Wellsprings of Wisdom was created to provide continuous inspiration for parents and professionals. Through the courses and resources we explore a holistic view of children’s development to support them to become all they can be. In turn, as adults, we are refreshed and energised through this ‘wellsprings’ of learning,
Our courses are for anyone who wishes to develop fresh eyes for the journey through childhood to the adult world, New understanding is uncovered about how children learn whilst adults also discover new insights into themselves. The quality of our relationships with others improves as we release potential and this naturally brings more joyful living to everyone.
The leaders of each course are united in their passion for supporting continuous growth in the art of teaching, parenting and knowledge of the self. We share the vision of creating a warm, welcoming and safe learning space that opens possibilities for a new and improved quality of life for us all.
Our team is drawn from a group of experienced trainers and facilitators: specialists in sensory integration, teacher training and mentoring, neuroscience research, parent group facilitation, women’s speaking groups, and more.
Julie is the founder of Highgate House School and Course Leader of the Level 4 Diploma in Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Studies in Hong Kong. Julie’s idea for Wellsprings came from a wish to provide one place where adults living and working with children of all ages could access support, inspiration and the latest knowledge in child development. Julie has provided parenting and teaching support for over 30 years, She brings a vast range of experience and qualifications, to work with families and children of all ages including PGCE Montessori, Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood, Pikler philosophy, IAIM (infant massage), UK mainstream education, WomanSpeak, Nutritional Therapy and Play Therapy. Mother to 4, grandmother to 2, Julie is an education consultant, teacher trainer, and parenting coach. Within schools, Julie brings her experiences and training in Leadership and Management to create more positive and effective working relationships supporting communication and collaboration between colleagues as well as between teachers and parents.
Julie also founded a preschool in UK and consulted for the founding of a school in Monaco, France. Over the years she has studied and worked with various educational philosophies and places a high value on the understanding of the human being according to Rudolf Steiner. She is guided by the latest knowledge and research today on attachment theory, imitation, and the importance of creative imagination. As a lifelong learner, her work has evolved to embrace training with Dr Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry and more recently with training in leading groups and individuals in courses such as Active Practical Love, How Children Learn, a 12-lesson parenting course, and Listening for Decision Making. These courses are now offered though Wellsprings and have been developed for over 25 years by Dr. Tessabella Lovemore, PhD. They are held by The Initiative for Active Practical Love.
To read more about Julie’s support for parents, there are options for group workshops and/or 1:1 Consultations under ParentSpace and the courses Active Practical Love and How Children Learn. Information on transforming relationships in the family and workplace can be found under these titles in Courses.
Delia is a Steiner Waldorf Early Years practitioner with over 25 years' experience in the field. Delia jointly oversees the kindergarten curriculum at Highgate House School and is a core tutor and for the Conscious Teaching Diploma.
From 1998 – 2016 Delia was based in South Africa where she pioneered a new kindergarten in a fledgling Steiner Waldorf primary school, led a kindergarten in a flagship school for 16 years and intermittently did part-time Steiner Waldorf teacher training at the Centre for Creative Development in Cape Town. She moved to Hong Kong in 2016 to serve as a core tutor on the Conscious Teaching Diploma and to support the pedagogical work at Highgate House School. Delia is a life-long student of Anthroposophy and has been a passionate and active seeker of knowledge of truth through various of its many pathways including studies in Eurythmy, communal life as a housemother in Camphill communities in the UK and South Africa, and holistic health and healing.
The birth of her two children, both of whom went through the entire Waldorf schooling system, led her to her destination in Waldorf Education. It is within Waldorf Education that Delia has focused her dedication towards exploring the understanding of what it is to be a human being. She recognizes this to be of critical importance within the rapidly changing landscape of our post-modernist society. The loss of such understanding places the greatest risk to the futures of our children, the generation of the generations of the future.
Delia places the fruits of her life experience in the service of young children, so that they might receive the holistic foundations necessary for the unfolding of their own truly human individuality. It is only upon the firm relationship with our authentic self that we might connect with, honor and serve the sacred human being in our rapidly developing and diverse global society.
Amy is a mother of two girls and was raised in Hong Kong as a child, attending school in the international system. She is a great lover of the outdoors and spends weekends with her family on the country trails, bike riding and exploring nature. After training in the UK in mainstream early years education, Amy qualified as a Steiner Waldorf early years educator at Highgate House, on the first training under IASWECE, joining in 2003. She now has over 20 years of experience in Steiner Waldorf early years work and expanded very quickly into teacher training and parent education.
Amy leads parent/ helper workshops, parent and baby and parent child groups at Highgate House and has co created the workshops with Julie Lam for ParentSpace at Wellsprings Education. Amy also teaches Units on the Conscious Teaching course specialising in birth to three, the temperaments and teacher self-development. Her passion is for supporting healthy childhood development and being an active yet gentle support for all parents of young children. Amy is interested in holistic health and healing and has undertaken further training in infant massage, reiki and sound therapy.
Rowena is a tutor on the Level 4 Diploma course specifically for Unit 20 on SEND.
Rowena started off her career as a primary teacher over 30 years ago. During this period, she experienced the failings of the school system for two of her children which led her into a study of special educational needs. In 2008, Rowena became a dyslexia specialist working in UK schools and soon realised that some children really struggled to make the expected progress. She devoted her time to exploring the early root causes of children’s learning difficulties. In 2015, Rowena qualified as a neurodevelopment therapist having studied sensory and reflex integration. Looking at movement as a child’s first language, she brings a unique perspective on how to support children in a way that is holistic, deeply caring and most effective. Her study shows how a deep understanding of and support for healthy development in the first years of life is crucial to a child’s future wellbeing and full expression of learning and potential.
Rowena has experience in Mainstream, Independent and Steiner school settings in UK, where she also works as an advisor delivering workshops to schools. She set up her own practice in 2018 where she offers assessments and consultancy support for children, parents and teachers. Her contributions to the training are enriched with practical and real case study examples to bring alive the learning in this important area of understanding.
Sarah is a guest tutor for Conscious Teaching. Sarah has trained in early years teaching and leadership. She has worked in a variety of educational roles, including kindergarten teaching, classroom/special needs assistance and ‘parent and child’ group work. Educational research however has been her main professional focus since 2008 and in recent years she has been primarily engaged with the field of neuroscience and education. Her specific areas of neuroscientific interest are:
Imitation as a learning tool for young children and the Mirror Neuron System,
Imaginative play and the developmental value of Day-Dreaming, specifically, the functions and role of the brain’s Default Mode Network.
In 2016, she completed her MSc in Neuroscience and Education at the University of Bristol and has since been developing a series of presentations on educational neuroscience for kindergarten teachers and parents of young children. Her work has been presented in the UK and internationally to student Waldorf teachers, parents and carers.