The Haven, Overton

Oh gosh! What fun we had at creative expression today! We have a young person who has a keen interest in wobble dogs. Last week we drew some so this week I decided we should make some.

Turns out this will be a two or week project but it was SO much fun. Lots of social. Lots of problem solving. Heaps of creativity.

Many schools locally are closing due to the weather. Please do contact me if you wish for your child to join me for the afternoon. I'll be at The Haven Overton doing some arts and crafts from 1pm-3pm. Maximum 6 young people. £20 for the afternoon :) PS....we have air con!

People often think dyslexia is about reading and spelling.

But dyslexia can affect listening, processing spoken information, working memory, word finding, sequencing, and processing speed too.

When we understand this, it changes how we support learners.

At The Haven, it means I don't assume a learner has understood just because I've explained something once.

It means I break instructions down into smaller chunks.

It means I don't overload learners with lots of verbal information all at once.

It means I use visual supports, diagrams, examples, and practical activities alongside spoken explanations.

It means I give learners time to think before expecting an answer.

It means I understand that a learner who says "I don't know" may simply need more time to process the question.

It means I know that forgetting instructions isn't laziness, and struggling to find the right word isn't a lack of understanding.

Most importantly, it means I don't judge ability by speed.

Some of the most capable learners I have worked with need longer to process information, organise their thoughts, or express what they know.

The goal isn't to make learners fit the system.

The goal is to create an environment where learners can show what they know without being limited by how quickly they can process, read, write, or respond.

When we understand dyslexia properly, we stop asking "Why aren't they keeping up?"

And start asking "What do they need to succeed?"

We will be OPEN tomorrow morning. All measures will be taken to keep our young people cool. Please message me if you have any concerns. We will continue to monitor advice/schools guidance

I thought I'd post a little more detail about my thoughts for our summer enrichment programme. I'm aware this is a huge amount of information and is quite poorly formatted but I'm excited about it and hopefully it'll give you a flavour of what we will get up to.

Booking link - https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thehaven4/2243894

The workshop

🏗️ Session 1: Marble Run Masters
Can you build a marble run that really works?

Learners will design, build, test, and refine their own marble runs using a variety of materials. They'll explore how speed, gravity, angles, and momentum affect the movement of a marble while tackling the challenge of keeping it moving from start to finish.

Activities may include:
Designing pathways and obstacles
Testing different slopes and angles
Creating jumps, spirals, and tunnels
Problem-solving when things don't go to plan
Working together to create larger connected runs

🌉 Session 2: Bridge Builders
How strong can you make your bridge?

Learners will investigate different bridge designs before creating their own structures using a range of materials. Once built, bridges will be tested to discover which designs are strongest, most efficient, and most creative.

Activities may include:
Exploring famous bridges from around the world
Designing and constructing model bridges
Testing strength and stability
Adapting designs based on results
Team engineering challenges

🚀 Session 3: Catapults & Launchers
Ready, aim, launch!

Learners will become engineers and inventors as they design and build catapults, launchers, and other machines capable of sending objects through the air. Through trial and error, they'll discover how force, angles, and design choices affect performance.
Activities may include:
Building different types of launchers
Testing distance and accuracy
Engineering challenges and target games
Modifying designs to improve performance
Friendly competitions and collaborative problem-solving

The Studio

🎨 Session 1: Character Lab
Create unforgettable characters. From heroes and villains to mythical creatures and curious inventions, learners will design personalities, appearances, strengths, weaknesses, and backstories.
🌍 Session 2: Worlds & Environments
Every great character needs a place to belong. Learners will design and build the worlds their characters inhabit, from enchanted forests and futuristic cities to distant planets and hidden kingdoms.
✨ Session 3: Bring It Together
It's time to bring everything to life. Learners will combine their characters and worlds into a final creative project. This might be a comic, model, story, artwork, map, scene, or something entirely unique to them.

The expedition

🦖 Session 1: Lost Worlds
Dinosaurs
Ancient civilisations
Fossils
Build a dinosaur habitat
Escape-the-volcano challenge

🚀 Session 2: Space Mission
Plan a mission to Mars
Design a habitat
Solve survival challenges
Build a moon rover

🏝️ Session 3: Survival Challenge
Stranded on a desert island
Limited resources
Shelter-building
Water and food challenges
Team problem-solving

If you are considering buying tickets for this session, please do let me know or book yourself a ticket (excuse the long link below!).

Unfortunately due to lack of bookings this seminar is in danger of being cancelled.

I need to be able to sell enough tickets to pay Philippa for her time (and hopefully a couple of packets of biscuits). She's worth every penny - neuroaffirming, supportive, clear talking and very knowledgeable.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thehaven4/2262970?fbclid=IwdGRjcASjTMdjbGNrBKNMxGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHtQV9VWgCEttK8m29YPWKD5Yy373ebFmIxETMLSQItxjVJn1e1XwRpJEye9c_aem_5L7MgoV-mh8xIuyMyfS7Rw

I’m thinking about music today.

Think back to your teenage years. What was your anthem?

Mine was very specifically *Minority* by Green Day. I would sing it loud and proud in my bedroom.

Looking back now, I can see why it mattered so much to me. I felt like the minority. I didn’t feel like I belonged. I didn’t quite feel like I fitted in.

But at the time, that felt okay. Maybe even powerful.

Because belonging is not the same as fitting in.

Fitting in asks us to change, mask, shrink, and perform.

Belonging says: you are allowed to be here as you are.

For many neurodivergent learners, the goal should never be conformity. It should be safety, acceptance, understanding, and space to be different without being made to feel wrong.

At The Haven, we do not want learners to disappear into the crowd.

We want them to feel seen.

Did you know?

I'm currently actively investigating registering as an exam centre for Functional Skills exams.

I'm in contact with some awarding bodies and am in the process of arranging a site visit.

Really hoping I can pull this off!

Today is the day!

My call this afternoon to take the next step towards registering as a Functional Skills English and Maths exam centre.

Insanely exciting!

We have already had some really powerful responses to the survey, and the early results are striking:

A whopping 78% of parents surveyed said they would support changes to school uniform.

Even more significantly, 86.8% of parents said their child has experienced a difficulty with school uniform.

This tells us that this is not just an isolated issue. For many learners and families, school uniform can create real difficulties — particularly around sensory needs, anxiety, comfort, attendance, and belonging.

To give this campaign the strongest possible impact, we now need more responses.

Please could I ask you to share the survey widely with your own network and encourage people to complete it as soon as possible?

The more voices we can gather, the stronger the evidence will be when we approach local schools.

Survey link:
https://forms.gle/JmsoHwsfh9cYtG9S9

Thank you again for your support. Every response helps us build a clearer picture and advocate for practical, compassionate change.