Love2Learn Education

We're exploring some exciting opportunities to expand our community-based learning offer and are looking for suitable spaces to hire during the daytime.

Can anyone recommend any venues in Birmingham or the surrounding areas that might be a good fit?

We're particularly interested in places such as:

• Community centres
• Village halls
• Church halls
• Theatres and arts venues
• Universities and colleges
• Community hubs
• Parks with community rooms, classrooms or visitor centres
• Nature reserves or outdoor learning venues with indoor space
• Other flexible learning or meeting spaces

Ideally, we're looking for somewhere that offers a welcoming and calm environment, parking, toilet facilities and access to one larger room with additional breakout spaces if possible.

We're always keen to hear about local venues that may not be widely advertised, so recommendations and introductions would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help and please feel free to share.

I've been reflecting on this article today.

One thing I've learned through working with children and young people with SEND is that there is rarely a simple answer.

I've seen learners thrive in mainstream schools when the right support is in place. I've also seen learners flourish in specialist settings after years of struggling to cope.

For me, the conversation shouldn't be about mainstream versus specialist provision.

It should be about making sure every child has access to an environment where they feel safe, understood and able to learn.

The challenge is not that children are different.

The challenge is creating an education system flexible enough to meet those differences.

What do others think?

Labour doesn't seem to like Send schools for kids like mine – but here's what we'll lose if these precious places are forgotten | John Harris An autism school in Wiltshire exemplifies what’s so different about education in a tailored environment, and the outcomes for children speak for themselves, says Guardian columnist John Harris

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹?

In my experience, it starts long before any formal referral or provision is put in place.

It looks like someone in school noticing. Really noticing. Not just the behaviour, but what might be behind it.

It looks like a conversation with the family that feels collaborative rather than defensive.

It looks like asking the child what helps, and actually listening to the answer.

It looks like a plan that is built around the young person, not around what happens to be available.

And when additional specialist support is needed, it looks like that support working alongside school, not instead of it.

At Love2Learn Education we work with schools to provide flexible, specialist provision for young people who need something different. Whether that is short term intervention, reintegration support or a more bespoke package, we build it around the child.

If you are supporting a young person who is finding things hard right now, I would love to have a conversation.

Some of our team will be attending this webinar tomorrow, to learn more about how we can support our autistic learners displaying OCD tendencies.

On Thursday I’m running my best-selling webinar, Helping Your Autistic Child with OCD.

It’s one that I’ve consistently had good feedback from, with parents saying that it has really changed the way that they approached their child’s OCD. OCD is tricky, and it’s particularly tricky for autistic children and their families. It’s hard to know how to help. The things that feel like they help in the short term end up making the situation worse in the long time. It can feel like life is full of traps.

Understanding the psychology of OCD can make all the difference, and that’s what I explain in this webinar. You’ll learn what drives OCD, why OCD can be a particular problem for autistic children and, crucially, what parents can do to help. This is an area where parents can make a huge difference. This webinar is based on evidence-based practice and clinical experience. Think like a psychologist, and help your child thrive.

Please share if you know parents who might want to know. It’s recording if you can’t make the time.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985570305233?aff=oddtdtcreator

We have some really exciting news to share. 🎉

Love2Learn Education has been shortlisted for not one, but two Alternative Provision Awards this year, hosted by Provisions Plus+.

🏆 Excellence in Student Relationships
🏆 Positivite Partnerships

And that's not all. Our founder Kirsty Fox has also been personally shortlisted for two awards:

🏆 Most Influential Staff Member
🏆 Positivity and Culture Champion

And two of our wonderful team members have been recognised individually too:

🏆 Janine Corless and Anna Venables, both shortlisted for the Life Changing Opportunities Award

Honestly, we weren't expecting this and it means so much. Every nomination is a reflection of the families who trust us, the learners who inspire us and the team who show up every single day.

Thank you for being part of what we are building together. We are really looking forward to celebrating at the awards ceremony on 3rd July. 💜

As exam season continues, I’ve been thinking a lot about the young people who arrive in Year 11 carrying far more than revision timetables and mock results.

Particularly learners with SEND, anxiety, EBSA or unmet needs, who may have missed significant parts of their education through no fault of their own.

By the time many of these young people reach GCSE years, they are often not only trying to prepare for exams, but also carrying the emotional weight of comparison. Watching peers move through a system that perhaps never really fitted them in the first place. Wondering what their own future will look like.

