Alida Smith, Co-Director
My name is Alida Smith. I am a parent, an educator and an all round Renaissance woman. We all wear so many hats and I genuinely believe we are capable of so much together.
I am passionate about many things, and education has always been one of them. This led me to co-found The Family Learning Flexi-School and now, Edventure Kids. Positive social change can only ever be a product of an informed, educated, creative, collaborative and empowered group of citizens. Those citizens are born of curious, open-minded, supported children.
We need to help children to access their innate talents for critical thinking, resilience, innovation, entrepreneurship and hard work. We need to give them space to play and enjoy the natural world. We need to show them the amazing array of possibilities, personalities and environments on offer. We need to allow them to take risks, to learn about themselves, to fail and to rise up again and again.
We founded Edventure Kids as a Community Interest Company as a way to support all our children in developing themselves in the real world.
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” —Abraham Lincoln
Alicia Kaur, Outdoor Learning Assistant
I am a professional contemporary dancer with a deep passion for working with children. Alongside my career in dance, I find fulfilment in nurturing children’s growth, whilst instilling and fostering their confidence. I am outgoing and adventurous, embracing new experiences with enthusiasm which I hope encourages the children I work with to do the same. When I am not working with Edventure Kids, I dedicate my time to supporting vulnerable adults and children in a therapeutic dance setting, providing a sensory and holistic space for them to express themselves freely.
My journey has been deeply influenced by my own childhood experiences of being partially mute, which ingrained in me a profound appreciation for listening to children’s thoughts, feelings, and opinions. With eight years of experience in educational environments, I understand the importance of creating spaces where children feel safe, heard and valued. My commitment to providing holistic support extends beyond dance, reflecting my dedication to empowering children to embrace their voices and individuality. I feel my own ethos and that of Edventure Kids are very much aligned and I enjoy being a part of a team that respects and celebrates each child’s individuality within a community.
Jae Easter, Co-Director
Having worked for The Family Learning School for a number of years, I was delighted to open Edventure Kids alongside my co-Director, Alida Smith, to offer invaluable educational and life experiences for our children.
Through my son, I have seen first-hand how beneficial and freeing the forest environment has been for him. He has autonomy over his learning but with the added benefit and value of having an experienced forest team to teach him transferable skills in a nurturing, self-directed and supportive way. Seeing the children embrace the outdoor environment no matter the weather is one of the best examples of resilience and enjoying the natural world as it is.
Equally, our Adventure Days are so much more than a list of exciting activities. These days offer boundless room for growth. So much development takes place: from the meeting point; the journey to the activity; the activity itself and the journey back again; and, all the interactions and conversations along the way. The wealth of opportunities that is on offer, emotionally, socially, intellectually, creatively and personally is astounding and a privilege to be a part of.
As a parent, I am always booking my son into different workshops or talks as a way to complement his experiences with The Family Learning Flexi-School and Edventure Kids, so he isn’t a stranger to ‘adventure days’. However, I have noticed and do believe that his experience with me is a very different one to those with his peers. He engages differently and feels freer to access the offerings in a way that differs from how I might guide or encourage him. Knowing that he can have these experiences away from me has really strengthened his confidence.
It is a pleasure to provide the children with such a wide-ranging set of experiences designed to promote confidence, build enthusiasm for learning and curiosity, broaden horizons and introduce new interests, strengthen relationships and real-world experiences which will enable them to become effective and content citizens of the world.
Laura Clout, Forest School Lead
I am a mum of three children and retrained as a Forest School Leader in 2021 after a career in print journalism. I love reading, poetry and pottery. I am also a green activist and run a small vegetable-giveaway project called Rebel Veg with my husband. My ambitions for the year are to do more open water swimming and play a wicked witch in Panto!
I think Forest Education is the best job in the world and I am very much looking forward to getting to know your children and having lots of adventures with them in their amazing forest environment.
Martha O’Toole, Administrative Assistant
I have worked in the City and in media organisations in a range of administrative roles. As the parent of a former Family Learning School and Edventure Kids pupil, I have seen the benefit of mixed-age learning outside the traditional classroom setting. My child gained immeasurably from their experiences playing, problem-solving, building, sharing, cooperating, exploring, disagreeing and working it out, climbing, collecting, comforting (and much more!) while in the forest and out adventuring. I am delighted to now be part of the Edventure Kids team, supporting the vision and helping it grow so that more children are able to have this foundation building-experience.