! Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about our workshops, ASDAN and NCFE courses! #bradford #nonprofit #ehcp #socialcare #safespace
Mar 24
We know we’ve been quiet on here and that there’s been a lot going on behind the scenes! I thought I’d share another update on our Thackley site as we have lots coming up, including our NEW Basics to construction, electrics and plumbing starting after Easter every Friday 12.30-14.30 with Jordan! We have 7 places available and a programme to cover each week, working independently and as a team of 3 for certain aspects of the course. If you’d like more information and to book, please email hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
Feb 24
🪑If you know us, you’ll know we’re always gently adapting our spaces and premises to suit the children and young people learning with us! From flexible dynamic seating, and calm low-demand areas, to movement breaks, chunked tasks and tailoring our teaching style. We never expect our learners to simply “fit” the environment. We shape the environment around them. 💛
Over time, we’ve noticed something really important…
By the time some children arrive for tuition — especially in the late afternoon and evening — they’re tired. They’ve worked hard all day at school. They’ve been sitting still, concentrating, managing social situations, following rules. That’s a lot.
And what can look like fidgeting, slouching or losing focus isn’t a lack of effort, it’s often pure mental and physical fatigue.
That’s why we’ve added wobble stools to both our daytime and evening sessions. 🌿
We’re realising they may be even more valuable at the end of the day than we first thought! When energy is low and regulation is harder, gentle movement can:
• Help re-engage tired brains
• Support posture when little bodies are worn out
• Release built-up restlessness from a full school day
• Make learning feel more fun, manageable and less pressured
It’s a small adjustment but those small adjustments can completely shift how your child feels in the room. And when your child feels comfortable and understood, they’re far more ready to learn.
We’ll always keep reflecting, listening and growing because that’s how we thrive too.
If you’d like to chat about how we personalise sessions and support wellbeing alongside learning, our inbox is always open. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #NurturingPotential #AfterSchoolSupport #InclusiveLearning #ChildCentredApproach
Dec 30
2025 has done us proud as we end this year on a high ready to open our main studio next week! I’ve been out of action for a whole month wiped out by flu/Covid but today I was finally well enough to start painting! Thank goodness Laura has been on a mission and made sure everything runs to plan! Our sensory spaces will open in February and we will have our Preparation for Adulthood and meeting room ready in March along with our sensory garden and outdoor training area…including our very own forest school. Your donations have been incredible and we can’t thank everyone enough as it wouldn’t be possible without your generosity (and we are unpaid too so it all goes into the non-profit business 💜). The link for our Amazon work list will be shared in a separate post! Yoga with Sharon from @believeandachieveyoga starts on Monday 5th, 5.45-6.45 and 7-8pm and Tuesday 10.30-11.30. Pilates will start the following week! Please DM or contact us on 07753326202 to arrange a visit if you wish to deliver any training or workshops in Thackley (or access any)! We have seating for up to 12 people or you can use our space as a blank canvas to make it your own! Our ASDAN courses for our secondary and adult learners will start in January with a range of workshops from Expressive Arts, Computing, to Animal Care (and more)! You can book one of our 1-2-1 sessions or book a small group session for up to 4 learners. We have so much to share so please get in touch to find out what well-being and educational support we can provide!
#bradford #send #wellbeing #nonprofit #ehcp
What makes Sowing Seeds Different?
🌱We believe education isn’t one-size-fits-all.
🌱Every child has different strengths,
challenges, interests and ways of learning.
🌱Personalised tuition
🌱Support for neurodiverse learners
🌱A focus on wellbeing
🌱Learning at their own pace
🌱A safe and supportive environment
Because sometimes, the first step towards learning is simply feeling understood. 👣💚
Which of these would make the biggest difference to your child?
Tell us below…
#sowingseedstuition #personalisedlearning
#SENDsupport #Educationmatters #alternativeeducation ...
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Looking for reliable, nurturing, and educational wraparound care that your child will actually enjoy? 🌟
At Sowing Seeds, we do more than just childcare. We provide a safe, supportive
space where children can thrive through play, relaxation, and optional academic
enrichment. Whether you need a helping hand before school or a friendly, secure
environment after the bell rings, we’re here to support your family.
✅ Why parents love Sowing Seedlings:
🏫 Convenient: Dedicated school collections for Idle C of E, Thorpe, and Thackley
Primary Schools.
🍎 Balanced: Breakfast clubs, delicious teas, structured playtime, and optional tutoring.
📚 School collection, tea and tuition all in one place ready to go home and enjoy family time afterwards (save 20%)!
✨ Nurturing: A trauma-informed, wellbeing-focused approach where every child is
valued.
⏰ : Morning sessions from 7:30 am | After-school sessions until 6:00 pm.
