Catherine Pease

'My philosophy has always been to create a love for learning; as adults if you enjoy something you are much more likely to pursue it and experience it over again. Children are inspired by being ‘allowed’ to think outside the box, to be free from the social expectation of doing things in a certain way that may feel alien to them. They thrive from developing their own set of rules and values, which in turn allows them to safely explore things which can be learnt in exactly the way they have chosen to learn.'

 

‘If a child cannot learn how we teach we should teach a child how they learn.’ - Ignacio Estrada

 

I set up Fun Development in 2018 after I realised that so many children were waiting for specialist advice from professional bodies and that my experiences and teaching styles could really benefit children in the right here and now. As soon as I began seeing families, I knew that this was the path I was meant to take and decided to grow Fun Development into a business. 

 

I have always loved working with children from as early as I can remember. From babysitting, to girl guiding, to supporting at my local dance school as a teenager, I have always had a passion for supporting young people to reach their goals. My passion became a career choice as I studied for a PGCE in Education and gained my Qualified Teacher Status.

 

Once working in mainstream primary settings, my love of learning and growing understanding of SEND called me to move to a career in a specialist setting; I joined a large school in North Solihull, specialising in severe learning difficulties. My commitment and enthusiasm for supporting SEND learners meant that I worked in that setting for 14 years, working my way up to the senior team. During this time, I was fortunate to have had expert training in the field of specialist teaching and learning from many well respected people/and bodies such as the late Dr Penny Lacey, Dave Hewitt, PECs, Makaton, Shauna Delaney (SALT) Sally Payne (OT) TEACCH approach at Sunfield. 

 

I furthered my understanding and learning with a MA in Autism.

All of this experience adeptly supports my work at Fun Development.

 

Fun Development has allowed me to realise and draw out the potential of every single child. I want every young person to know and realise that they have in no way, shape or form failed at school or in learning, it is most likely to be the system that has failed them. My role is to find the way in which they learn and share that with other professionals to develop the correct learning environment for each child, whatever that may look like for them.

 

Lastly, the professional development for all of my team is hugely important to me, we all undertake individual and team learning events across all areas of SEND and welcome any recommendations. Learning is not fixed or measured it is a continues cycle of new impulses that extend and expand our abilities. The field of SEND is ever changing and our team must ensure they are up to date with new developments and techniques.

 

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