Pedagogical Philosophy
My practice as an artist and my practice as an educator are inseparable. Each feeds and informs the other. I make work about pattern, nature and the overlooked beauty of the world around us. I teach through curiosity, enquiry and the belief that every person — whatever their age, background or ability — has something important to make and say.
THE REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH
My educational practice is grounded in the Reggio Emilia approach — a philosophy of learning developed in the pre-schools of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy. I trained at the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre in 2007 and have been developing, researching and sharing this practice ever since. At its heart, the Reggio Emilia approach treats every learner as a capable, curious investigator of their world. The environment is a teacher. Documentation is a research tool. The adult’s role is to listen, provoke and follow — not to direct. I apply these principles whether I am working with two-year-olds in a sensory space or with postgraduate students in a lecture theatre.
CHILD-LED LEARNING
Child-led learning is not the absence of structure — it is a different kind of structure, one that begins with what the learner notices, questions and wonders about. Over 20 years of practice I have developed a deep understanding of how to create the conditions for genuine enquiry — in classrooms, galleries, heritage sites, outdoor spaces and community settings alike.ALL AGES, ALL ABILITIES
I work with learners from babies in early years settings to adults in their 80s+ in heritage and community programmes. I design activities that are genuinely adaptable — accessible to participants with SEND, visual impairment, neurodiversity, EAL, dementia and a wide range of additional needs — while remaining rich and challenging for those who want to go further.A NOTE ON DYSLEXIA
I’m #MadeByDyslexia — expect big thinking and small typos. My dyslexia is part of how I see the world and how I work: laterally, creatively, and with a genuine instinct for what children and communities find meaningful and engaging. It is also part of why inclusive, access-led practice matters so much to me.