👧 Early Year wrap-around Ofsted childcare for ages 3-11
We have spaces available right now, but they are filling up fast! Give your child a confident start and a happy end to their school day.
🔗 Click the link in the comments to register and secure your place.
📞 Have questions? Drop us a DM or contact us at 07500873379
#WraparoundCare
#SchoolRunSolutions #ChildcareSupport #SowingSeedsTuition #beforeandafterschool ...
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Looking for reliable, nurturing, and educational wraparound care that your child will actually enjoy? 🌟
At Sowing Seeds, we do more than just childcare. We provide a safe, supportive
space where children can thrive through play, relaxation, and optional academic
enrichment. Whether you need a helping hand before school or a friendly, secure
environment after the bell rings, we’re here to support your family.
✅ Why parents love Sowing Seedlings:
🏫 Convenient: Dedicated school collections for Idle C of E, Thorpe, and Thackley
Primary Schools.
🍎 Balanced: Breakfast clubs, delicious teas, structured playtime, and optional tutoring.
📚 School collection, tea and tuition all in one place ready to go home and enjoy family time afterwards (save 20%)!
✨ Nurturing: A trauma-informed, wellbeing-focused approach where every child is
valued.
⏰ : Morning sessions from 7:30 am | After-school sessions until 6:00 pm.
👧 Early Year wrap-around Ofsted childcare for ages 3-11
We have spaces available right now, but they are filling up fast! Give your child a confident start and a happy end to their school day.
🔗 Click the link in the comments to register and secure your place.
📞 Have questions? Drop us a DM or contact us at 07500873379
#WraparoundCare
#SchoolRunSolutions #ChildcareSupport #SowingSeedsTuition #beforeandafterschool ...
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Your feedback means the world to us!
Feedback Friday is making a comeback 🔥 Every week, we will be sharing some of the lovely feedback and reviews we’ve received from our learners and families.
At Sowing Seeds Tuition, we’re about so much more than grades. We’re here to help young people learn, grow and believe in themselves - building confidence, developing skills and celebrating every step forward. Swipe through to see what our learners and families have to say!
Thankyou to everyone who takes the time to share their experience with us. Your words mean so much to our team.
Haven’t left a review? Why not leave one now! Head to our Google or
Facebook and have your say
#sowingseedstuition #feedbackfriday #parentreviews #westyorkshire #personalisedtuition ...
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🌱Happy 4 years of Sowing Seeds to our team, children, families and community! 🌱
Four years ago, I took one of the biggest risks and resigned as Assistant Principal and set up Sowing Seeds Tuition as a self-employed tutor with ten (yes, ten) jobs and lots of long days of driving in the day time and evening doing supply, lecturing and tutoring to pay the bills. All whilst learning how to set up and run a business.
After more than 20 years working in education, I left mainstream teaching (in all honesty) following my own experiences of anxiety and depression with three breakdowns and lots of sertraline! I left feeling disillusioned but in my gut knew that the system was broken and something needed to change. In September 2022, Sowing Seeds began with just me, working as an English tutor and recovering from my own trauma in education and wanting to repair my trust in education and repair children’s trust that learning didn’t have to mean reaching burnout. My experience also helped me hold onto a very personal belief that children cannot thrive academically unless they first feel safe, understood, valued and enjoy learning. They aren’t machines and neither are the teachers and teams working in education.
I wanted to help children rediscover the spark that had been lost; to bring creativity, confidence and joy back into learning. At the time, I wanted tuition to be preventing children reaching crisis and on a waiting list with CAMHS. I didn’t realise that Sowing Seeds would be needed for so many families already in crisis who needed us immediately.
This summer, we sold our house to buy the Footsteps premises and secure the future of Sowing Seeds. From renting one room to tutor at my daughter’s dance school, I never would have believed how much would change in 4 year! My family and I now live in the beautiful house upstairs via a separate external door and we have lots of new memories to make!
Over the past four years, we have:
🌱 Grown from one self-employed English tutor into a family of around 27 employees and 40 tutors working across Yorkshire and beyond (as far as Japan!)
🌱 Supported over five hundred children and young people, including those with SEND, anxiety, trauma and emotionally based barriers to attending school.
🌱 Opened our Alternative Learning non-school provision in Idle, Sowing Seeds Alternative Learning, creating personalised education packages for learners who need something different from a traditional classroom with our highly skilled team of professionals and SENCOs (yes, plural!) specialising in supporting neurodivergent learners. We are also the setting schools turn to when they know they need something highly specialised which in turn supports them and their resources.
