Trainers


Susan	Naomi	Marian	Debs	Jean

Susan Ainscough

Susan is an inspirational and motivational teacher and educational consultant, who has been working nationally within education and personal development for over 30 years. During that time she has gained a reputation for her passion in implementing change and transforming many children’s and teachers’ lives.

A qualified primary teacher, Ex-head of nursery school, British Wheel of Yoga teacher, Certified Yoga’d Up teacher, Child2Child Peer Massage in Schools Trainer, and NLP practitioner.

Throughout her professional career she has constantly striven to train and work with the most innovative and outstanding teachers throughout the world. Her aim is to bring joy, fun and laughter back into the classroom and to assist in creating for children a lifelong relationship with skills and strategies that will enhance their health and wellbeing for life.

She brings her expansive knowledge of the holistic approach into the classroom focusing particularly on emotional literacy and how the use of yoga, ‘breath-work’, relaxation, visualisation, peer massage and meditation can assist in creating the right emotional environment for learning.

Susan and Naomi offer "Practitioner Training" at Cedar Farm, Ormskirk, throughout the year.

Contact : www.vitalconnections.co.uk or telephone 01257 464409

Jean Barlow

Jean is a highly qualified and experienced teacher and trainer. Jean has worked with many school leadership teams and educational staff to promote social and emotional impetus to improve learning in a variety of settings.

Jean has worked for several local authorities in the North West and has network links with many others throughout the UK. During the latter part of her career she has been invited to take part in conferences, workshops and training that feature nurture, emotional health and well being of children

Jean strongly believes that the nurturing approach helps children build emotional resilience, promote autonomy and organisational skills, all of which facilitate learning.

Jean offers training opportunities every fourth Saturday in the month for individuals seeking AChild2Child training or other emotional health and well-being training.

More Information about Jean Barlow is available at her website.

Visit Jean Barlow' s Website

Marion Begolo

Marian is currently working for Rochdale MBC as a teacher consultant with the Rochdale School Improvement Service to support schools. She leads on the implementation of Therapeutic Inclusion rooms in Rochdale and Pyramid Clubs as well as promoting a number of other strategies and agendas including AChild2Child Peer Massage. Marian has been a teacher for many years and has taught many “troubled and troublesome” children and recognises the importance of schools developing a menu of interventions to address children’s wide-ranging needs. For this reason she is an enthusiastic advocate of nurturing and creative therapeutic approaches.

Naomi Dickinson

Naomi is a passionate advocate of the benefits of a holistic approach to health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on developing emotional intelligence and promoting work/life balance within education. Naomi started her career as a practicing holistic therapist, successfully running her own business and specialising in Clinical Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Massage therapy. Her passion and enthusiasm for the life-enhancing benefits of holistic therapies extended into teaching, and as a qualified lecturer in adult and further education, Naomi has had the pleasure of working with many exciting and diverse groups. Having experienced firsthand some of the challenges facing education today from a well-being point of view, Naomi was inspired along with colleague Susan Ainscough to set up the ‘Vital Connections’ network. Through her consultancy and staff development work she has presented workshops at national conferences, and has been invited into schools and colleges to work with staff and pupils, participating in groundbreaking well-being and motivational programmes.

Naomi and Susan offer AChild2Child Practitioner Training throughout the year ar Cedar farm, Ormskirk.

Contact: peermassage@yahoo.co.uk or telephone 0777 99 403 995

Debs Fawcett

Debs has been working over the last 3 years to promote AChild2Child Peer Massage in schools. This has included support to implement Peer Massage as a whole school initiative ensuring the programme takes into account the strategic requirements to ensure the wellbeing of the school, whole staff training, and delivery of the peer massage programme to children and young people. Debs has incorporated the programme into relaxation sessions and as a way of addressing emotional health and well being.Debs has supported many professionals to incorporate Peer Massage and relaxation skills into group work with a view to creating a safe and calm environment as well as signposting to resources which could enhance your sessions including visualisations, breathing exercises and basic mediation techniques. All of the work she does is linked into relevant school initiatives to ensure the work is part of a whole school approach to emotional health and well being for all.

Margaret Gambardella

Margaret is a qualified teacher who introduced peer massage into her school and then went on to create Child 2Child Programme with Jean Barlow. She has trained many instructors and supported them within a wide range of ages from pre-school reading with parents, through the primary ages, to Year 9 secondary school. Margaret is also a Qualified Massage Therapist and Reflexologist, as well as Neuro-Linguistic Programme (NLP) Trainer, Movement, the Brain and Learning Trainer, Teacher of Macrobiotics and a Brain Gym (R) Consultant. Margaret is also the author of ‘Magical Parenting’, a 10 week parenting strategy for families with children and teens with challenging behaviour and learning difficulties. Based on NLP, Magical Parenting empowers parents to deal compassionately with the children and, of course, includes massage to build positive, family relationships and strengthen bonding.

Contact: www.magicallearning.co.uk

Lynn Munro

Lynn qualified as an Holistic Therapist in 1998 whilst still pursuing her career as a District Nursing Sister and having completed training in a number of specialities. In 2003 Lynn left the nursing profession to concentrate on developing her business ‘Absolute Energy’, which specialises in Workplace/ Corporate Massage and Health and Wellness at Work. Lynn has a team of expert therapists whose core activity is to help businesses and organisations to improve productivity and staff morale, decreasing staff turnover and recruitment and training costs. She can deliver a range of specially adapted holistic therapies to suit the workplace ranging from On-site Chair Massage, to Indian Head massage and Reflexology.

Over the last two years Lynn has been very busy delivering the ‘Peer Massage in Schools Programme’ into 80+ Northumberland and Newcastle and Gateshead first and middle schools.

In March 2010 Lynn became a trainer for the Child2Child Peer Massage Programme and has already introduced into one school and trained all the staff to practitioner level. Lynn is passionate about the results and effects that Peer Massage can have on children.

Contact www.absoluteenergy.co.uk

Jill Norris

Jill currently works for Rochdale MBC as a behaviour development worker to support schools to enhance their capacity to manage pupils’ behaviour and emotional health and well being. Jill moved to the team in 2001 after working as a deputy group manager at a residential special school for children with a diverse range of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

One of Jill’s current responsibilities is to develop, lead and provide training for Rochdale Local Authorities Respectful Touch Programme. The Respectful Touch Programme incorporates AChild2Child Peer Massage and The Team Teach approach.

Christine Charters-Young

Christine, one of AChild2Child Peer Massage's most recent trainers, is the founder of The Healing House for Health and Well being- a not for profit organisation, that benefits local families by combining Complementary Health with Relaxation Techniques. She specialises in working with children but feels privileged to help improve the health of people of all ages, including women during pregnancy, the chronically ill and those suffering stress.

The Healing House helps individuals within the community, businesses and schools. Christine delivers 1 to 1 sessions, workshops for groups and weekly classes. She provided initiatives within HMP Prison Highpoint, Homerton Teaching College and The Guiding Association and was recently featured on BBC Radio Cambridge.

Christine has recently launched The Smile Fund, after being inspired by a child whose life was dramatically improved as a result of her reflexology treatments. The aim is to provide complimentary treatments for those who would benefit from but cannot easily afford them.

The Smile Fund relies entirely upon donations, grants and fundraising. The excellent feedback helps The Healing House to continue to grow.