Elm Tree Tutoring

06/07/2026

I will have a few tutoring spaces available from September and limited availability over the summer holidays.

Drop me a message if you’d like any more information.

01/07/2026

We’ve been doing some artwork and using AI to bring it to life - very proud of the results!

13/03/2026

Learning isn’t only from books 🚂

22/10/2025

💭 The Pressures on SEND Children and Their Families

For many families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), school life can bring profound pressures. Too often, parents find themselves torn between wanting their child to access education 📚 and witnessing the toll it takes on their wellbeing 💔. The daily struggle to get a child to school can become an emotional and physical battle 🧠💪 when that child’s mental health is suffering.

Some parents describe feeling pushed to send their child in, even when it’s clear that doing so will cause distress or harm 😢. They may fear fines 💷, attendance letters ✉️, or being judged as “non-compliant” — when, in reality, they are simply advocating for what their child needs most: time, understanding, and meaningful support 💕.

Children with SEND often face environments that aren’t designed to meet their needs 🏫 — loud classrooms 🔊, sensory overload ⚡, unmet emotional or communication needs 💬, or a lack of flexibility in how learning is delivered. These daily challenges can lead to anxiety, meltdowns, or shutdowns 😔 — sometimes misunderstood as “behaviour problems” rather than signs of emotional exhaustion.

It’s crucial to remember that education is not just about attendance — it’s about learning, growth, and wellbeing 🌱. For children to truly thrive, their mental health must come first 💚. When a child’s nervous system is constantly in survival mode 🚨, learning cannot take place effectively.

Protecting children’s mental health isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity 💖. Families need compassionate, tailored support: professionals who listen 👂, flexible educational plans 📝, therapeutic approaches 🫶, and an understanding that attendance alone is not a measure of success.

If you’re a parent feeling pressured to send your child to school when their mental health is suffering, please know — you are not alone 🤝. Trust your instincts 💫. Speak up 🗣️. Ask for help 🧩. Meaningful support should never come at the cost of a child’s wellbeing.

Every child deserves to feel safe, understood, and valued 🌟 — and every parent deserves to be heard and respected in the process ❤️.

03/10/2025

🍁🍂

08/09/2025

Welcome back to a new school year!

I’ve got one space available on a Tuesday at 4pm if anyone is looking for 1:1 tutoring - primary maths/English, 11+ or foundation GCSE maths. Send me a message if you’d like more information 😊

21/08/2025

I know, as I post this, that for at least a third of 16-year-olds today will not be a day of celebration.

That’s not because this year group are particularly predictable, or because I have secret information about the GCSE results.

It’s because GCSE results are highly predictable, even though there is always some fuss made each year about how girls are doing better than boys (or vice versa).

GCSE results are graded by comparing the marks with those from previous years, and making sure that the number of people who get each grade remains more or less the same. There’s some variation, but not a lot.

This means that around a third of each cohort are always going to fail their GCSEs. By fail, I mean that they won’t get the grades they need to go onto college without having to do retakes or do another course at the same level as GCSEs.

This is how GCSEs are designed. If everyone does exceptionally well one year, they’ll just shift the goal posts so that some of them still fail. It’s not possible for everyone to pass. If a school does exceptionally well and everyone passes, that just means that more people in some other school failed.

This is different to a test like the driving test. The driving test is an assessment of how good you are at driving, regardless of how good everyone else is.

I know this isn’t much consolation if you have a teenager who has just had disappointing exam results. It’s not a happy way to end your time at school.

But what it means is that they are not alone. Failure is built into the GCSE system. A third of young people have to fail each year.

They all have a future regardless. Let’s help them to feel hopeful about that.

15/04/2025