🌱 We are highly experienced in policy, advocate for better SEND and educational reforms at a national level and have been inspected by 5 Ofsted inspectors, three local authorities and dozens of schools and Trusts! We have also been told by Ofsted NOT to become an independent school because our model works as a non-school. After 2 years trying to meet all the criteria, it took 2 hours for us to verbally withdraw when we knew we couldn’t meet the needs of our students if became a school - we would be failing our families. The inspection costs £2,500, so we continued the process so we knew we met all safeguarding and health and safety requirements).
🌱 Established Sowing Seeds Wellbeing CIC and developed our specialist Sensory Hub in Thackley, offering therapeutic, sensory, community independent-living and preparation-for-adulthood support.
🌱 Opened Sowing Seedlings, our Ofsted-registered wraparound and holiday provision for children aged 3–11.
🌱 Become an approved NCFE and ASDAN centre as well as school exam satellite centre, enabling learners to work towards nationally recognised qualifications, Functional Skills and meaningful pathways into adulthood.
🌱 Developed EOTAS, alternative provision, tuition, mentoring, counselling,autism specialist mentoring, work-experience and wellbeing packages shaped around each individual learner.
🌱 Specialise in teaching and supporting neurodivergent children of all abilities, young adults and adults, including autism, ADHD, AuDHD, PDA, dyslexia, dyscalculia, OCD, ARFID, PICA and sensory-processing differences. Many of the individuals we support often experience anxiety, trauma, communication needs, emotionally based barriers to education, difficulties with emotional regulation or experience barriers accessing traditional learning environments. We recognise that every person’s needs, strengths and experiences are different, so we create flexible and personalised pathways that allow them to learn, develop and succeed in ways that are meaningful to them and work with educators and local authorities to remove those barriers.
🌱 Been named New Business of the Year 2024, received Highly Commended for Community Involvement in Bradford Education Awards 2023, Finalist for Business Growth at Entrepeneurs Circle in 2024, and become a finalist in the Bradford Education Awards for Specialist Provision in both 2025 and 2026.
But the achievements that mean the most to me cannot be captured by an award, qualification or grade.
They are the young person who walks through our door after being unable to access education for months, years or who has lost their confidence. The parent who can finally go shopping or go for a coffee on their own and have a tiny break.
Sowing Seeds has become more than a tuition and wellbeing centre. It has developed its own identity, its own values and, most importantly, a family of people who genuinely care. We are now recognised by families, schools, charities, professionals, adults social care and local authorities across Yorkshire but we have never forgotten our values.
There have been challenges, long days, difficult decisions, tears and moments when I have questioned at what point do we stop growing and say we stay the size we are. However, every child who finds their confidence and every family who finally feels understood reminds us why it has all been worthwhile and that we can do more, really!
I am incredibly proud of what we have created together and deeply grateful to every member of the team, learner, parent, carer, colleague, school, professional and supporter who has believed in us and become part of the Sowing Seeds community. We still don’t have a Google business page for our non-school daytime provision and we are almost booked up and it’s all thanks to recommendation and the local authorities seeing the value and difference our approach makes as an existing inclusion base with a team of experts at hand.
Here’s to the next chapter, the lives still to be changed and all the seeds we are yet to sow (pun, absolutely intended!).
Rachel x
#FourYearsOfSowingSeeds #SowingSeeds #AlternativeProvision #SEND #ChildrensWellbeing #InclusiveEducation #EOTAS #Bradford #Yorkshire ...
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September Tuition Timetable
It’s time to get back into routine, Our new session timetables are here!
Looking for extra support, a confidence boost, or personalised tuition for your child? We have a
range of sessions available to support learners at their own pace, in a safe and supportive
environment.
Take a look through our timetables below to see our upcoming sessions and find the right option
for your child. Can’t see one that suits your need? Get in touch and we can help where we can.
Primary School:
Year 2 English - Tues 4pm / Tues 4:30pm
Year 2 Maths - Tues 4:30pm / Tues 5pm
Year 5 English - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Year 5 Maths - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Year 5 & 6 English - Wed 4pm / Wed 4:30pm
Year 6 Maths - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Secondary School:
Year 8 English - Tues 5pm / Tues 5:30pm
Year 9 Maths - Wed 5pm / Wed 5:30pm
Year 10 Maths (Foundation) - Wed 6pm / Wed 6:30pm / Thur 5pm / Thur 5:30pm
Year 11 Maths (Foundation) - Mon 4pm / Mon 4:30pm
Year 11 Maths (Higher) - Wed 5pm / Wed 5:30pm
Year 11 Combined Science (Higher) - Mon 6pm / Mon 6:30pm
Year 11 English - Wed 5pm / Wed 5:30pm
Spaces may be limited, so get in touch to find out more or secure your childs place!
#sowingseedstuition #personalisedlearning #westyorkshire #education #tuition ...
