Meet our team.

At Our School in the Woods, our purpose is to help children grow and thrive.  
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Ellen, Amanda and Natasha are parents who have worked extensively with children. We are fully DBS-checked and trained in Non Violent Communication (NVC), Parent Effectiveness Training (PET trainer: Mary Maclachlan), Safeguarding, Outdoor First Aid. Our team meets regularly to plan and discuss best how to meet the needs of the children in our care. 

We have additional, talented members of the team who are available at short notice. This team come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, all with Forest School qualifications, experience of working with children and are referenced and fully DBS-checked. 
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​Amanda​

Amanda is a qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader with a PhD and 15-years’ experience in  biomedical science research. Amanda is as an outdoor educator, freelance play worker, yoga teacher and Forest School practitioner working with pre-school and primary school-aged children. Amanda is co-director of Our School in the Woods and keeps our school going behind the scenes.
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​Ellen​

​Ellen is a qualified Level 3 Forest School Practitioner, a qualified secondary school teacher specialising in geography, and a qualified early years teacher. Ellen is co-director of Our School in the Woods. 

Ellen has previously been an outdoors education instructor and holds a Level 3 qualification in outdoor education, as well as qualifications in climbing (SPA), mountaineering (ML), canoeing (L2) and archery. Ellen also runs after school clubs and holiday clubs in her local community garden.

In her spare time, Ellen spends lots of time outdoors with her two children. They go on cycling, hiking and canoeing trips together. Ellen likes to swim outside and generally enjoys being outdoors.  
Natasha

Natasha is a qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader and Ofsted registered childminder, working with early years and primary school aged children. Natasha has worked in mental health and has a degree in Criminology & Social Policy and a Level 3 Counselling Skills certificate.  She also delivers Forest School for an after school club and runs a monthly nature mentoring group in Manchester. 
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In her spare time Natasha likes to spend as much time as possible outdoors playing, exploring and creating with her two children. Natasha also enjoys running in the rain, yoga, foraging, walking up hills, finding new spots to swim and learning to play the piano. 
Esme

​Esme is a Forest School Assistant and has also worked for The Wood School, Manchester in this role. 

Esme began volunteering in primary schools after many years in the travel industry and has a passion for supporting children and helping them to thrive. She is a Level 3 Forest School Leader and has an English Language degree. 

Esme has four children, two with ASD and ADHD and has completed many courses to gain a good understanding of social communication and sensory processing difficulties. In her spare time she enjoys long walks in the countryside, days at the seaside and spending time outdoors exploring with her children and her dog. 
Emelie

​Emelie is a Level 3 Forest School Leader and started her career working with children as a nanny abroad. She is also a Level 2 swimming instructor currently working at Withington baths.

Emelie moved to Manchester in 2019 and quickly made it her home. She worked as  an SEND Teaching Assistant and ran an after school forest school programme at a local primary school.

​Emelie strives to make her practice and daily life as sustainable as possible. In her spare time you can find her gardening in her allotment, foraging for plants or crafting.