Brief info
Charlie is the owner of the B2Basics Forest School and is also the Forest School Lead. Fully qualified and experienced Charlie holds an Early Years Foundation Degree and the Forest School Level 3 Qualification alongside various other specialist certificates and qualifications including, Makaton for Professionals Stages 1 to 4 and, the Teaching Physical Activity to Children Aged 5-11 Years Level 2 Certificate. Charlie became one of the first Level 3 qualified SENDco’s in Bristol in 2019 and has also sat on Serious Case Review Panels for Bristol City Council.
Throughout her career Charlie has worked with children of all ages and as a mother herself, is fully aware of the importance of every child being given the opportunity to learn and develop as an individual to bring out their best potential. Charlie takes a positive approach to every aspect of her life and uses this alongside her skills and experience to bring out the best in others.
Charlie brings a wealth of knowledge to the organisation having built up a successful career over the last 16 years in a number of settings. Charlie is highly experienced in early years provision and also has a passion for supporting children with additional needs. Her extensive experience includes, setting up a successful childminding business that received an Ofsted rating of ‘GOOD’, holding the role of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer for an entire Nursery setting and using her well-developed management skills to lead teams and mentor staff.
Charlie has a passion for gardening and has 3 years running won the Bristol in Bloom – ‘teaching children through learning outdoors’ Gold Award. Charlies designs were recognised for her innovative use of a small garden space in which she helped the children of the early years setting she most recently worked for to build a bug hotel, make use of upcycled and recycled materials and, to set up visual learning aids. From this Bristol in Bloom have invited Charlie back annually to present on the benefits of outdoor learning for young children. Charlie also guest lectures to students who are completing their foundation degree to become early years practitioners and has done this now for the last three years.
Charlie is focused on promoting the positive benefits of outdoor learning to encourage children to actively engage in their natural surroundings recognising that children learning this way often find interests and experience learning opportunities that are not achieved from an indoor environment.