The Meadow CIC

04/10/2026

03/10/2026

When we talk about great learning environments, it doesn’t get much more special than our second site, Otter Brook! We have SO much to tell you about this INCREDIBLE place but for now, enjoy this new footage from Liam of a rather exciting bird. Can you recognise it?

02/10/2026

You’ve probably heard of ‘environment as teacher’, a Reggio Emilia term explaining how the physical space where children learn acts as an active educator, shaping how they explore, think, and grow.

For us here, this is an incredibly important concept. It’s why we chose a 7-acre site with abundant access to nature and the outdoors. Over the years we’ve explored the flora and fauna around us in a myriad of ways. There’s a stream and rope swing in one direction, where we’ve created rock potions, noticed new duck breeds and had political debates. In the other, there’s a river where we’ve made and sailed our boats, discovered centuries-old bottles and picnicked under the oak. We’ve wandered through the valleys countless times, discovering cool nature finds, admiring the seasons and wondering about the world.

We’re connected to the outdoors daily with free flow access between our spaces. We play and explore in nature constantly and she brings all sorts of gifts. For example, last week on a walk to the donkeys and horses, we discovered thousands of bees buzzing furiously around the hedges. This sparked our curiosity and led us on a journey of discovery about what bees they were and why they were acting like that. It’s opened up a whole new topic we’re exploring and it all came from a chance moment in our day. This is why, alongside the plans and rhythms we create, we hold ample space to be responsive to the learning around us and the interesting directions we might take. This is the very nature of self-directed learning and it’s a complete joy for our creative minds to be part of!

02/10/2026

This is a great FREE event for our Environmental Management iGCSE teams and anyone who’s interested in the role of the beaver in our ecosystem. We’re going, hope to see you there!

Beavers are back on the Cam and Wellow, but what does their presence mean for our rivers, wildlife and local communities?

Join Avon Wildlife Trust’s Beaver Officer for an fascinating introduction to the ecology and behaviour of beavers and learn more about these remarkable ecosystem engineers.

We’ll explore how beavers shape rivers and wetlands, the benefits and challenges their activity can bring, and what it means to live alongside them. With beavers now present in our local river system, this is a chance to separate fact from fiction, ask questions and better understand the changes we may see in our landscape.

Whether you’re excited, curious or simply want to know more about our new neighbours, come along to discover the science behind beavers and what their return could mean for the Cam and Wellow catchments.

Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/demystifying-beavers-the-role-of-beavers-in-a-changing-climate-tickets-2002619892006?aff=oddtdtcreator

01/10/2026

This is our very first footage from Liam the wildlife photographer and we’re over the moon about it! We’ve intentionally left some of our Himalayan balsam for the time being as Otter Brook is very light on flowering plants so the bees absolutely love it. What a wonderful start to our photographic journey with and we’re so excited for all that’s to come! 🎥🐝🌸

01/10/2026

It’s time to get wild in the woods again! Our Wild Holiday Club is a wonderful chance to enjoy our stunning Otter Brook site - come and play, create, cook on the fire and immerse yourself in the wonder of nature 🍂 It’s perfect as a half-term delight from the stresses of school, and it also serves as a beautiful way to dip your toe into the world of The Meadow and experience how we do things differently. Booking link in bio. We can’t wait to see you in the woods! 🍁

30/09/2026

Grab a cuppa and sit down with me for a minute while I explain my big vision for The Meadow ✨

29/09/2026

Have you got a teen who’s lonely or looking for their people? This is a shout out just for them!

You won’t often see teens on our socials and that’s about their consent around photos, not because they aren’t here!

A few years ago now I put a shout out for teens just like this - we had teens waiting in the wings keen to join but wanting to know there’d be others their age too. Fast forward to today and those teens have grown a lovely friendship group together - they have fun here and also hang out outside of The Meadow regularly too, even going on a camp and holidays together!

This particular group are ready to move onto new adventures now but we still have other 13, 14 and 15 year-olds here hoping for more people their age to join them.

Whilst we hugely value teens being able to stay in a mixed age group to join in with team games and other playful activities whenever they want to, we also recognise their need for different offerings too. Some examples include weekly Teen Meets, our Masters programme, Debate Club and a Healthy Relationships course with national charity Tender. We’ve also planned trips out, including to London and the Houses of Parliament, and we’re starting to form a Meadow band! Our Offerings are always tailored to the young people in front of us, so if they have a new idea to develop we’re all ears!

We know social connections are THE most important thing for developing teen brains so if you have a teen who’d love to get involved, come along to our Open Day on Sunday 11th October, 11-1pm. Contact Debs at [email protected] for all the details and we look forward to meeting you then.

27/09/2026

IT’S TIME!! 🥳 Our doors are opening TWO WEEKS today for our first Open Day of the year! Here’s a little snippet of our first 2 weeks together, and there’s so much more great stuff to come. We’re excited! Come and be a part of it all, just email the lovely Debs to find out more 🌻

23/09/2026

It’ll soon be time to open up our doors and welcome in our next Meadow families! 🥳 We can’t wait to show you the special community we’ve built over the past 4 years! In the meantime follow along here to learn more about our approach to education and being in community together.