Information About Laurie - Ealing teacher

Personal Description:

I was fortunate enough to grow up in the pre-computer era, when children had opportunities to explore their creativity: at school, we were painting, drawing and making things all the time. I learned the art of tie-dye, and we were taught to crochet. At home, my mum was a gifted seamstress, knitter and baker, and I learned to do all of these things. By the time I was sixteen, I was customising my dad's jackets and making my own outfits. Creating was second nature to me, and it continues to serve a number of purposes: it's calming, satisfying and in a fast-paced world where everything is about devices and short attention spans, creating reminds me of the importance of purpose and connection.

I have a daughter in her twenties whose creative expression I have nurtured and who is now an artist in her own right.

Teaching Experience:

I qualified as a German teacher in 1993, and I have taught in mainstream schools in and around London. In 2002, I began tutoring primary-age (Maths and English) children privately. I continued this for twenty-one years, and in this time, I branched out into English at Key Stages Three and Four, taking students through to their GCSEs. I had a steady stream of students for the entire period, taking on new pupils through word of mouth recommendation.

In 2002, I set up my own Saturday school, teaching Maths and English to primary school children which ran for fourteen years. During this time, I was also hired to run community programmes - homework clubs and booster classes in the London Borough of Ealing.

As a teaching assistant, I ran various after school and lunch time clubs, including poetry appreciation, drawing, German and singing. In 2014, I ran my first craft club, teaching children string art - sewing on card. In 2018, I hired a space in a cafe and began running string art workshops for adults. Since then, I have run children's, adults' and family classes in a variety of settings:

- drop-in sessions as part of London-based art events
- community fun days
- full and half-day classes for children between the ages of 6 and 13
- seasonal workshops - Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas
- birthday parties
- Imperial College London 'Lates' event

My work has also reached an international audience. In 2023, I was invited to run four days of workshops at the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival. More recently, I have run three crochet courses for Kensington and Chelsea Council, expanding my crafting repetoire.

Teaching Approach:

Building a child's confidence is my top priority as a teacher. As a private tutor, children often came to me because they were at risk of falling behind, or were not at the expected level in Maths or English. My first task was to make sure they felt they could succeed in the subject, so I created an environment that was warm and welcoming and, above all, encouraging. On more than one occasion, parents would feed back that their children felt better about the subject. This is the first 'win' for me as a teacher.

Making a subject come alive is so important, and I bring my own enthusiasm to a subject. If I impart information in a way that makes a subject relevant to a child or young person, they will be enthused, interested and motivated to succeed. I make learning a joy, and I bring humour to sessions.

I believe that remembering what it was like to learn something new for the first time and to struggle is important: children need to know that I understand how challenging a new concept can be, so I set great store by empathy. I let them know that I appreciate how difficult a task is, and then I will break it down for them, taking each stage one step at a time and practising it with them until they get it. I am happy to demonstrate a new skill and then follow their lead, letting them try by themselves until they have mastered that new skill.

After thirty years, I'd say I'm pretty good at knowing what different children need, whether they are visual, or kinaesthetic learners. I adapt to individual learners quickly and with ease.

I believe it is important to know how a child is feeling about their learning. Are they frustrated? Lacking in confidence? Bored? When you know how a child is feeling, you can respond effectively to their needs. Does a child need a bit of a break because the topic is getting heavy? If so, then I'll give them a break. Children need to know you're attuned to their needs.

In essence, I am an intuitive, fun, knowledgeable teacher who brings kindness to her sessions.