Therapeutic Forest

Prior to opening BOTF with Chris she spent 8 years working as a teacher in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 classes both in the UK and in Australia. Vikki is a bit of a child development geek. She is very interested in how children play and passionate about the benefits of truly child-led, open ended play. In addition to Forest School, Vikki is inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach which she tries to incorporate into BOTF.

Following her illustration degree and publication of her first children’s book, Sarah re-trained as a teacher and enjoyed 10+ years teaching within the Early Years and Year 1, in England and Scotland. She is passionate about child-led, play-based learning, where children are the masters of their own learning journey.
As a late diagnosed autistic adult, Sarah highly values Forest School’s innovative outdoor approach and the numerous specific benefits that this approach offers the neurodiverse community.
As former British champion, Sarah also coaches Muay Thai boxing at Kao Loi gym in Harrogate, where she has trained for over 27 years.

Prior to setting up BOTF with Vikki, Chris worked in swimming and as a therapy manager in a specialist college. This role involved supporting people who have special education needs and disabilities (SEND); and people with profound, multiple learning disabilities and physical impairments. Chris has a passion for breaking down the barriers to learning and seeking ways to improve people’s quality of life.

After completing a Social Work degree, Lauren spent most of her career working with Looked After Children. After having her own children, she developed an interest in play & early years development. She is super passionate about reading and the power of sharing stories with children.

Lauren spends half of the week working at the Harrogate and Knaresborough Toy Library and half of the week in the forest. Børn of the Forest is her absolute dream job! She is also a Beaver Scout Leader in Harrogate (Beaver name: Wren) and loves going on camp – campfire songs being her speciality.