04/09/2026
My little business turns 2 this month 🥳
I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I started this journey of being self employed, teaching the way I want to teach knowing it’s the best way for the children I work with; zero rush, zero pressure, zero comparison, 100% fun, 100% confidence, 100% individual progress.
Hello 👋
Here’s a little bit about me & why I’ve decided to set up my own business.
I’m known as either Cath, Catherine, mum, mummy or Miss Thompson (from my days as a teacher, although I was often called mum at school by mistake 😂)
I’m a mum to 2 beautiful children; Jamie & Immy. They are my world & everything I do is for them. So you will probably see & hear quite a bit about them from time to time.
In my spare time, I enjoy taking my children out. We like doing a variety of things from theme parks to soft play, cinema, bowling, going out for meals, shopping & spending time with the rest of our family.
I also help to run a local baby & toddler group, which I really enjoy, and in 2023 I became an independent partner of Usborne publishing. You may have seen me at various local events with my pop-up stall.
My hobbies include reading & watching films (thrillers are my favourite), playing word games/puzzles, quiz shows & listening to music (I also like to have a sing along & a bit of a boogie too 😜)
Teaching is all I’ve ever really wanted to do since the age of 7, apart from a brief period of time when I wanted to be a banker after helping to run a school bank, but I soon came back to the idea of teaching as working with children & developing a love for learning is my passion. I would spend hours, as a child, arranging my teddies & playing schools so I knew it was my calling.
I studied at the University of Worcester for 3 years, gaining a 2:1 degree in Initial teacher training with Qualified Teacher status (QTS) specialising in 5-11 years.
I had the time of my life at university meeting some life long friends & I had so much fun on my course, even though it was extremely hard work.
During the holidays, when I came home from university, I worked at Coors Visitor centre as a play-leader for their out-of-school activity club. Another part of this role was hosting birthday parties, so I know lots of fun games 😃
After finishing my degree, I was so lucky to land myself a permanent role at a lovely school in Swadlincote where I’ve worked with some amazing colleagues (many of whom I call friends) & have also had the privilege of working with hundreds of fabulous children & their families during my 17 year career.
I’ve now left the classroom sadly but I can’t leave teaching altogether. There’s just nothing else I want to do. Which is where my idea for my own business came from.
I knew I needed a job but one which would allow me flexibility around my family and other commitments. What is more flexible than being self employed?
And I knew I still wanted to teach but to also have the freedom to work how I choose & to focus on the things that I truly value; to make learning fun & meaningful and building confidence & self esteem 😊
So… Early readers, growing minds became an idea. Then it became a plan with goals.
I’ve bought resources, started to prepare my learning space for both tuition & play-based workshops, have sought business advice, paid for subscriptions/insurances & have developed this page so there really is no going back now 😬
I’m so excited (and also a bit terrified) about my new adventure and I have every intention of making it a huge success.
Well… I said I’d share a little bit about me & it ended up being my life story (almost) 😂