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A Day of Learning, Reflection & Teamwork!
On Tuesday it was all about working together, thinking strategically and understanding where we can grow. 💭✨
We had the amazing Paul from New Habits running our training session.
We spent the day:
🌱Analysing our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (SWOT)
🌱Working in teams to tackle general knowledge challenges 🧠
🌱Exploring our gaps and areas for development
🌱Sharing ideas, perspectives and experiences
🌱Identifying opportunities for growth, improvement and future success
🌱 Going over our safeguarding policies
🌱 Big welcome to our new staff
A brilliant day of collaboration, honest reflection and learning from one another. It’s amazing what we can achieve when we put our heads together! 💚
#TogetherWeCan #sowingseedstution #bradford #teambuilding ...
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🌱 Welcome to Sowing Seeds Tuition! 🌱
Looking for more than just traditional tuition? You’ve found us. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we believe every child matters. We provide personalised tuition, wellbeing support and alternative learning for children and young people aged 4–25, with a particular focus on SEND and neurodiverse learners.
✨ Award-winning & Ofsted registered
📚 Qualified, specialist teachers
🌱 Small, personalised groups
🧠 SEND & neurodiversity specialists
💚 Wellbeing-first, trauma-informed approach
🏡 Home, online & centre-based learning
🎓 SATs, GCSEs, Functional Skills & more
🤝 School partnerships, alternative provision & EOTAS
👨👩👧 Wraparound childcare & holiday provision
🏆 Official NCFE Exam Centre
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We get to know the child behind the learner and create support around their individual strengths, needs and goals.
📍 Based in Idle, Bradford, supporting families across Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Ready to find out how we can support your child?
📞 01274 003 011
📧 hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
💬 Send us a DM or get in touch today — let’s help your child learn, grow & succeed. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #BradfordTuition #BradfordParents #westyorkshire ...
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🌱 Welcome to Sowing Seeds Tuition! 🌱
Looking for more than just traditional tuition? You’ve found us. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we believe every child matters. We provide personalised tuition, wellbeing support and alternative learning for children and young people aged 4–25, with a particular focus on SEND and neurodiverse learners.
✨ Award-winning & Ofsted registered
📚 Qualified, specialist teachers
🌱 Small, personalised groups
🧠 SEND & neurodiversity specialists
💚 Wellbeing-first, trauma-informed approach
🏡 Home, online & centre-based learning
🎓 SATs, GCSEs, Functional Skills & more
🤝 School partnerships, alternative provision & EOTAS
👨👩👧 Wraparound childcare & holiday provision
🏆 Official NCFE Exam Centre
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We get to know the child behind the learner and create support around their individual strengths, needs and goals.
📍 Based in Idle, Bradford, supporting families across Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Ready to find out how we can support your child?
📞 01274 003 011
📧 hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
💬 Send us a DM or get in touch today — let’s help your child learn, grow & succeed. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #BradfordTuition #BradfordParents #westyorkshire ...
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🌱 Welcome to Sowing Seeds Tuition! 🌱
Looking for more than just traditional tuition? You’ve found us. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we believe every child matters. We provide personalised tuition, wellbeing support and alternative learning for children and young people aged 4–25, with a particular focus on SEND and neurodiverse learners.
✨ Award-winning & Ofsted registered
📚 Qualified, specialist teachers
🌱 Small, personalised groups
🧠 SEND & neurodiversity specialists
💚 Wellbeing-first, trauma-informed approach
🏡 Home, online & centre-based learning
🎓 SATs, GCSEs, Functional Skills & more
🤝 School partnerships, alternative provision & EOTAS
👨👩👧 Wraparound childcare & holiday provision
🏆 Official NCFE Exam Centre
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We get to know the child behind the learner and create support around their individual strengths, needs and goals.
📍 Based in Idle, Bradford, supporting families across Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Ready to find out how we can support your child?
📞 01274 003 011
📧 hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
💬 Send us a DM or get in touch today — let’s help your child learn, grow & succeed. 🌱
#SowingSeedsTuition #BradfordTuition #BradfordParents #WestYorkshire #tuitionbradford ...
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🌱 WELCOME BACK! 📚✨
We’re so excited to welcome our learners back for another year of learning, growth and success! 💚
At Sowing Seeds Tuition, we believe every child and young person is unique. Everyone has their own strengths, challenges and learning style — so our support is never one-size-fits-all.
Whether your child needs extra academic support, a confidence boost, or personalised tuition, we’re here to provide the individualised academic and emotional support they need to learn, grow and reach their full potential. 🌱
🏆 Award-winning
📚 Ofsted registered
💚 Tuition & wellbeing support
👧 Supporting ages 4–25
Here’s to a fantastic year ahead! Let’s learn, grow and succeed — together. ✨
🌐 Find out more: sowingseedstuition.co.uk
#SowingSeedsTuition #WelcomeBack #LearnGrowSucceed #Tuition #PersonalisedLearning #Wellbeing #EducationSupport #Confidence #LearningSupport #NewSchoolYear ...