And it’s important to acknowledge that not every young person in Year 11 is actually sitting GCSEs right now.

Some are working towards Functional Skills qualifications instead.
Some are accessing highly reduced timetables.
Some are simply burnt out after years of trying to survive environments that never fully met their needs.

As professionals, and as parents, I think we need to reflect carefully on the messages young people absorb during this stage of education.

Too often, the narrative still suggests a narrow definition of success: GCSEs, A-levels, university.

Of course qualifications matter, and for some young people this pathway is absolutely the right one. But it is not the only route to a meaningful, successful or fulfilling future.

Some learners need more time.
Some need different environments.
Some begin to flourish only once they finally feel safe, understood and able to learn without constant overwhelm.

I know this not only professionally, but personally as a parent too.

My own experience of parenting a young person with additional needs taught me that post-16 education can look very different from mainstream secondary school. College became a place where confidence grew, strengths emerged and learning finally felt accessible in a way it hadn’t before.

Sometimes the path forward becomes clearer once the pressure of trying to fit into the wrong environment is behind a young person.

I think we need to hold onto ambition for young people, while also widening our understanding of what progress and success can look like.

For some learners, simply reaching the end of Year 11 is already an enormous achievement.

And for those families currently feeling uncertain about what comes next, there are still pathways forward. Often more than people realise.

Yesterday, our principal, Kirsty Fox attended a Practitioner Roundtable on the SEND White Paper, convened by the International Forum for Inclusion Practitioners and The Tutors’ Association , hosted by Pearson at their offices in London.

There was a huge range of experience in the room, including school leaders, alternative provision teams, tutors, inclusion practitioners, local authority commissioners and SEND specialists. What really stood out was that, although people came with very different perspectives, everyone cared deeply about improving outcomes for children and young people.

There was also a lot of honesty in the conversation.

It’s clear that many families, schools and professionals are feeling uncertain and anxious about the proposed SEND reforms at the moment. For some parents especially, there is understandable fear around what these changes could mean for their child’s support and future education.

That uncertainty was acknowledged throughout the day.

What felt positive, though, was that the discussion stayed focused on how we can influence meaningful change and ensure that lived experience is part of the conversation moving forward.

One thing that many people seemed to agree on was that, if we are serious about inclusion and improving outcomes for all children and young people, much more systemic change is needed across education.

We spoke about:
• what inclusion really means in practice
• the pressure currently being felt by schools and families
• learners who struggle to access mainstream environments safely
• the importance of flexibility and specialist support
• how we define success for young people
• and the need to build systems around real children, not idealised models

Importantly, this White Paper is still at an early stage. There is still a long process ahead before any proposals become law or are fully implemented. Conversations like this matter because they help ensure that the voices of families, practitioners, schools and young people are heard as decisions continue to develop.

I left feeling thoughtful, hopeful and reminded how many people across the sector genuinely want things to improve for children and families.

Thank you to IFIP, The Tutors’ Association and Pearson for creating space for such an important conversation and your ongoing conversation with the Department for Education.

Do you know what’s going on in your teenager’s head? Probably not, because one of the hallmarks of being a teen is that they stop telling you everything. They change and it can feel like each day brings new challenges.

Many teenagers are anxious, and demand avoidant teens are no exception. For them, the anxiety can feel paralysing. It can feel like there’s nothing they can do, and this stops them from living the life that they want.

So how can parents help their demand avoidant teens with anxiety? That’s what I’m talking about in my next webinar, coming up soon. It’s recorded if you can’t make the time. Please share if you know parents who are confused and not sure how to help their teens.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/helping-your-demand-avoidant-teen-with-anxiety-tickets-1985570059498?aff=fb6

We know how many questions come up when you’re looking for the right support for your child.

“What if they don’t engage?”
“Who will be working with them?”
“Will this actually help?”

If you’ve ever found yourself asking these, you’re not alone.

We’ve pulled together some of the most common questions families ask us, with honest answers about how we work and what you can expect.

At Love2Learn Education, we take the time to:

build trust first
follow your child’s pace
match the right Specialist Educator or Specialist Teacher
create learning that feels safe and achievable

Because when a learner feels understood, everything starts to change.

If you’re exploring support, you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

💬 Send us a message or book a call. We’re always happy to talk things through.