‘Ask the Expert’ Q&A with The Bramblewood Project
A Webinar for Start-Up Schools and Learning Communities
Wednesday 12 November,
7.30-9.30pm GMT
If you've ever been inspired to set up your own school or learning community outside of the conventional school system, this webinar series gives you a chance to meet experts who have been there and done it!
In this session you will be introduced to The Bramblewood Project, which started in 2017 by two mums who wanted children from Worcester city (west-central England) to be able to play freely together in nature. Bramblewood now nurtures multiple consent-based, self-directed learning communities for children who attend alongside, or as an alternative to mainstream school.
About Our Experts
Helen Fairest, Founder
For over 30 years, Helen has been an advocate for children's access to play as a birthright, through her work and teaching with the charity Active Training and Education and latterly The Summer Camps Trust.
As a Speech and Language Therapist, Helen served young people and adults with profound and multiple needs. Here she became passionate about helping services to change in order to help people find agency and make their own choices. She founded one of the first acute hospital based teams in the country, providing training and policy creation focused on inclusive values, and supporting the needs, rights and consent of people with learning disabilities.
In 2012, with the aim of becoming a teacher, Helen trained as a forest school leader. This was an epiphany; the combination of being in relationship with the natural world and an intentional focus on child-led play and choice broadened her perspectives beyond mainstream education, and led her to seek a wild space where children could thrive and play in nature, naturally, without interference from curricula and normative expectations. Enter 1.5 acres of unused and overgrown allotment gardens in Worcester City, now fondly called ‘Bramblewood’ by many city folk.
Over the last 7 years, whilst co-nurturing and learning with The Bramblewood Project, and her family, Helen has focussed her learning on the neurobiological underpinnings of relationship and self-regulation, on consent-based, autonomy-respecting relationships, and the intersections between.
Anthony Nicholson
Anthony has been involved with Bramblewood since 2023 as Coordinator alongside Helen, and as the full-time lead professional for each of the young people’s communities that Bramblewood holds space for.
Anthony trained to work on residential summer camps aged seventeen. In the intervening twenty years he has worked in a children’s home, been part of the Education Team at Whipsnade Zoo, taught in mainstream primary schools and led a boarding house in a residential special school.
For five years Anthony took a career break, launching a successful vegan cafe off a shoestring budget, subsequently buying a restaurant with the surplus income, before selling the businesses in 2022 and returning to work with young people.
Taking early inspiration from the work of John Holt, Anthony’s passion is in raising awareness of, championing and protecting the rights and autonomy of young people and their learning. Underpinning all his work these days is humility, a focus on community and the courage to not shirk from regular counter-cultural activism.
Anthony’s other passion is Morris Dancing!
Event Format, Recording and Ticket Price
This event takes place online via Zoom at 7.30-9.30pm GMT on Wednesday 12th November. Helen and Anthony will give a 20 minute talk about how Bramblewood came into being and how and why it continues to evolve. We will then open it up to the audience for your questions. Everyone who registers will be sent the recording after the event.
If you have questions but can't make the date, you are still welcome to register for the event. Simply send your questions through to us at [email protected] and they will get asked in the session on your behalf.
This webinar is FREE for both members and non-members.
Become a Member for Further Support
Join Us!
Would you like to join the Education Start-Ups membership community for support in setting up your learning community? Our membership offers:
Monthly expert webinars (like this one);
Monthly group coaching for peer support and collaborative problem solving;
Online platform for sharing resources/ideas and supporting each other between sessions.
Some extra bonuses too!
You can find out more at EducationStartUps.org/community.
Note to Members
If you are a member, you do not need to register for this event. You will automatically receive the Zoom link in your online community portal.
About Us
This webinar series is brought to you by Jo Symes at Progressive Education and Alex O’Neill from Limitless. We are education activists who have a shared passion for raising awareness of alternatives to mainstream school.
For the past couple of years Alex and Jo have been creating events and resources for start-ups, in response to the growing number of children and young people leaving mainstream education, and the urgency that parents/carers/educators feel to build new learning environments where young people can thrive.
Introducing Alex O’Neill
Alex is the driving force behind Limitless, an organisation dedicated to igniting social change with a special emphasis on revolutionising the education sector.
Through the Limitless podcast, she shares expert insights and neuroscience tips to empower changemakers to tackle the world's most pressing issues.
Alex is committed to uniting individuals who are driven to advance education and supporting them in overcoming obstacles that stand in their way.
Introducing Jo Symes
Jo is the founder of the social enterprise, Progressive Education. Her website is an inspiration hub for exploring alternatives to conventional schooling and campaigns to bring about change. She is building a global directory of jobs, events and progressive schools and learning communities.
It began with the launch of the Progressive Education Group on Facebook in 2019, which is an international community of 11k parents/carers, educators, academics, researchers, psychologists, education innovators, changemakers and young people.