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✈️ As many of us have seen the airport queues and delays shared on the news with the changes with eye scans and finger prints at border control, we were relieved when we were ushered into the family queue…and realised it was even longer.
But that wasn’t the main challenge at Milan airport.
My son (6), is very protective of his glasses. He doesn’t like people seeing him without them unless he feels comfortable and prepared. If he’s unexpectedly asked to remove them, he covers his eyes and becomes extremely distressed and shuts down.
We were naive and unprepared when they asked him to remove his glasses for the eye scan. He shuck his head and immediately covered his eyes and bolted to get to the other side (successfully) of passport control. Fortunately, I had already gone through and was there.
And suddenly, we felt the stares and frustration from the queue behind us. The pressure that there was no alternative.
He tried to run and I had to restrain him with a bear hug so he couldn’t ’escape’ and we all get in trouble with passport control (it all feels ridiculous now but at the time we didn’t have any one there who we could ask for help and the border control office said he had to take them off). Tom held him while I tried to remove his glasses (unsuccessfully) and tried to move his hands from his eyes and hold him still on the footprints. It was so distressing for all of us and he screamed and fought against us.
I felt cruel and it went against everything I believe about respecting children’s boundaries and responding compassionately. I’m still traumatised by it now and angry that we had no our choice at the time.
Eventually, the immigration officer simply said, “It’s okay” and allowed him to complete the process wearing his glasses. Why he couldn’t have allowed this in the first place is infuriating.
But - Walking away, I didn’t feel frustrated with my son. I felt ashamed and really angry that we had no other choice and that there was no prior warning or way to share with children what to expect as we naively believed this only applied to adults and that it was just finger prints for children.
And then I thought about the children and young people we support at Sowing Seeds Alternative Learning. What if he had complex needs? What if he couldn’t stand on the footprints at all? What if the officer hadn’t been so understanding - eventually?
If we’d known exactly what to expect, we could have practised. We could have used pictures, explained the process and prepared him.
We talk about reasonable adjustments in education, workplaces and public services, but we need to think about them throughout travel too: A short video. A visual guide. Photos. A child-friendly explanation during booking and on the aeroplane.
Small adjustments can prevent enormous distress and is why travel training helps at any age.
The Sunflower lanyard and other disability identifiers are valuable, but not every disability is visible—and not everyone wants to disclose one or is aware they have one.
The only positive is that I can use this experience to help prepare our families and learners so they know what to expect.
But in the wider world, travel needs to also inclusive, to prepare families, and to recognise that accessibility isn’t always about changing what happens. Travel shouldn’t be traumatic. Sometimes, it’s simply about helping someone know what is going to happen next.
Before we travelled back, we took time to explain and made it into a game and he said he was ready (even excited) and willing to take his glasses off when he was asked to do it. 💚
At Sowing Seeds, we want to support children academically but also advocate and strive to help children and young people personally so that they are enriched, feel prepared and learn about themselves and thrive in the wider world - whatever their ability and needs are.
#HiddenDisabilities #InclusiveTravel #ReasonableAdjustments #SENDParents ...
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🌙 To all our GCSE students (and our parents) on the night before Results Day…
We know tonight might feel like a long one. And tomorrow morning will feel very daunting as it approaches.
There may be nerves, excitement, worry, pride and lots of “what ifs?” For parents and carers, it can be just as emotional. You’ve watched your child work hard, overcome challenges, doubt themselves, keep going and, for many of our young people, face barriers that others may never fully understand.
So tonight, we want you to remember something really important:
Tomorrow’s results are just one moment in time. They do not define your child, their ability, their potential or their future. We also know that some children won’t have this experience tomorrow and that it will happen if or when they are ready (and we are here to help if needed)💚
A grade cannot measure resilience.
It cannot measure kindness.
It cannot show how much courage it took to walk into an exam room or even being able to open that envelope to read those results.
It cannot capture the progress made simply by re-engaging with education, believing in yourself again or refusing to give up.
Whatever is written on that piece of paper tomorrow, there will always be a next step and another pathway. Open it on your own, when you get home, with you family or with your friends. It’s your moment to choose and every person shows their nerves in their own way
To our students: we are already incredibly proud of how far you have come. Tomorrow is about recognising what you have achieved, not measuring your worth by a number.
And to our parents and carers: whatever tomorrow brings, celebrate how far they have come and know we are here if you need to chat . ❤️
From all of us at Sowing Seeds, we wish every young person receiving their GCSE results and resit results tomorrow the very best of luck. 🍀🌱
You are so much more than your results. This is one moment in your story, not the whole story.
