Helena, has devoted her life to ‘play and learn’ approaches to children’s education. She considers that natural multi-sensory aspects of creativity and associated play encourage optimum learning for everyone. She has designed new didactic teaching materials to scaffold foundations in numeracy and literacy and written extensively on Self-directed Discovery Learning through creative multi-sensory experiences. She describes ‘Natural Play and Learning’ as ‘Celebrating our human potential beyond the conventional into an abundance of potential’.

Through her writing Helena hopes to encourage and inspire: authentic creativity; compassionate understanding, co-operative sharing, and the nurturing of our relationships with each other and our planet earth.

Helena started working with children at the age of fourteen as a sixth-former with a weekly afternoon of community work experience at her local special school. During this time her efforts and natural empathy with the most challenging children was very much appreciated. At sixteen she was employed at the school as a classroom assistant and later as a fulltime class teacher. She illustrated outstanding levels of success through her ability to design and work with personalised individual curriculums on a one to one basis.

She left this post to attend the local teacher Training College where she trained as a Main Stream Primary teacher and choose Special Education as her Main Course of study. Helena subsequently started work as a teacher of a mixed age primary class of children with moderate learning difficulties.

She left fulltime teaching when she was pregnant with her son Matthew. Matthew was born with a congenital liver condition which caused him life threatening, critical illness at birth and again at the age of three. He wore a medical disc that warned doctors not to administer conventional drugs and detailed a strict special diet. Helena expanded her previous research into the effects of diet on children’s health and behaviour into alternative first aid and healing. These efforts kept Matthew from further hospitalisation. At the age of eleven Matthew miraculously illustrated that he was indeed cured of the congenital condition that had previously threatened his life. Unlike other organs in the body our liver has the capacity to regenerate and heal itself; however, this is very rare if the condition is present from birth. Helena has written about her personal experiences with alternative health and healing in the hope that other parents may also find success in alternative approaches to healing and good health.

When Matthew was a year old Helena and her husband, Peter, registered as specialist Bridge Foster parents and Specialist Childcare Facilitators for Essex County Council. This work continued for eight years. Two of the children on the earlier placements were adopted by Helena and Peter. Also during these family years Helena accepted requests from local schools when they needed Supply cover for teaching posts that were unusually challenging. This Supply work covered a wide range of schools and children of all ages and ability. Helena describes these years as the most challenging and most rewarding years of her career.

When her own children were grown up Helena started working freelance, and often on a voluntary basis, for families with special children. She specialized in resolving challenging behaviour often associated with autism, dyslexia, dysphasiaand dyspraxia. Her notable levels of success were largely due to her own approach that addresses disturbed and/or omitted areas of early play and subsequent learning alongside specialist organisation of diet and other natural approaches to healing. Helena’s focus on ‘Natural Play and Learning’ supported what she describes as a more balanced and integrated organisation of sensory information that enhances the child’s ability to successfully self-direct discovery learning, self- discipline and self-correction. Helena has successfully taught many children who previously baffled and challenged their parents and teachers with their lack of successful learning and disruptive behaviour. One parent wrote …..’Before I met Helena, I was unable to control the behaviour of my child, Lucian, who was hyperactive, aggressive and seemingly unable to function at school or at home….I would like to also stress her insight into children through listening to them and observing small clues of behaviour that others would miss…..It is this insight into children that has informed her methods and approach to each individual child.’

Since moving to live in Wales Helena has worked with children within the context of their family home. She believes this can provide a more holistic environment for care and personal support, to both the child and his/her carers. She feels Special children require a special heart-full commitment and perceptive disposition: ‘The greatest pleasures in life are often seen as small or insignificant to the casual observer.’ Helena aims to present recommendations through example and personal interaction. This scaffolds practical support from a personal perspective that facilitates inner confidence and a positive engagement with life.

‘The wonderful thing about working with Helena in this way (she was fully taking part in our family life while intensive work is taking place) is how she is able to adapt her input to the immediate needs of the family….She provides a range of skills- analytic, therapeutic, advisory, and teaching – which appears to be quite unique.’

Helena has specialised in working with alternative perspectives of the autism spectrum and the creation of individually tailored intensive programmes of educational and therapeutic content. After working full-time for nine months with a severely autistic child his educational physiologist wrote as follows: ‘James is an attractive 7 year old, normal in appearance and to the casual observer normal in much of his behaviour. He does not show bizarre or repetitive behaviour often associated with autism or social inaccessibility…..James autistic symptoms seem to be controlled to a significant degree. He has quite good comprehensive language and has sufficiently good expressive language to communicate his needs……A great deal of effort has gone into helping James develop towards normality, and a considerable degree of success has been achieved.’

In order to provide what she felt was the most supportive environment for a wide range of families, Helena organized family camps and workshops in Creative parenting, Creative Listening, Special Time and Child Directed Learning. She also offered classes to a regular group of home-educated children and continued to develop her own didactic materials to scaffold foundations for literacy and numeracy, through child-directed discovery learning. This work founded the development of a voluntary network and informal Home Educating community called the Creative Parenting Fellowship.

In the year 2000 Helena set up her own Natural Education Centre in the local town of Carmarthen. The centre ran successfully for the three year duration of the lease. Helena has designed an extensive resource of didactic materials for the teaching of foundation literacy and numeracy. As a tutor for children who have not managed in mainstream education, after a relatively short period of regular lessons, most children have attained notable improvement and returned to school with a new level of confidence and subsequent success. Mark’s mother wrote ‘….we’ve made brilliant progress, he’s like a different boy – 80% of the time. School is a pleasure most of the time, he’s been upgraded in his English group and the numbers are falling into place.’

In 2008 Helena attended the one year part-time Steiner Waldorf Dyslexia Association Course ‘Align for Learning’ designed for current and prospective Support Teachers within Steiner Education. Subsequently she accepted a temporary post as a fulltime class teacher at a local Steiner School. This she found a most enjoyable and rewarding teaching experience.

In March 2012 Helena was awarded a post graduate Diploma in Early Years Education with Merit after completing year 1 and 2 of her MA at Trinity St. David University.

Over the last decade Helena has developed multisensory teaching materials designed to support child-directed discovery learning. She has already presented most of this compendium of didactic teaching materials, games and creative experiences as a data base of resources that are now being presented on her Eastwood Education website. Helena hopes this website will encourage and support those who would like to use her methods within their own home/working environment.

Previous Mainstream and Vocational Employment:-

Edith Borthwick Special School.  Essex C.C.F/T Teacher :1.9.75 – 31.12.79

Gosfield Primary. Essex C.C. P/T Learning support teacher :18.9.84 – 31.8.85

Claysmore (Independent Sch.) Head Teacher :1.9.95 – 30.11.89

Creative Parenting Fellowship, (Founder & Facilitator) 1.2.97…….

Natural Education Centre, Carmarthen. (Principal) 2003 – 2006

Nant y Cwm, Independent Steiner School; Temporary Class Teacher year 4-5, 1.9.2010-28.2.2011

Natural Education Centre, Llandysul, Wales: 2013. Private tuition, educational therapy and consultations facilitated by Helena Eastwood.

Qualifications:-

Helena Eastwood B.Ed.Wall Hall College of Education, Aldenham Herts. 1972-75

Primary Teaching Cert. (Credit) – Main Subject: Special Education (Distinction).  Des. No. 72/44822

British Dyslexia Association Teaching Diploma. 1988/89

Montessori Primary Teaching Diploma, 1990/91 (Distinction).

Post Graduate Diploma in Early Years Education. 2012 (Credit)