The Story of BeeBizzy Education and me
I am so pleased you have come across the BeeBizzy website today. I have been very lucky to find a fantastic web designer, Georgina Robinson | Graphic Designer, who like me, is a busy working mum. She has been absolutely fantastic to work with, explaining the ins and outs of building and running a website, which I have been truly grateful for. My experience of web design and marketing if I am honest was pretty much zero, but through our late night emails and zoom calls, while our children were napping (or in my case absorbed in Minecraft), she has helped me to bring me ideas to life. I am really proud of what we have managed to create together and I hope you have got a flavour of who I am and my dreams for BeeBizzy Education.
Many people who are reading this may know me personally as Anna the teacher ; mum to Finley and Noah. BeeBizzy came to life In August 2020, after lockdown 1.0. During the lockdown, I created a facebook page to share ideas and activities that I had been doing with Noah. Like many other teachers out there, I just wanted to do my bit and give some support and solidarity to other parents who had been thrown into this crazy world of home schooling. After reading some of the comments people left on the page and a couple of requests from close friends asking for tuition, I began to wonder if this was the moment my dreams would begin to grow into something real and tangible.
As you scroll through the website, you will learn a sprinkle of who I am professionally but this blog is really a way to introduce why BeeBizzy Education is my passion! As many of you will have read, I am a mum to two boys; Finley and Noah. Finley is now eleven and has always been my strong and determined boy. He was a great baby but my memory of his toddlers years are now a little bit hazy. Mothering this boy has always been 'full on action' . I definitely wasn’t one of the mums, who looked serene with beautifully applied make-up on the toddler circuit, far from it I think I was lucky to brush my hair before I left the house each day. Finley has always known his own mind and his spirit is what I love about him the most. He has and still does, have such energy and adrenaline for life. Finley has always been difficult to tame; the child at the top of the climbing frame balancing precariously while other parents look on in disbelief! He has always found success easy to come by, hitting all his milestones bang on time; learning to walk and talk with ease! Determined to give Finley a sibling, two and half years later, I gave birth to Noah and what a roller coaster that has been!
Noah’s early days were challenging to say the least. I knew as many parents do, that things were different. I cannot tell you how many people tried to reassure me and push away my dark thoughts about his development. All I can say is, a mother’s intuition is a powerful thing and just before his second birthday we got the diagnosis we had been awaiting. Noah had inherited a genetic condition from me, although like the 50% of the people with 15q13.3 I didn’t know that I carried this rare disorder, until I began to question and worry about Noah’s development. Diagnosis day for us was while we were on holiday in the Vendee region of France. Getting that call from our paediatrician, was if anything, a relief! I wasn’t going mad, I was right! Straight away my husband and I found comfort in the limited materials we found about his diagnosis, especially from the wonderful people at Unique; a fantastic charity supporting children and their families,parenting these incredible children on their life journeys https://www.rarechromo.org/ .
Being Noah’s Mum was full of uncertainties in the early days with so many questions that I had no clue how to answer. As the years have passed, I couldn’t imagine life being any other way! Anyone who knows Noah, falls in love with him, he has a vulnerability and genuine acceptance of life, which I don’t often see in others. However being a “Special Needs Parent” can be a lonely place, i have and will always grieve the lost opportunities that Noah and I missed doing together, being there to send him into school on his first day, sending him off to the local holiday clubs and sports clubs and having "mummy" friends from his class to have playdates with.
I feel very lucky that Noah had an uneventful journey to getting his EHCP approved when he was 4 years old and has attended specialist education settings ever since. At one particular meeting, when we were formalising his application for an EHCP, I remember feeling a complete lack of control over the decisions that were being made about his schooling. Over the years, both professionally and personally I have discussed this and many other concerns that SEN parents have when trying to navigate the special needs jungle. In essence this is really what BeeBizzy Education is; a supportive and nurturing hub for parents and their children. BeeBizzy Education offers support and bespoke tuition to allow your child to 'Believe, Succeed, Achieve'.
'From little seeds grow mighty trees' - Aeschylus
So what is the future for BeeBizzy Education?
We will provide:
A place where learners will receive high quality, therapeutic teaching, delivered by myself and like-minded professionals who have a passion for teaching and see no limits to anyone's achievements and success.
A space to offer information and support to you as parents and carers to better understand the maze that surrounds special needs. As a special needs parent myself, I am living this journey with you. I will be your advocate, this is my passion and BeeBizzy Education will help you and your child feel supported, informed and ready for any challenges that come your way.
Thank-you for reading my story. I look forward to meeting you soon.
Anna