#GCSEresults #GCSEresultsday #SowingSeeds #SEND #Proud ...
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🎓 A-Level Results Day 🌱
To all our A-Level students receiving their results today, well done! 💚
Remember, one set of results doesn’t define your future. There are many different pathways to success, and the right one is the one that works for you.
At Sowing Seeds Tuition, we’re here to help young people explore your young person’s options and find the right next step - if you want to arrange a consultation, please get in touch.
You’ll also find us in the The Telegraph & Argus today!🤩 🌱
To find our more, get in touch:
📞 01274 003 011
🌐 sowingseedstuition.co.uk
Your future is still yours to shape and we’re here if you need us. 💚
#SowingSeedsTuition #ALevelResults #ResultsDay #NextSteps #StudentSupport #Education ...
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🌱 We’re Recruiting Part-Time English Tutors!
At Sowing Seeds, we believe that every child deserves someone who sees their potential! As our team continues to grow and we expand our personalised education packages across West Yorkshire, we’re looking for experienced, compassionate and committed English Tutors to join our incredible team (yes, everyone has reached maximum capacity!).
👋 Part-time hours available
✨ Flexible working with the option to split your hours between daytime and evening sessions, making it ideal for those looking for a role that fits around other commitments.
This is so much more than teaching English!
Our tutors work with children and young people who may have experienced barriers to education, including autism, ADHD, anxiety, EBSA, trauma, social, emotional and mental health needs, or those who simply haven’t found the right environment to flourish. We create safe, nurturing spaces where relationships come first, confidence is rebuilt and learning becomes enjoyable again. 💚
We’re looking for someone who:
💙 Is a qualified and experienced English teacher or tutor.
🌱 Believes in a personalised, child-centred approach.
🤝 Builds positive relationships with young people and their families.
✨ Understands that progress looks different for every learner.
📖 Is passionate about helping children rediscover a love of learning.
😄 Option to join our team self-employed or on a part-time contract with benefit of half price childcare when tutoring between 4-6pm weekdays
If you’re looking to be part of a supportive team that genuinely changes lives every day, we’d love to hear from you.🥰
To apply or find out more, please send your CV to hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk or message our page for an informal chat. ...
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💚💜💙 We are looking forward to welcoming even more families to our sister site this week! For children, young adults and adults with SEND, this is a safe space and haven. We were aware that we couldn’t always meet a child’s needs to keep them safe as a result of PICA, ARFID, their sensory needs requiring a specialised and controlled, calm space. So we created a new one. We are also awaiting to find out if we have additional funding to offer HAF for children with SEND as we want to be able to provide 1-2-1 and more specialised childcare in the holidays. 💙💜💚 ...
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💜👋 We are excited to welcome families for our first Calm and Connect Stay and Play for children with SEND (siblings welcome) this Wednesday 9-10.30 at our wellbeing centre in Thackley! To check out all our dates and book, see the comments section with the link on our website! We will be sharing more videos of our sensory rooms (and have a scroll through our page!). You also have the option to book out our ENTIRE centre with family and friends for 90 minutes! #stayandplay #cityofbradford #sendsoftplay #Send #community ...
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Watch until the end…This is what learning should look and feel like! The right balance between focus and fun. The ability to tailor to children’s interests, personalities, skills and then build on that to expand on their existing knowledge!
It has been lovely to celebrate achievements as students complete another year with us and that children want to continue with us next year because they enjoy tuition and it’s so personalised to them - and they’ve made new friends along the way. If you’d like to book a trial session, please get in touch and we are also offering a 3 month summer learning package for £60 before you join us in September, which includes their first session for free when we return (this offer is also available to our existing families in the comments)! Please continue to message us or contact us over the holidays as it’s our busiest time for enquiries and our timetable is filling up (which is crazy as this was once the quietest time!😅).
Our email is hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk or you can call/message us on 01274 003011/07753326202
Don’t forget to check out our website if you’d like more info too. 😄
#tutor #ofstedregistered #primarytutor #gcsetutor #onlinetutoring ...
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🤣 Watch until the end…This is what learning should look and feel like! The right balance between focus and fun. The ability to tailor to children’s interests, personalities, skills and then build on that to expand on their existing knowledge!
It has been lovely to celebrate achievements as students complete another year with us and that children want to continue with us next year because they enjoy tuition and it’s so personalised to them - and they’ve made new friends along the way. If you’d like to book a trial session, please get in touch and we are also offering a summer learning package for £60 before you join us in September, which includes their first session for free when we return (this offer is also available to our existing families)! Please continue to message us or contact us over the holidays as it’s our busiest time for enquiries and our timetable is filling up (which is crazy as this was once the quietest time!😅).
