Hello! I’m Mary.

I’m a freelance primary teacher and Forest School Leader based in Macclesfield, Cheshire.

I specialise in holistic, therapeutic teaching that takes into account each child’s unique needs, interests and strengths. First and foremost, my priority is to build a safe, trusting relationship with your child through attunement, playfulness and connection. From there, we can enjoy and explore learning together, with the aim of helping your child to thrive in their own unique way. I believe it is important to have high expectations for every child, whatever their starting point, while accepting that each child learns and develops at their own pace.

What do I offer?

As a freelance educator, I am available to work in schools, early years settings, Forest Schools or with Home Educated children. I have a warm and welcoming private teaching space at my home in Macclesfield, Cheshire and can also travel up to 15 miles from here. I am keen to use my skills and experience in a way that suits the needs of each setting and individual learner. I am flexible as to how I structure my sessions, and can work either one-to-one or with small groups. However, due to the sensitive nature of my therapeutic work, I do require a calm space where we will not be interrupted. For Forest School sessions, I need access to a safe and stimulating natural environment.

I welcome all learning styles and neurotypes, whether or not a child has a specific diagnosis. Together we will create some clear boundaries so that everyone feels safe, and adapt these as needed. Confidentiality is respected unless there are safeguarding concerns, and I try to involve parents and other caregivers as much as possible without compromising a child’s privacy. I am trained in Paediatric and Outdoor First Aid as well as in Safeguarding for Children and Young People. I am fully DBS checked and on the update system and can show all relevant documents on request.

What do my sessions involve?

Sessions will vary as I seek to respond to your child’s needs and interests. Some days they might feel ready to try new things, while others may be more about co-regulation, repetition and consolidation of previous learning. However, my work always incorporates my three main passions of creativity, literature and nature. I believe that each of these offers an open-ended space in which we can explore and deeply engage with the self and the wider world, enabling growth and a greater feeling of wellbeing.

For one-to-one sessions I tend to use the model developed by my therapeutic teaching training provider, the Caspari Foundation. We might start with a story or poem, or by playing the Squiggle Game invented by pioneering psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott. I will then offer a range of creative and educational activities but which ones we will work on, and for how long, will be led by the needs and interests of each child. For example, I love shared story-writing and book-making, but if they are more interested in making a 3D model of a spaceship, then we will do that, and see where it takes us! We usually spend the last 15 minutes of a session playing a game.

My work is grounded in psychodynamic psychotherapy and very much relationship-based. It is therefore is most effective over a minimum of 10-12 sessions, or one school term. During this time, I aim to help your child gain confidence in themselves as a learner, develop strategies to help them in the areas they find challenging, and improve their emotional resilience and wellbeing.