Songbird Coaching & Support Services

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🎓Teacher, SENDCo and Deputy Head 20+yrs
🧠Specialist Mental Health Lead
🚸Qualified Child & Teen Mental Health Coach

✨Providing a safe space for children & teens to develop the mental health skills they need to T H R I V E ✨

They say that being a teacher prepares you for motherhood, but the truth is, nothing could have prepared me for you. You...
02/04/2026

They say that being a teacher prepares you for motherhood, but the truth is, nothing could have prepared me for you.

You didn’t need a teacher; no guidebook was ever going to help, what you needed was a mother who was willing to unlearn everything she thought she knew.

You’ve taught me that love doesn’t always look like a hug or an “I love you.” Sometimes, love is found in the quiet spaces, in the way you share your interests with me, or the help you allow me to provide.

You’ve shown me that your inner world is kinder, quiter and full of joy when compared to the harsh realities of the world outside. Every day you challenge me to evolve and because of you, I am a better leader, practitioner, and coach. But most importantly, I am a different kind of parent.

✨ I don’t always get it right. There are days when the weight of it all feels heavy.
✨There are moments of doubt where I wonder if I’m giving you exactly what you need.

But in those moments of reflection, I realise that we are growing together. You are teaching me the kind of parent you need me to be, and I am listening.

I will never stop advocating for a world that sees your brilliance instead of just your challenges. And above all, I will never stop supporting every dream, every goal, and every spark of joy you chase because getting to see that smile puts my heart and mind at rest.

Whatever the future holds, and however loud the world gets, know that I will always be right by your side.

Always the wind beneath your wings.

When I first qualified as a teacher 20+ years ago, I remember standing in front of my first class: 30 little Yr 1 people...
19/03/2026

When I first qualified as a teacher 20+ years ago, I remember standing in front of my first class: 30 little Yr 1 people. They were the same age, in the same class, all sitting on the same carpet and all learning the same lesson. Of course I differentiated (that was drilled well into our teaching practices)  but apart from the slight variations academically or complete off plan for 1:1 children, on the whole children were expected to not only fit into the same box, but to crawl in and out the same way too! 📦

Now, when I look back and reflect on this time I  refer to it as: the monochrome era. 🔳

Back then, the term neurodivergent wasnt a thing. My training taught me the to look for specific difficulties, not learning preferences. how to look for challenging behaviours, deficits & disorders but didn’t teach me to look for the nuances of how different types of brains process the world.

Now, when I walk into a classroom or setting, I see in full colour. 🎨 I see each child their own mix of vibrant colour, with their own unique set of preferences, life experiences, talents, traits & necessary adjustments. And how grateful I am to not only shape the futures of these brilliant individuals, but to teach at a time where classrooms are colourful, neurodivergence is celebrated and a growing army of educators , parents and professionals are all fighting for awareness, inclusion and compassion.

Now, I know there is still a long way to go. The system isn’t perfect, and the fight is far from over. But as we mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week, let’s pause and look back at that monochrome classroom and realise just how much brighter & more authetic they have become.

We aren’t just teaching differently; we are seeing differently.

And in that shift from black-and-white to full colour, we haven’t just changed our practice, we’ve started changing the world.

I know there is still a long way to go, but let’s also remember just how far we’ve come and take a moment to imagine just how far we’ll go.✨

Today is a day of celebration, but as a CAMH lead, coach, teacher & fellow SEND mum, I know that for many of you, “celeb...
15/03/2026

Today is a day of celebration, but as a CAMH lead, coach, teacher & fellow SEND mum, I know that for many of you, “celebration” feels like a complex word.

In my work, I see the incredible spectrum of motherhood. I see the mums navigating neurodiversity, the mums sitting in waiting rooms for assessments, and the mums who spend their evenings researching how to better support their child’s unique world.

If there is one thing I wish I could bottle up and give to you today, it’s this:

Every child’s journey is different, and that means every mother’s journey is different, too.