Our email is hello@sowingseedstuition.co.uk or you can call/message us on 01274 003011/07753326202 ...
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🥰 We are so proud of all the performers at Footsteps Theatre School at their summer show this weekend and it’s their finale right now! On one of the hottest weekends (with a of the year (with a fan everywhere you look), they’ve shown great team spirit and had the biggest smiles throughout the shows!
My daughter Sophie has been at Footsteps since she was 18 months old. We’ve been part of the Footsteps family for 8 years and in that time they continued through COVID (and was the only human social interaction she had during lockdown with Claire and her dance friends on the screen.💙) and she has grown in confidence and found her voice - she even had a solo part this year which shows how far she has come!
Watching the show today on stage and being a chaperone, just like every year, blows me away with the talent and skill every year in all the performances. It wouldn’t be possible without Hiedi, Claire, Alana, Sophie and Mags as their teachers and the team all working behind the scenes.
One thing that really struck me this time which I’ve often taken for granted is how inclusive our dance school is - it feels like a family for students on stage - and so many children join who have lacked confidence or a sense of belonging. Even for parents, it’s where the best friendships have formed and lots of memories. 🥰
Every year, so many of us chaperone and that’s when you see the level of skill behind the scenes: that Footsteps isn’t just a theatre school delivering classes throughout the week, there’s so much more planning to really showcase and make every child shine and be their best.
Hiedi and Claire are often in the thick of preparing and then packing up after the performances and there are so many memories our children make over the show weekends which wouldn’t be possible without them.💙
And, without Footsteps, Sowing Seeds wouldn’t be where we are today (literally!) and I’m so glad many of our students have benefitted by joining Footsteps no matter their age. It’s lovely to end the year on a high and ready to celebrate 35 years in next years’ performances!!
Well done everyone and sleep well tonight! ...
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This post is poignant from a parent who recognises that the current educational pathway adopts a one-size-fits-all approach. This is why Sowing Seeds advocates for educational pathways that meet children no matter where they learn to support with tuition in the evening or daytime. This week alone, 3 students have passed Functional Skills Level 2 with us (equivalent to a GCSE Grade 4 pass!) and now means they can focus on their post-16 pathway and finish their GCSE year on a high by passing an accessible, relevant exam paper that has shown what they can achieve.
There is an increasing number of children struggling with their mental health, anxiety, overwhelm, burnout and far worse. When I left mainstream education and set up Sowing Seeds in September 2022, the statistics were alarming then and I saw first hand that something needed to change and I needed to do more to help so many children, parents and carers who felt lost. I felt lost too. Sadly, the educational system is still in the same situation and the statistics and attendance figures have declined even further.
But why?
There are so many factors I could talk about but here is one of the first indicators when I saw a shift in focus and even my love for teaching and my subject was being sucked up and I saw incredible teachers leave the profession because they could no longer teach…
In 2014, that was the year when there was a change to the exam structure, removal of tiers in English, removal of coursework, removal of diverse texts and poetry (I love my subject as an English teacher), very dull specifications;removing the accessibility of the previous English exam pathways. Teachers should feel excited when the National curriculum and pathways are revolutionised, but we were all devastated by the changes and the reaction was flat.
In 2016, Progress Buckets were introduced…just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse…and although I already felt that the focus had shifted from the personalisation of learning to becoming an exam factory (even more than before!), the measurement of certain subjects over others meant that academic subjects became a priority and results became a priority. Ticking boxes becoming a priority. Intervention became a priority. And someone in all this, the child (human that is not a machine), was forgotten. Behavioural problems started to escalate. Pressures ‘from above’ escalated. Pressure to make sure children exceeded targets became a priority otherwise it was us that became under the spot light for failing these children. But, that’s when I had a reality check and realised that the system is broken. Teachers aren’t broken. I’m not broken. But kids, parents and teachers across the country are still breaking - and broken-under this relentless pressure to comply and fit into a machine and model that is a one-size-fits-all and not designed for real children with real feelings in the 21st Century. And that’s not even considering if a child has special educational needs or a disability and difference.
This isn’t a political post. It’s a frustrated post. I created Sowing Seeds to support children’s mental health whilst in school but increasingly children are already in crisis. There is an increasing number of children who need a diagnosis because without it their needs can’t be met in the current educational model. They can be met in ours at Sowing Seeds and it is rewarding to see the glimmers and celebrate the incredible milestones and achievements of our students and parents and carers.
We are part of the change and we will be here for a long time with our experts and inclusive approaches that don’t need an educational reform to highlight what needs to change…because we exist just like so many other incredible provisions out there.
