Meet the team

Amy

I am Amy. I'm a lover of all things wild and am happiest outside, with my children, connected to the Earth, and all things seasonal and cyclical. I'm a lover of the moon, my tea garden, and allotment. I love to grow and craft tinctures, recipes, and remedies from the native plants I tend to at home.

I am a qualified Play, Filial, and Creative Arts Psychotherapist and Artist with 20 years of experience in the field of child development, children's mental health, and SEN. I am trained in the use of child observation via the Tavistock clinic in London and use this to inform my approach to enhance the learning and development of children. I love all things creative, mindful, and messy!

I met my husband at work many moons ago and trained him as a Mentor. Working together as a team is not new territory for us in life or work! My husband is my best friend and biggest supporter, and I am delighted to reconnect through our passions at work and grow this new offer together.

The Nest has been birthed in line with our own beliefs and values as we raise our own little people as a home ed family. We believe that we can offer this out to our local community in support of families who seek similar opportunities for their children's emotional, spiritual, physical, and intellectual development.

I am deeply passionate about inspiring and empowering children to be motivated keepers of the earth, masters of their own creativity, and confident in navigating and tending to their own wellbeing.

When we had children, we knew we would need to carve out a pathway that perhaps looked different to many others. We are still on this ever evolving journey, and The Nest is a part of our unfolding.

Ben

I'm Ben, I'm a qualified teacher and a home educating dad of three. I have worked in the education sector for 16 years but have left mainstream teaching to establish my own offer, unbound by the four walls of a traditional classroom. An offer that is child lead, holistic in approach, outdoor-based, and captures the awe and wonder in learning.

Since becoming a parent, I am dedicated to nurturing and guiding my own children in their discovery of the world and unfolding as people. These personal passions, values, and beliefs are aligned with my co-creation of The Nest with my dear wife and partner in life, Amy.

I am deeply passionate about the outdoors and protecting the natural world. This is a part of our everyday lives as a home ed family. We grow our own food and live off the land at our home and through foraging as much as possible.

I am a performer in both storytelling and the stage, and I am always happiest when making things with my own hands - be it woodwork, weaving, embroidery, or tending to plants.

I have a deep love of traditional English folklore, particularly ancient tales of plants and the mystical creatures of the forest. I cultivate the ancient magics through the deep power of stories. Our shared histories began with the oldest tradition of telling and sharing stories and through this tradition, I aim to not only capture children's imaginations, but to teach them to capture their own imaginations and show them a world of learning opportunities that lie in the everyday natural world.