I talk to so many mothers who carry a heavy weight of worry. Am I doing enough? Did I handle that meltdown right? Am I fighting hard enough for their support?

If you are worrying about whether you are doing a good job, let me settle that for you right now:

The fact that you care enough to wonder is the very proof that you are. Indifferent parents don’t worry. Advocates do. Loving, dedicated, “in the trenches” mums do.

To the Mums today who are:

🗺️Navigating a “different” path: Your resilience is breathtaking.
😞Feeling exhausted: Your strength is seen.
🫩Questioning themselves: You are exactly who your child needs.

Your “best” looks different every day, and that is okay. Today, I hope you can put down the “should-haves” and see yourself through your child’s eyes: as their safe safe, their biggest cheerleader, and their constant.

Happy Mother’s Day to each and every one of you 💛

You truly are doing an amazing job and how lucky they are to have to! ✨

I’ve been quiet on here lately. Not because of the workload (though school inspection, coaching & house renovations are ...
11/03/2026

I’ve been quiet on here lately. Not because of the workload (though school inspection, coaching & house renovations are doing their best to keep me busy 🤪) but because of the heavy lifting happening behind my own front door.

As a CAMH coach & lead teacher, I talk about mental health every day. But this last week has been a particularly challenging one managing my own children’s EBSA.

To anyone watching, they get up and go to school every day. They are “fine.” They are compliant. But as a mum, I know exactly what the classrooms costs them.

The dysregulation the second they leave the school grounds. The morning meltdowns. The negative self-talk. The desperate pleas for easier days. But the most heartbreaking of them all is hearing a child question the point of life because the environment they are in feels like it’s crushing them.

They spend all day trying to squeeze into a box they simply don’t belong in. And over time, you watch them lose themselves.

You see the confidence
the spark
the optimism
the sense of adventure start to fade away.

So much needs to change.

Too much for it to happen quickly enough.
Too much for it not to feel overwhelming.

But right now, the most important thing we can do is look for the clues and give these children a voice 🎤

They know what helps and what doesn’t; they know which environments feel like a threat and which feel like a sanctuary. If we give them a chance to tell us, they will-just not always with words.

We need to stop asking them to fit, and start building spaces and lessons where they can finally breathe.

And to any parents navigating the same, you are and always will be your child’s greatest advocate.

Show them that no box will ever be more important than their happiness

…and they were never meant to fit inside it. ✨📦

Happy World Book Day! 📚✨As a CAMH coach and specialist wellbeing teacher, my bookshelf isn’t just for decoration, it’s m...
05/03/2026

Happy World Book Day! 📚✨

As a CAMH coach and specialist wellbeing teacher, my bookshelf isn’t just for decoration, it’s my toolkit.

Books have the power to give us the language for feelings we can’t yet name and strategies for moments when things feel heavy.

Here are 10 books I am keeping on my shelf right now to support my work, my students and my own mental health 📚Swipe to see the covers and why I think they deserve a spot on your shelf too! ➡️

Screenshot or save 🚩so you have these titles ready for the next time you’re looking for the right words.

Does it ever feel like the door closes the moment they get home?” 🚪✨We’ve all been there: you want to connect, but the h...
27/02/2026

Does it ever feel like the door closes the moment they get home?” 🚪✨

We’ve all been there: you want to connect, but the harder you try, the more they seem to pull away. Our teens are navigating a world that feels incredibly loud. From digital expectations to future pressures, sometimes, a standard question can feel like a demand for energy they just don’t have left.

The goal isn’t to extract information. It’s to prove that you’re a safe place for them to process things at their own pace, without being ‘fixed’ or managed.

Even the most thoughtful questions can fall flat if the environment feels high-pressure. When we are face-to-face, it can unintentionally feel like an interrogation. But when we’re in the car, on a walk, or even just prepping a snack together, the focus shifts. By removing the intensity of direct eye contact, we lower the ‘social demand’ on them. It’s in these side-by-side moments that curiosity actually has room to breathe.

Ive put together some scripts to support parents and teachers to navigate these conversations. They aren’t meant to be a “fix”, they are just gentle keys to help unlock a door that might feel stuck.