Have a lovely weekend everyone,
Rachel 💙 ...
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☀️🌍We are so excited to officially launch our exclusive summer programme!
✨ Our Summer Boost includes:
📚 English, Maths & Science
📅 3 months’ access as many times as you like (across July–October)
💷 Only £60 (really!!)
Over the past year, we’ve seen just how much our students have benefited from our personalised Online Learning Hub, so we’re delighted to offer this fantastic summer opportunity to our families and followers first.
We have tailored programmes for:
🤩 Year 4
🤩 11+ Test Ready
🤩 Year 5 Getting Ready for Year 6 SATs
🤩 Year 6 Getting Secondary Ready🤩🤩🤩🤩 Year 7 and 8
🤩 Year 9 Getting GCSE Ready
🤩 Year 10 Getting Mock and GCSe Ready
🤩 Year 11 Gettinf Ready for A Level Maths
While summer should absolutely be filled with fun, family time and making memories, a little learning can go a long way. Our programme is tailored to their ability, curriculum, exam board and tier!
From experience as teachers and Heads of Department and based on research from the Education Endowment Foundation we suggest that well-planned and flexible summer learning can help you children maintain the progress they have made this year and even make the equivalent of up to two months’ additional progress. More importantly, it helps children feel confident, prepared and ready for their next chapter.
Each subject is usually £29 per month which means you get 3 months’ access with a
a total value of £261!
💙 You save £201 (77%)!
What’s included?
✔ Personalised learning tailored to your child’s ability
✔ Tailored transition support
✔ Interactive quizzes, videos and activities
✔ Explanations in different ways to suit different learners
✔ Regular retrieval practice to build confidence
✔ Accessibility features including adjustable fonts and screen colours
✔ Access anywhere with an internet connection
🌍The best part? It fits around your summer.
Just 15–30 minutes a few times a week (or even 5-minute sessions!) can help keep learning fresh without taking away from family adventures. Your child do as much or as little as they need and it maps out their progress and any areas needing more time to cover.
👨👩👧 You also have your own login, allowing you to track progress, celebrate achievements and see how your child is developing throughout the summer!
If your child lacks motivation, we also have a number of options so that their tutor can do weekly or a monthly coaching check in.
You can secure your child’s place using the booking link:
forms.gle/iGGSM3yB6aczL9W46
We are glad we can be here for your child over summer too! 🌱
#tutoring #OnlineTutoring #SummerLearning #holidays #gcsetutor ...
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🌟 Summer Learning Special – Keep Skills Sharp Over the Holidays! 🌟 Avoid the summer learning slump and help your child stay confident and prepared for the new school year. 📚 Online Learning...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
It’s been wonderful welcoming so many children, young adults and their families here since we opened our doors! Yes, we offer lots alongside tuition and specialise in supporting children with special educational needs and differences.💙
Laura and I sat down earlier to plan the different Calm&Connect Stay and Play sessions in the first 5 weeks of summer! We all love the feel and energy of our Thackley site because of how easily it adapts for everyone! Sessions will go live later this week and we have 90 minute group bookings from 9.00-10.30 and 10.45-12.15 every day (except Tuesday which is in the afternoon). If you’d like to hire our space or book to deliver a session, please contact us too!
Thanks to everyone for your support and a big shout out to Yorkshire West Riding Freemasons for donating our beautiful sensory shelter which will offer plenty of shade and outdoor play over summer too! #bradford #childrensmentalhealth #family support #stayandplay #safespace ...
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🎉 NEW Youth Group starting in Thackley!
Looking for a relaxed place for your 11-16 year old to make friends, try new activities and have a great time?
Join us for our Youth Group, running Thursdays 6.30 - 7.30pm.
Each session will include a variety of optional activities, including:
🎲 Board Games
♟️ Chess
🧱 LEGO Club
📿 Bracelet Making
🎨 Creative Activities
😊 Plus much more!
It is also a BYOG (Bring Your Own Game!).
We want our youth group to provide a safe, supportive environment where young people in the community can socialise, build confidence and develop new skills while having fun. They can interact as much or as little as they like in a neuro-affirming environment with our specialist team.🥰
☕ We also offer something extra! Parents and carers are warmly invited to stay in our separate meeting space.☺️ This is optional and also offers reassurance for some children and also gives you the opportunity to connect and chat with other parents and carers.
Our Parent & Carer Support Group helps you take advantage and relax with a tea or coffee, meet other families and chat in a friendly, supportive environment.
✨ Spaces are limited!
If you’d like more information or would like to book a place, please DM or email - we’d love to hear from you.
📧 hello@sowingseedswellbeing.co.uk
#bradford #youthgroup #nonprofit #childrensmentalhealth #parentsupport ...
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