Making space: a personal reflection 🌿

This newsletter is a little more personal than usual. As we head towards winter, I wanted to share honestly how I’m trying to find a better balance between work, my personal life and my mental health—and what this means for Journeys, Leaves and Seeds C.I.C over the next few months.

Over the summer, I have struggled with high levels of anxiety. The workload and the feeling of trying to fit everything in have been a big part of this, and I suspect perimenopause may also be playing a part.

I love the work we do and the community we have built. But over the past few months, I have worked almost every weekend alongside full working weeks. At times, I have felt overwhelmed and questioned whether I was doing a good enough job.

Much of the work that keeps JLS CIC going happens behind the scenes: managing budgets, planning and resourcing sessions, reviewing policies, keeping my training up to date, promoting events and researching funding. Alongside this, I carry out school improvement and Early Years due diligence visits, write reports and support the training of Early Years SENDCos.

Anxiety and overwhelm can often go unseen. On social media, you’ll usually see the joyful moments from our sessions: the smiles, the connections and the experiences we’re proud to offer. Those moments are real, but they don’t tell the whole story of how I might be feeling behind the scenes.

Part of my role is to promote our services and help families feel confident about joining us, so I don’t always share the anxious or difficult days. I can be passionate about my work, deliver sessions with care and enthusiasm, and still be struggling personally. A positive social media post doesn’t necessarily mean the person behind it is finding everything easy.

I wanted to share this because I’m recognising that caring for our community also means making space to care for myself.

A quieter October half term 🍂

You may have noticed that we haven’t advertised our usual JLS CIC half-term Forest School stay-and-play sessions.

With so many Halloween activities available locally, I have been reflecting on where our sessions are most needed. Alongside this, I need to give myself a little breathing space, so we won’t be running our own Halloween half-term stay-and-play sessions this year.

I will still be delivering sessions with Growing Sudley Holiday Club and Swanside Holiday Club during the week. There will also be plenty of Halloween fun within our existing sessions, and we will be delivering sessions on behalf of Bowring Park on Saturday 24th October. (Bookings are made via Bowring Park's website for these sessions.)

This feels like a small but necessary step towards a more manageable balance.

Sharing the responsibility as we grow 🌱

These reflections have also prompted me to think about how we move forward as a CIC.

We are currently recruiting a volunteer Finance Director, who we hope will bring financial expertise, support and constructive challenge to our board, while helping to share the responsibility for financial oversight.

We would also love to hear from people interested in volunteering their skills as a director in areas such as fundraising, marketing and promotion, evaluation and impact monitoring, or community engagement.

JLS CIC has grown through care, commitment and community. Building a board with a wider range of skills will help us continue that work sustainably and ease the pressure on one person to keep everything moving forward.

If this sounds like you—or someone you know—please get in touch. Sharing this opportunity with others would also be a lovely way to support us.

There is still plenty to look forward to ✨

Our next JLS CIC weekend Forest School sessions will take place on Saturday 7 November, with a cosy Bonfire Night theme.🔥🎆

Our session dates are now planned through to Christmas, including these festive gatherings:

• Saturday 12 December, 10.30am–12pm: SEND Family Forest School Christmas Special. - FULLY FUNDED

• Saturday 12 December, 1pm–2.30pm: Wider Community Forest School Christmas Special - Prices Vary

• Monday 14 December: Woodland Words and Wonder Christmas Special.

• Monday 14 December, 1pm–2.30pm: Branching Out Christmas Special.

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We’re looking forward to sharing some woodland Christmas magic with you all.

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Rooted for Winter: a little space for you, too 💛

Our women’s well-being sessions are available to book, and our next gathering is on Wednesday 4 November at Incredible Edible.

Rooted for Winter, our winter wellness vision-board session, will be facilitated by Jade from Roots and Rays Mama. We’ll bring a little cosy Bonfire Night sparkle, with a campfire, a snack and time to pause, connect and explore what might support us through the winter months.

These sessions grew from conversations with women supporting children with SEND who told us they needed time, space and connection. Whether you are a mum, grandmother, auntie, friend or another woman who would welcome some gentle breathing space, you are warmly invited.

Writing this, I realise I need to make room for some of that well-being myself. It is much easier to encourage others to pause than to give yourself permission to do the same.

Thank you for being part of our community and for supporting both the sessions you see and the work that happens behind them. I’m hopeful that these changes will help me find a healthier balance while continuing to offer the thoughtful, inclusive experiences that matter to us all.