They are designed to:
✨Acknowledge the weight they’re carrying.
✨Honour their need for autonomy.
✨Invite them to share their “truth” at their own pace.

💡If you ask a question and get silence, try to stay there for a moment. Often, the most honest thoughts come just after the “exhale.

Tap the SAVE button 🚩 to keep these in your toolkit for when you next need them. Small shifts in how we ask can lead to big shifts in how they answer.

It’s incredibly powerful to watch a young person realise that their earlier struggles aren’t failures; they are the core...
25/02/2026

It’s incredibly powerful to watch a young person realise that their earlier struggles aren’t failures; they are the core layers that support who they are today.

We used these nesting dolls to map out this young person’s journey, starting where she began our sessions, looking at the progress she has made so far, and visualising what she would like to achieve as her future self.

This remarkable young person blew me away, not only with her delicate designs but with her ability to recognise the parts of her life that weren't quite as she would like them to be.

That is the real power of coaching. It provides the dedicated space to step back from the noise of daily life and look at your own story with fresh eyes. By revisiting my session notes together, we turned "I'm not doing enough" into "Look how far I've come." Coaching isn't about "fixing" someone; it’s about providing the scaffolding so they can build their own bridge to the "Me Next."

Sometimes, you have to see your progress to believe it, and I feel very honoured to get to witness it! 🎨✨

You cannot teach a brain that doesn’t feel safe. 🧠✨With CAMHS waiting lists at an all-time high, the classroom isn’t jus...
23/02/2026

You cannot teach a brain that doesn’t feel safe. 🧠✨

With CAMHS waiting lists at an all-time high, the classroom isn’t just a place for learning anymore, it’s the front line of mental health support. But support doesn't have to mean "more work" or "more budget."

It means a strategic shift from compliance to regulation.

In my latest toolkit, I’ve mapped out how to build a mentally healthy culture across every stage:

✨EYFS: Moving from adult-led naming to sensory recognition (Mirrors, Peg Dolls, and Colour Monsters).
🏫 Primary: Building the "Internal Coach" voice through Visual Journals and Affirmation Anchors.
🎓 Secondary: Reducing "Social Threat" with Discrete Capacity Signals and 2-minute Grounding Anchors.

The goal? Lower the biological noise so the learning can actually happen.

20/02/2026

and the ✨ W I N N E R ✨ is . . .

Only 48 hours left to nominate! ✨A huge thank you to everyone who has liked, shared and voted! The winning school will b...
18/02/2026

Only 48 hours left to nominate! ✨

A huge thank you to everyone who has liked, shared and voted! The winning school will be announced this Friday🤞🏼

If you havent seen the original post, you can find that (and my cheesy grin 🤣) here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUsRgX6jH8-/?igsh=cGJzcWVneWR6dGU0

Cx

“A year later & my daughter still uses what she learned” ✨One of the most rewarding parts of my work is seeing a child m...
18/02/2026

“A year later & my daughter still uses what she learned” ✨

One of the most rewarding parts of my work is seeing a child move from “needing help” to “knowing how.” This beautiful review perfectly captures that journey.

I am often asked how long coaching lasts. The answer? Only as long as it takes for the child/teen to find strength in their own wings. Success in coaching isn’t about them needing me forever, its about enabling them to develop their own tooklit that they can use for a lifetime, long after sessions have ended.

The sessions are designed to be a season of growth. We work together until the child feels confident, capable, and ready to navigate life’s challenges using their own “brakes” and “accelerators.”

I might provide the map, but the flight belongs entirely to them. 🕊️✨🧠💪🏼

Cx

Children’s Mental Health Week is over, but the conversation isn’t! I’ve tagged some accounts doing an amazing job at sup...
16/02/2026

Children’s Mental Health Week is over, but the conversation isn’t!

I’ve tagged some accounts doing an amazing job at supporting young people and their families navigate mental health in today’s world! 🧠✨

For further support & advice, give them a follow!
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